Rechargeable Batteries Are Green

Like many people today, I am very concerned about the environment and all the damage that is occurring on a daily basis. From air and water pollution to mountainous landfills, we are filling our world with harmful emissions and millions of tons of garbage that will never disappear. I'm not an activist by any stretch of the imagination, and understand that there is bound to be some degree of pollution as long as humans inhabit the Earth. But I want to do what I can to reduce my own negative impact on the environment. I already take public transportation or ride my bicycle to work instead of using my car, and I recycle everything I can. Now I'm also starting to use rechargeable batteries instead of standard ones.

A battery, of course, is not biodegradable. If you just toss a used one into the trash, it will sit in a landfill and the toxic chemicals it contains will seep out and possibly contaminate the soil in the immediate area. There are many battery recycling programs in place, but I know a lot of folks simply dispose of them with their regular garbage. I want to get rid of the temptation altogether -- and reduce my own consumption -- by using rechargeable batteries.

Rechargeable batteries are more expensive to purchase than regular ones -- at least initially. The advantage of rechargeable batteries is that you can use them many times over. Once the "juice" runs out, simply stick them in a suitable charger for a couple of hours and they'll be ready to go again. This is a great way to power all your video games, controllers, wireless keyboards, assorted toys, and many other electronic items that you use regularly.

The quality of rechargeable batteries largely determines how many times you can reuse them. I recommend going for the best quality you can afford because that decision will pay off in the long run. There's no sense in buying cheap rechargeable batteries that can only be reused a few times. That doesn't save money or do the environment any favors. Instead, it would be much better to go with a name you can trust so you can count on having a dependable product.
Rechargeable batteries are available at local electronics shops as well as online. You can probably get better deals if you shop on the Internet, so be sure to check out several online stores to compare prices. In addition, some places offer additional discounts if you buy larger volumes, so that's something to consider as well.

Purchasing rechargeable batteries instead of standard ones is an easy way to show off your green side and demonstrate a bit of concern for the environment. If we all start doing this, we can ease the strain on our landfills without sacrificing our high-tech gadgets. Nowadays, there are rechargeable batteries that have current capacities six times the capacity of one-use batteries. This means that these batteries will last longer in your gadgets and will be able to be recharged and reused so many times. Moreover, rechargeable batteries are becoming better and better that some good quality types can stay charged for 6 months or more. Also some new types have gotten rid of the memory effect!

using rechargeable batteries is considered economical as well as green act as rechargeable batteries are cheap to recharge and will cost almost nothing of a considerable value compared to having one-use batteries. many well known battery manufacturers like Energizer and Duracell already started manufacturing rechargeable batteries, which pretty much proves that rechargeable batteries are better.

So instead of using 1000 batteries for one time and then tossing then away you can use just two rechargeable batteries and recharge them 1000 times!. So do you see the great benefits of using rechargeable batteries?!

part of the article is from here

Smartphones: Android Going Green

The advancement in smartphone technology has lead to a lot of big players jumping in on the action. Manufacturers teaming up with development heads devise and design strenuously for newer and better operating systems and software's supporting the dynamic platform of their machines, in this case smartphones.

Android is the mobile operating system released by Google after the company acquired Android, Inc. The word Android literally translates to something which has a biological foundation and closely mimics a human being. Any phone that uses an Android operating system is an Android smartphone. From a technological point of view, Android consists of; an operating system, middle-ware and key application. Android Smartphone's uses a version of the Linux kernel that has been modified to serve the mobile environment. Hence it is an open source Operating System (unlike Microsoft's Operating Systems).

 The Android operating system was first released on 21 October 2008. Since then, various updates have been seen. These updates have mostly taken care of security issues or added new features.

According to a latest Global Network Research, Android surpassed iPhone OS market share for the first time on global basis in March 2011. Android is growing at a faster pace than iOS and now holds 14.5% of global impression share on the InMobi network. Globally, mobile impressions continue to grow rapidly, increasing by 21% on the InMobi network over just 90 days, driven primarily by smartphone growth of 34%. Android OS should exceed 40% share of smartphones worldwide with Samsung, HTC and Motorola leading the way with handsets based on the open-source platform.

In Q4 of 2010, Android passed Nokia's struggling Symbian as the leading operating system worldwide. A growing list of vendors who have made Android as the cornerstone of their respective smartphone strategies is propelling the growth of Android. The vendors include Samsung, HTC and Motorola, all of which have doubled their smartphone market share in the course of cranking out and selling various Android handsets.

