These days we are all lead to believe certain things like eating organic produce and driving hybrid cars are eco-friendly but, in truth many of these things are actually doing more harm to the environment than good! So in honour of Earth Day (22nd April 2017) we are going to dispel some of these eco-friendly myths.
Buying Organic Produce
Purchasing organic produce does help reduce the use of pesticides and insecticides which is good for the environment. But, what is not taken into account is the distance this produce has travelled to land on your dinner plate. This can really add up to a huge amount of pollution through emissions so if you really want to make the eco friendly choice take notice of the packaging and buy local!
Purchasing Green Products
Don’t believe everything you see on the packaging. There are no regulations on the use of terms like ‘green’, ‘eco-friendly’, ‘natural’ and ‘biodegradable’. This means that some of those ‘green’ products in your house may not be so green after all!
Buying a Hybrid Car
Hybrid cars are of course more eco-friendly than regular gas or diesel cars to run but </span><span style="font-weight: 400">when considering how "good" (or bad) a car is for the environment, gas mileage is one of the</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">last</span> <span style="font-weight: 400">factors to weigh. It's actually the production of the car that matters. The raw materials' sources, the manufacturing effort, and the shipping costs all have an impact on the environment. And apparently, those of the Toyota Prius may actually be worse than even a Hummer!
Turning Off Your Appliances
Most of our homes are full of electric appliances which are constantly draining power, even when switched off. This is due to a phenomenon called ‘phantom power’. The only way to stop this and become more eco-friendly is to plug out your appliances when they’re not in use.
Building Real Fires
When comparing a wood-burning fire and an electric fireplace in terms of being eco-friendly, you may be forgiven for thinking the former is better, but you would also be wrong. Wood-burning fireplaces emit CO2 and soot which are harmful to the environment. The ‘greener’ option is to go with the electric fireplace which produces no harmful emissions or greenhouse gasses!
It can be tough to live life always choosing the green option, especially when the green option may not be that green after all. The best way to avoid falling into these traps is to do a little research and see if these things truly are as eco-friendly as described.