eco-friendly - Our Green Health

What Are the Best Ways to Control Garden Pests without Chemicals?

17/12/2021 by Hannie Mommers

It’s December at the moment and back in the Netherlands, I would never have to worry about pest control at this time. But over here in Spain, my second crop is in the kitchen garden. And the grasshoppers have a field day on my plants.

Whenever possible I try to avoid killing insects. I prefer them to move over to the woods behind our house or to the campo (the Spanish countryside). But I also want to eat my harvest so if they are very persistent, I take bigger measures.

What are the best ways to control garden pests without using chemicals or artificial toxins? I have listed 10 methods in this article.

What are Great Green Presents for the Holidays to Give? 11 Tips

07/12/202124/11/2021 by Hannie Mommers

The holiday season is on its way. Maybe it’s early to talk about the presents we want to come up with to give to our family and friends.

On the other hand, Black Friday (the last Friday of the month) is coming as well. Lots of companies have nice offers either on that specific day or, to avoid crowds, spread out over a few days or weeks.

So why not be frugal and save ourselves the stress of December by thinking about green presents for the holidays now.

How to Diminish our Ecological Footprint? Some (Mostly Easy) Tips

03/11/2021 by Hannie Mommers

An individual’s ecological footprint tells how much space he or she needs to live. We are not talking about how big your home is here, but how your lifestyle impacts the environment and how we can diminish our ecological footprint.

Ecological footprints are also referred to as CO2 footprints. Are you an emission-intensive person or do you live frugally?

You cause less environmental damage with a smaller footprint. It has been shown in a number of studies that if everyone had an average footprint of 1.8 hectares, nature could restore itself.

What is a Sustainable Lifestyle and How We Can All Achieve this

20/09/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

The question of what is a sustainable lifestyle precedes our knowledge of how we can achieve such a lifestyle. We need to agree on some notion of what sustainability is before we can actually make an effort.

Often to our frustration, we’re all aware that the scope of our sustainable actions is limited. However, by taking all individual actions together, we can make a substantial difference.

At the core of this effort is our understanding that moderation is the key to a sustainable lifestyle. Less is more. Being aware of this saves the environment and when we’re lucky also our health, our time, and our money.

Is Burning Wood Sustainable or Bad for the Environment?

17/09/2021 by Hannie Mommers

From a young age, I have hated fireplaces and open fires. Probably because my bronchitis often made it difficult to breathe freely and because I didn’t like the smell.

Until I was 15, my parents had a coal stove. It partly had the same disadvantage as a fireplace: if you stand in front of it your face burns and at the back, your tushy freezes off. I thought the central heating that we had, later on, was a lot more pleasant.

For many, a fireplace represents coziness. But is burning wood sustainable or bad for the environment? And if it’s the latter, are there sustainable alternatives?

How Can you Be Sustainable while Traveling around the World?

15/09/202115/09/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

How can you be sustainable while traveling around the world might be a weird topic, hardly being able to travel at all because of the covid rules.

However, when you have the time to mesmerize about traveling, this will perhaps lift up your spirits a bit.

If so, you might as well take the opportunity to design a sustainable travel plan. This is good for you, for the environment, for biodiversity, for the climate, and for the people that live in the countries and places you wish to visit.

How can Old Me versus New Me Inspire Us to New Green Living Ideas?

03/09/2021 by Hannie Mommers

We were on a terrace having tapas with an acquaintance, talking about sustainability. At some point, he remarked he didn’t plan to do anything sustainable because “you either do it 100% or you don’t do it at all”.

It hit a nerve. Such nonsense, a statement like that. If we all do a little bit the world will turn into a better direction than where we are heading now.

Inspired by posts I saw with the title Old Me versus New Me, I have collected and come up with all kinds of ideas of old me/new me. There is bound to be an idea in this list that can inspire you as well.

What is Eco-Friendly Household Cleaning and why We All Need to Switch

19/08/202116/08/2021 by Tom van Oosterhout

What is eco-friendly household cleaning and why is it not a very popular subject? Greenpeace and other environmental advocates do not waste any words on eco-friendly household cleaning.

This is partly because they believe that environmental problems can only be solved by pressurizing governments to take on big multinational corporations.

Although this is a comprehensible tactic, it denies the power consumers can exercise. And actually have to exercise.