The success amongst the investors about this open-source platform is worth noticing as well. Recently, Tapjoy, mobile monetization company, is starting a $5 million fund to make it easier for app creators to shift their apps to the Android mobile operating system. It's a vivid sign that one small company is finding it easier to business on the Android platform. Moving on, Google Nexus, one of the benchmark for quality Android devices over the past two years has gotten upgraded to Nexus 4G.

 Nexus 4G is rumored to be packing a dual-core Snapdragon processor. It will also run Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich"; judging from Google's past Nexus devices, it will likely be the first phone to run the new OS.

Android application development has also picked pace as its market share and productivity sky-rocketed globally. Android developers and prospective Android application development agencies are working in tandem and delivering the best Android mobile applications for Android Marketplace. One of the most common and popular Android application is the smartphone game, Angry Birds.

Global winds of technological development specifically mobile application developments are bringing glad tidings for Android open-source. The future is no longer fruity and Apple blue, its Android green.

But the green android might also be green to the environment, as more people are buying smartphones that serve there needs from web browsing to playing games. This might be a good thing to the environment as these smartphones are far less polluting than laptops or desktops. Also there is a growing trend to have environmental friendly smartphones that are less energy consuming and sometimes get there energy from green sources. Like the newly released Samsung smartphone "Blue Earth". Now smartphones can and are replacing many goodies that are now considered obsolete or not that demanding to have. For example who will buy a Walkman music player if his smartphone can play music and can edit, mix and cut music melodies using FREE applications provided by Google play store?!. Moreover, who will buy an alarm clock or a hand watch when he can using his smartphone can know the current time and the time in different places of the world and be able to have an alarm that can be set to not only wake him up with an annoying buzzer but also can be set to wake him up on the music of his choice?!. In addition who will need to buy an 800 pages book that weighs around 4kgs when he can get the same book on his smartphone (for a less price)?!. The examples are numerous and the use of smartphones is defiantly going to make it users more environmental friendly even if they don't know that they are being more environmental friendly.  

I like the way smartphones are making so many things easier, and I also like how one smartphone is capable doing multitasks that were few years ago operated by different machines. Therefore smartphones are reducing e-waste production and even reducing the need for papers thus saving hundreds of trees every year. Of-course smartphones need to become greener, but this is just the beginning!    

Social-jitney is an iPhone Application Development Company providing App Development services including Android Developer and Smart Phone Development.

Samsung Gone Solar With Blue Earth

If you have a solar powered home, solar cooking machine, solar watch, solar charger for your devices and you're thinking about buying a solar car, then this solar mobile phone is for you. The new Samsung Blue Earth is the first solar smartphone in the mobile industry.

Smart and Stylish Move
With all the environmental problems the world is facing, anyone can now be a part of the solution by using environment friendly products that are available in the market. The well-known Korean company takes the lead in raising environmental awareness by producing this incredibly smart solar powered phone that would be perfect for everyone's needs.
Armed with a solar panel on the back, the phone can go anywhere with you when you go for camping and other out of town trips. The sleek and stylish design can match your executive or casual look. At a cut of 107 x 53 x 13.9 mm, this phone is a little heavy with the weight of 118.9 grams.

The phone has different shades of blue with a glossy that gives a relaxing and comfortable feel to its users. The common touch screen display has a pixel size of 240 x 400 which displays 256,000 colors makes images lively and pleasing to the eyes. You can find the solar panel at the back of phone which adds a classy look to it. The phone is handy but is not easy to hold because of the slippery feel of the solar panel.

Phone Functions
Samsung Blue Earth is a basic smartphone that doesn't have high powered hardware that other smartphones have. This phone only matches the personality of simple Earth loving people. Integrated to the mobile phone is a 180MB read only memory (ROM) and an additional 16GB memory that can be accessed with a MicroSD card. You can stay connected with friends, family and co-workers with GSM, GPRS, EDGE, A-GPS, HSPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, and USB connectivity tools.
You can easily send information through text and multimedia messages, email, social website updates and calls anytime too. The phone has tools for time management such as the alarms, calendar, memo and to-do list to help keep you on track and increase your productivity. It has tools like the calculator, world time application, countdown timer and stopwatch as well as a voice recorder and unit converter that can be used when the need arise.
One of the editors of cnet website Kent German says:"With its eco-friendly design and spiffy solar panels, the Samsung Blue Earth is more than just a gimmick; it's also an appealing cell phone with character."

Earth-Friendly Package
This high quality eco-friendly phone from Samsung will be a sure hit to nature lovers. You see, the phone including its package is made from recycled materials. Though it may be hard to believe at first, Samsung has disclosed that the handset is made from old water bottle plastic. And also during production, it shows that there are no emissions of harmful substances like phthalates and beryllium. The box used for packaging the phone is made from recycled paper and printed with soy ink.

