A very merry eco Christmas: How to decorate a Christmas tree in a pot

Christmas is my favourite holiday and I just can't imagine it without the wonderful decorated Christmas tree. But, in the same time, I know that this tradition isn't quite environmental friendly (which is a very important subject for me) and there's a little battle going on in my mind: should I give up the nicest Christmas tradition and do a good deed for the planet? Well, fortunately there is a great solution to this problem: use a Christmas tree in a pot!

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You can find tree in pots almost everywhere now, but remember to ask your supplier where the trees come from and choose a locally grown tree. The big advantage of the potted tree is that it allows you to grow it outside and use it again next year, reducing the environmental impact. If you can't take care of the potted tree until the next Christmas, then you can rent one from a specialized company. They will bring the tree in a pot at your home, then they will take it after the holidays and replant it at their tree farm until next Christmas. You can even buy it and use the same potted tree year by year.

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Before getting to the decorating ideas, I have gathered here a few tips on caring for the potted Christmas tree.

• To make sure the tree will last in the house for the holiday season, it would be best to display it in a cool room (when possible). If not, keep it away from the heaters and bring them indoors as late as possible - a few days before Christmas would be ideal. 

• Do not keep living tree in the house any longer than 10 days, but if it looks unhappy, put it back outside even sooner. Be sure it gets all the water it needs. 

• After Christmas, you can plant the tree in your garden or send it back to the tree nursery.

• If you're using lights for decorating the living Christmas tree, make sure the light bulbs don't heat too much - LED lights would be better.

• Use ornaments that are not too big, so you won't destroy the branches.

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A perfect eco-friendly Christmas would mean a living Christmas tree decorated with eco-friendly ornaments - made of wood and other natural or recycled materials, and lighted with solar power. You can go completely eco or just stick to the living tree, it's your choice and it depends on the budget and time available. If you want to try it, here are some ideas:

• You can buy or create ornaments made of natural materials, like organic cotton, silk, hemp, wood.

• You can recycle various items and transform them in new ornaments.

• Remember that less is more in decorating - do not overuse ornaments. Clutter does not look good. 

• Use energy-efficient LED lighting. The LED bulbs can save 90% on power costs and will last longer.

• For the gifts, use sustainable wrapping paper or any other natural material.

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Leonardo DiCaprio's amazing eco-resort in Belize

Leonardo DiCaprio is not just a very talented and famous actor, but also a very passionate environmentalist. That's why he spends part of his fortune in creating and supporting really cool environmental projects. What has this to do with design? Well, his latest project is an ecologically sustainable luxury resort off the coast of Belize and the first renderings have just been made public.

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The exclusive resort is called Blackadore Caye, A Restorative Island, after the Central American island on which it will sit, and it will open in late 2018. The actor hopes thereby to create a new model for green hospitaly, according to businessinsider.com.

Blackadore Caye will feature 36 resort bungalows and 36 estate homes, powered by 100% solar energy. Besides the luxury hotel resort, which will be centered on health, wellness and sustainability, there will also be a research station on climate change and habitat impacts, leading restoration programs and more. The entire Blackadore Caye development is being designed to meet the Living Building Challenge, a green building system. Each building is completely powered by solar energy, working within the water balance of the site and free of toxic chemicals. The site design has been carefully analysed by biologists and ecologists, who provide guidance for how to restore habitat and increase biodiversity even when building infrastructure. Over half of the island will be maintained as a wildlife preserve. Among other green features are local organic foods, zero fossil fuel use on-island, 100% solar energy, composted waste systems and green materials.

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According to the New York Times, though unpopulated, the island's beaches and reefs suffer from overfishing, an eroding coastline and deforestation of the mangrove tree population. The experts will also plant approximately 20,000 new red mangrove trees around the island, will reintroduce native species and will fortify the shoreline by adding rocks and sand. Guests will also be invited to work on some restoration projects if they want.

It sounds like the perfect place for an eco-holiday... if you can afford it.

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The green home: Tesla's solar roof comes in 4 architectural styles

If I could build my own house right now, I would definitely love to have a Tesla roof. I am a journalist specialized in environment and science, but also passioned about interior design and architecture - as you can see on this blog. Last week, Elon Musk announced that his company, Tesla, will build and sell its own line of solar panels to combine with its battery storage system. These news really made my day and I hope this project will be very successful.

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Nothing completely new here, but the fact is that Tesla's system will allow homeowners to replace the entire roof with solar panels connected to an updated Powerwall 2 battery pack, making it much simpler for homes to be entirely powered by solar power.

And this is not all: even more amazing is that these solar panels don't look like the big ones you're used to seeing on the roofs, but like normal roof tiles. You don't even guess that they are actually solar panels.The solar tiles integrated into the roof are invisible when viewed from the street, yet are fully exposed to the sun from above, according to Tesla.

We don't know yet how much it will all cost, but according to Elon Musk, it will cost less than a traditional roof combined with projected utility bill savings.

The roof is made of a textured glass tile with integrated solar cells. They are hydrographically printed, which makes each one a "special snowflake tile", Musk says. Even more, the tiles come in four different architectural styles.

1. Textured glass tile

Tesla

Tesla

2. Slate glass tile

Tesla

Tesla

3. Tuscan glass tile

Tesla

Tesla

4. Smooth glass tile

Tesla

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Casa ecologică: Cum ne amenajăm locuinţa pentru a fi prietenoşi cu natura

Cine vrea să fie eco poate face şi alte lucruri bune pentru natură, în afară de reciclarea deşeurilor sau mersul cu bicicleta, precum amenajarea casei astfel încât să fie cât mai prietenoasă cu mediul.

Cel mai uşor pas este cumpărarea mobilei, a accesoriilor şi a vopselurilor de la producători locali, pentru a reduce emisiile de dioxid de carbon din timpul transportului lor.

În al doilea rând, un design interior ecologic înseamnă folosirea unor materiale naturale şi organice. Renunţaţi la plastic, metal şi placaje. Materialele naturale sunt întotdeauna bune şi sunt foarte rezistente în timp.

Pentru pereţi, folosiţi vopseluri ecologice, dar şi pietre de râu, ceramică sau lemn, pentru un aspect deosebit. Podeaua poate fi acoperită cu parchet din lemn - bambus, mai ales, sau piatră.

Bineînţeles, mobila trebuie să fie din lemn. Pentru un aspect mai apropiat de natură, optaţi pentru mobila din ratan.

Dacă doriţi neapărat un şemineu, alegeţi unul care funcţionează pe bioetanol şi fiţi atenţi şi la electronice şi electrocasnice, pentru a consuma cât mai puţină energie.

Accesoriile interioare trebuie să fie şi ele prietenoase cu mediul: puteţi alegere vaze de sticlă sau din lut, coşuri împletite, cufăre vechi de lemn, frunze uscate sau rămurele de copaci căzute pe jos. O idee bună este să refaceţi obiectele de mobilier natural vechi, pentru a le refolosi. Cumpăraţi covoare doar din materiale naturale, precum cele de lână, iută, sisal, reciclate sau bumbac organic. La fel, restul materialelor din casă, precum pernele sau canapelele, trebuie să fie făcute din bumbac organic, cânepă, in sau bambus.

Citeste mai mult pe RTV.NET: http://www.rtv.net/casa-ecologica-cum-ne-amenajam-locuinta-pentru-a-fi-prietenosi-cu-natura-foto_50459.html#ixzz2AgUwAIhw

 

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