And if that is not enough to make eco-fans happy, the phone boasts of eco-friendly tracker apps and profile. The unique "Eco Mode" profile lets you save energy by automatically timing the backlight and reducing the brightness. It also runs the "AccuWeather" that gives update on the weather condition and the "Eco Walk" application that keeps track of how much carbon dioxide was reduced in the air with your every step.

Reducing The Environmental Impact Of Scrap Cars: A Good Thing

In the throwaway society of today, litter and pollution have become one of the biggest problems faced by mankind. Recent years have seen the advent of green organizations that advocate recycling and friendlier environmental practices. Landfill sites have many disadvantages and pose a big threat to the ability of the planet to survive. Scrap cars too, can become an environmental threat. The solution lies in finding ways to reuse materials.

Vehicles that end up in waste yards come from various different sources. Many vehicles that were involved in serious accidents can never be repaired again. In some cases, vehicle owners realize that it is no longer viable to repair old automobiles. Police also regularly find abandoned vehicles. Local authorities also endeavor to minimize the clogging of landfill sites by selling bulky objects as waste.

The fact that a vehicle can no longer be used for transportation does not make it useless. Automobiles can often be harvested for useful parts. Second hand spare parts have become a huge industry, especially among auto owners that enjoy working on their own vehicles. Those parts that cannot be harvested are still valuable. Almost all the parts and components can be recycled. Furthermore we all know that having recycled metals is far less power consuming than extracting these metals from there ores. As the  latter needs mining for the ores , which has a devastating impact on the environment, and the separation of that metal form the ores needs the application of processes that consume huge amounts of energy and produces polluting gases as a byproduct of these processes.

Individual sellers need to take care when they sell a vehicle to a waste dealer. Many unscrupulous dealers offer very small amounts and some will even charge for towing the vehicle. It may be well worth it to try and remove all useful and working components before selling the automobile. In this way more revenue can be gained.

Thus one of the best reasons for recycling old and useless vehicles is that it makes economic sense in every way. As Raw materials gained through recycling are almost always cheaper than the production of new ones. The industry provides thousands of jobs and opportunities. Many local authorities have also been able to make significant cost savings by eliminating these solid wastes from landfills.

As the recycling of vehicles holds significant advantages for the environment. This process produces much less water, air and soil pollution than mining (which I think is something that needs to be made more environmental friendly by any means necessary). With efficient and modern recycling techniques, the reuse of materials from old cars can supply a great portion of the automotive industry needs. As recycling also helps reduce pressure on other resources like  water and fuel, so any action to reduce pressure on the environment can have far reaching benefits for everyone.

There are also other uses for old vehicles. Where many creative people have used them to create interesting play environments for youngsters. They are sometimes even used for training purposes. A popular line of retro furniture is created entirely from defunct vehicles. In addition artists have used them to produce interesting and innovative works of art.

Any action that helps reducing the abuse of the environment is beneficial to mankind.Thus scrap cars can have a potentially disastrous effects upon the environment (if left in landfills), but they can similarly provide numerous benefits to a wide variety of people (if recycled and reused). So an attitude of reuse and recycling can eventually play a large role in the survival of the planet.

When looking for scrap car removal service to get rid of your scrap car be sure to contact scrap my crap - a company who takes scrap cars for cash across Toronto and the GTA.

Related topics:

Gold Mining: A Nightmare to Environment

How does Mining Affect The Environment

Gold Mining: A Nightmare to Environment

 Few people are aware of the immense waste of natural resources involved in the mining of gold. The production of a single gold ring requires up to eighteen tons of ore. A jewelry box full of watches, bracelets, and chains represents an environmental impact that would stun most people. It involves dynamiting mines, allowing drainage of hard metals into the ecosystem, and sometimes, dumping the remains of the process into streams and other natural habitats.
These facts aren't widely-publicized. If they were, there would likely be far fewer people buying gold jewelry. Below, we'll describe the mining process, so you'll understand the enormous environmental cost it entails.

How Gold Is Mined
Mines are either blasted or dug in order for workers to gain access to gold-laced ore. Open pit mines are typically created with the liberal use of explosives (e.g. dynamite). Large pieces of land are blown open, wreaking havoc with the nearby ecosystem. Tunnel mines, on the other hand, are created via excavation. While seemingly less destructive than open pit mines, tunnel mines also cause environmental problems.
Once a mine has been created, the challenge then turns to digging up, and getting rid of, waste rock.

The Problem With Waste Rock
While both mining methods (e.g. open pit and tunnel) produce a significant amount of waste rock, much more is produced during the creation of an open pit mine. In both cases, however, there is so much rock produced that removing it is cost-prohibitive. So, it is piled near the mine. Several tons, rich with sulfur, sit out in the open. This is thought to contribute to the production of acid rain.

Acid rain poses another environmental issue. The rain washes over the rock, which contains lead, mercury, and other metals that can be harmful to the ecosystem. These metals are released from the rocks, and can eventually drain into the environment.

Heap Leaching Explained
Heap leaching is the process used to separate precious metals from ore. It is usually done by first grinding the large ore-rich rocks excavated from the mine into smaller pieces. Then, these pieces are irrigated with cyanide. The cyanide "leaches" out the gold and other precious metals, all of which land in a liner located beneath the small rocks.
This process can require several weeks, and usually involves a significant volume of cyanide. As you might expect, there is a negative environmental effect.

Getting Rid Of Cyanide
The "pregnant solution" (i.e. the mixture of cyanide, gold, and other metals) is taken to a processing plant for chemical treatment and separation. Recall from earlier that the production of a single gold ring takes several tons of ore. Once the gold has been separated, the waste material (called tailings), must be dumped.

These tailings include the cyanide used during the heap leaching process as well as other harmful hard metals. They are often dumped into the environment, which causes additional problems for the surrounding ecosystem. Such kind of pollution is devastating for the environment, as these wastes are poisonous and harmful.

Selling Your Gold Is Good For The Environment
The mining process described above produces a stunning amount of waste. Most people who buy gold jewelry have little idea regarding the environmental impact their purchase decision poses. You can reduce this impact by selling your old gold jewelry online.
When you sell your pieces to a refiner, the gold content is extracted and smelted. It is then sold to jewelry and product manufacturers for use in new products. Your gold is essentially recycled, which makes mining new gold less necessary for meeting the market's demand. While new customers will remain unaware of the recycled gold, you'll know that you're improving the environment.

Furthermore gold mining and diamond mining have a negative impact on the people who are mining these resources as usually the conditions by which these resources are extracted are inadequate for the miners and in most of the cases many miners are either injured, catches a disease or dead!. Many countries that have huge reserves of gold or diamonds are actually developed countries that are suffering from many problems like hunger and poverty. In addition to these problems, these countries suffer from civil wars, corruption of the political parties and regimes that are not willing to share the profits of gold of diamond mining with the public. most of the revenues go to international companies that only care about increasing their profits. Also in some cases the revenue from selling such precious resources is dedicated to buy weapons and mercenaries. 

Another reason to sell your gold is to take advantage of the recent high price. Not only will your decision help preserve the environment, but you'll be able to enjoy a healthy injection of funds in the process.

 All in all I think that action should be taken in order to reduce the environmental impact of mining in general and gold mining in specific, large companies must be forced to apply better mining conditions and must be monitored by a world wide organization (e.g. unitied nations organization) as the governments of the countries where mining is taking place don't have sufficient environmental awareness.

Help save the environment by recycling old gold, old jewelry with a refinery such as Refinity.com. Recycle and sell gold coins to make a few dollars and do your part to save the planet.

E-Waste Market Size Continues to Grow

 The disposal of electronic waste is pretty much affected by cost concerns resulting in as much as 80 percent of e-waste ending up overseas where it is recycled in an un-environmentally friendly way.

In countries including China, India and Nigeria, the precious metals are removed by hammers, gas burners and bare hands, which results in lead and mercury being leaked into the air. Safety costs in the U.S. make shipping off these electronics to other countries a more cost-effective measure, as it can cost up to 10 times more to recycle electronics in the U.S.

Foreign countries are starting to crack down though, as Hong Kong authorities already returned 85 containers of electronics in 2007, including 20 from the U.S. China also now produces one million tons of e-waste itself according to Greenpeace China, and this number is on the rise.

As every thing in this world is based on profitability, many companies prefer to ship these wastes to places where the man power is cheaper and where quality and environmental standers are lower. Then we'll wind up in a closed loop that will not help our environment. We need to force companies to recycle for the sake of earth and not for the sake of making piles of money.

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E-Waste Market Size Continues to Grow

Paper or Plastic Which is Green

Almost everyone has heard that to help the environment at the grocery store you need to choose paper bags over plastic. But why is this? And with new manufacturing technology, does that adage still hold true?

In a study done in 1990, paper and plastic bags were assessed based on both the energy used to produce the bags and the pollutants produced from the bags. The study had interesting results. Researchers found that products of two plastic bags used only 87% of the energy used to produce one paper bag. To produce a paper bag, high amounts of coal, wood, and petroleum are used, resulting in a total energy usage of 1,680 kilojules (kj). Plastic bags, on the other hand, use petroleum and natural gas, and use only 1,470 kj to produce two.

In looking at the pollutants generated by both plastic bags and paper, plastic bags again came out the winner. Researchers divided the pollutants into three different waste categories: solid, atmospheric, and waterborne. In every category, two plastic bags produced less pollution than did one paper bag. There are flip sides to the argument, however.

While plastic takes less energy to produce than paper, and produces less pollutants, paper can be composted, while plastic cannot. Also, a common energy source to produce plastic bags is nuclear fission, which results in radioactive waste – a potentially harmful pollutant in its own right. So what is the right answer? Unfortunately, there is no clear cut winner. If you really want to be as contentious as possible when bagging your groceries, bring your own string or cloth bags that can be reused.

Nuclear Power Not a Green Source of Energy

Nuclear power plants are fueled by uranium, a naturally-occurring element found in the Rocky Mountains and in countries such as Canada, Australia and South Africa. The nearly infinite energy that is stored in uranium atoms makes nuclear power possible.

The interaction between three "heavy" elements - two types of uranium and a form of plutonium -- creates a chain reaction that can be harnessed to generate electricity. The nuclear reaction generates heat that is used to boil water to create steam to drive a turbine to generate electricity. Like fossil fuels, uranium is a finite non-renewable resource.Though its abundant source of energy but its environmental hazards are full of risks and hazards. 

At present, over a hundred commercial nuclear power reactors operate in 33 states. Still, no new nuclear power reactors have been ordered in over two decades.

What are the environmental impacts?

Some tout nuclear power plants as a "clean" electricity source since the nuclear plants themselves do not release any of the "traditional" power generation air pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide or nitrogen oxides. Nevertheless, the requirements for the operation of nuclear power plants result in environmental impacts, including air emissions, at all stages of the uranium fuel procurement process. 

While plant operations do not result in air emissions similar to those of fossil plants, nuclear plants can release small amounts of airborne radioactive gasses, such as carbon-14 and iodine-131.

Uranium mining mimics techniques used for coal and similar issues of toxic contamination of local land and water resources arise -- as do unique radioactive contamination hazards to mine workers and nearby populations. Abandoned mines contaminated with high-level radioactive wastes can continue to pose radioactive risks for as long as 250,000 years after closure. 

In the nuclear fuel processing process, the uranium enrichment process depends on great amounts of electricity, most of which is provided by dirty fossil fuel plants releasing all of the traditional air pollution emissions not released by the nuclear reactor itself. Two of the nation's most polluting coal plants in Ohio and Indiana, for example, produce electricity primarily for uranium enrichment. In addition, the fuel processing produces radioactive wastes, which must be adequately stored and sequestered to minimize the risk of radioactive release.

Moreover nuclear planets pose too much risk in areas that are subject to earth quakes, as of what happened in Japan and there nuclear planets that were on the verge of a meltdown. Such meltdowns are considered as a major failure in a nuclear power plant's cooling systems, where fuel rods melt within a matter of seconds. The heat from the uncontrolled reaction can melt everything it comes into contact with. Catastrophic accidents could injure or kill thousands of people. These risks should be added to the high environmental price of producing electricity from nuclear reactors.   

Nuclear plants that rely upon water for once-through cooling systems require two-and-a-half times as much water as fossil fuel plants. The impact on water resources, aquatic habitats, and fish are therefore more significant with nuclear power plants than any other power generation technology (with the possible exception of hydroelectric facilities themselves). The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station located in southern California consumes 500 metric tons of croaker and white fish annually, the equivalent catch of seven million recreational fishermen.

Some of the most serious impacts linked to the generation of electricity on land can also be attributed to nuclear plants. Whereas the amount of solid wastes generated at nuclear plants is relatively small, these radioactive wastes pose health risks that exceed that of any other source of electricity. It is quite possible that these radioactive wastes will be stored for a century or more at existing nuclear plant sites, a prospect that may preclude any future re-uses of these contaminated lands.

We are not in favor of producing electricity from fossil fuels too, but we'd like to aware people that nuclear power can't be considered as renewable nor clean source of electricity. Clean and renewable energy must be 100% sustainable and 100% clean and free of radioactive risks.  

The risk of this type of catastrophic accidents, and the subsequent release of massive quantities of radioactive materials, carries severe consequences for all forms of life.

Additional Information:

Nuclear Energy Institute

U.S. Dept. of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA): "Nuclear and Uranium Information at a Glance" please click here

Union of Concerned Scientists: How Nuclear Power Works