LED Lighting

If you use conventional Halogen Bulbs you could be wasting over 85% of all the energy they consume!

Conventional Halogen Bulbs are inefficient and have no real control on the energy they consume – around 85% of its consumption is wasted! When you consider that approximately 30% of your energy usage is attributed to lighting, it highlights the amount of energy that you are potentially wasting. In addition to this, when considering the true cost of a Halogen Bulb, you have to factor in the cost of regular replacements, labor expenses and time needed to change them. These are significant factors, especially when there are a large number of bulbs installed.

LED Halogen replacements can offer a solution that improves efficiency whilst saving costs! Simply fitted into existing sockets, the LED technology consumes 80% less energy than a conventional Halogen bulb, whilst lasting 25 times longer! In addition to this, with the LED replacements working at an improved 85% efficiency they give off very little heat, reducing the risk of injury or fire! Considering these factors and looking at the savings in monthly energy costs, additional bulb purchases and maintenance, it is clear that this is a more financially viable option over standard Halogen bulbs.

Benefits you could experience with LED Halogen Replacements:

• Energy Savings of Over 85% Possible
• Short Payback Times
• Quick & Simple Installation
• Save Cost & Hassle of Bulb Changing
• Very High Light Output
• Lead Free & RoHS compliant

Go to www.GreenLifestore.co.za to buy any of our LED Ligthing Product to help you safe money, energy and reduce your carbon footprint.

SA wine makers to cut carbon footprint

3 February 2010

South Africa is taking a number of steps to maintain its status as one of the world's most eco-progressive winemaking nations. One of these is the introduction of lighter bottles to help reduce the industry's carbon footprint.

From this year, 750ml wine bottles closed with screwcaps and weighing only 350 grams - as compared to 500 grams for traditional bottles - will be available to local wine producers.

"As we raise our export volumes of mostly bottled wines, we also increase our carbon emissions, so it becomes a delicate balancing act to enhance our sustainability profile while pushing up our output," Wines of South Africa (Wosa) CEO Su Birch said in a statement this week.

Wosa is one of the leading champions of the country's efforts to grow, make and market wines in a way that is least harmful to the environment.

Focus on light-weight bottles

While many players in the South African wine industry had actively supported bottle recycling programmes in recent years to reduce their impact on the environment, efforts were now being accelerated to focus on light-weight wine bottles as well.

"The new 350 gram glass bottles for red and white wines have been designed to accommodate screwcap closures, which account for over 65% of South Africa's wine production," said Birch. "They are scheduled for launch by mid-April, in time for the 2010 harvest."

At the same time, the average weight of bottles sealed with corks had been reduced in weight from 570 grams to 460 grams, she said.

According to Consol Glass, South Africa's leading manufacturer of glass containers for the beverage industry, until 2006 the average weight of a 750ml non-returnable wine bottle was 516 grams, which by last year had dropped to 437 grams, a decrease of 15%. The new light-weight bottle will bring down the average still further.

She said the sturdy, lightweight bottles, apart from strengthening South Africa's reputation for environmentally responsible wine production, would also address the demands of leading retailers.

Also keen to enhance their sustainability credentials, the multiple grocer chains were responding to high-profile media and consumer calls for more eco-friendly packaging.

Birch added that alternative wine packaging, such as the wine pouch offered by leading export brand, Arniston Bay, had also been welcomed in many export markets. South African bag-in-box wines were also very popular, particularly in Scandinavia.

Bulk exports, job security

Birch said that while it might seem a good solution to ship more of the country's wines in bulk directly to their export destinations for off-shore bottling, the posed a major problem in that many jobs would be lost during a time when the country was emerging from recession.

She said the wine industry body, SA Wine Industry Information Systems, had calculated that for every 10-million litres of wine shipped in bulk, just over 107 jobs would be lost.

"This figure does not even factor in the multiplier effect that such job losses bring. It has, for example, been reported that for every one of Unilever's direct jobs in South Africa, another 22 workers depend on the company for at least a part of their livelihood. This is an indication of just how crucial each job is to a developing economy such as ours."

The wine industry currently provides direct employment for close on 276 000 people, she said. Last year, South Africa exported 389 million litres of wine. Of the total, less than half - 150.5 million litres - were exported in bulk.

"Fortunately, the volume of bulk exports dropped 18% in 2009, compared with year before, whereas packaged exports rose 7% over the same period," said Birch. "This is not only good for individual brands and for jobs but for the quality standing of Brand South Africa."

100% Biodegradable Packaging for Restaurant and Take away application can be bought at www.Greenlifestore.co.za

South Africa pushes solar geysers

The South African government has introduced a draft framework aimed at ensuring the installation of a million solar-powered geysers in households and commercial buildings in South Africa over the next five years.

Speaking at the Solar Water Heating Conference in Johannesburg, Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said South Africa and the rest of the continent had long under-exploited the power of the sun.

She said that South Africa had in the past relied heavily on coal and oil, which used to come cheaply, and as a result other energy forms were not explored.

"We are now in a situation where tough choices have to be made regarding our energy," Peters said.

She said renewable energy technologies would help to mitigate climate change, and could also help create up to 100 000 new jobs in the country.

Solar water heating

Peters said the continent lagged behind in implementation of solar water heating mainly due to the high costs involved. According to Peters, a typical residential solar water heating system reduces the need for conventional water heating by about two-fifths.

"Investments in renewable energy in Africa remain a challenge," she said, adding however, that she was confident that the five-year target would be met.

"I think the target is easily achievable. We want to save people money."

While renewable energy was more expensive, Peters said that the government had made big strides in developing Renewable Energy Feed In Tariffs (Refit) to incentivise the industry.

State power company Eskom has also offered incentives to pursuade households to turn to solar power.

Go Visit www.GreenLifeStore.co.za for more info on SAVING ENERGY, MONEY and Fighting with LED Lighting, Solar Water Heaters, Geyserwise Control Systems or Eneergy Efficient Shower Heads and taps

We will need two Planets by 2030

The recent downturn in the global economy is a stark reminder of the consequences of living beyond our means. But the possibility of financial recession pales in comparison to the looming ecological credit crunch.

"If we continue with business as usual, we will need two planets by 2030 to keep up with humanity's demand for goods and services," cautions Dr Morne du Plessis, CEO of WWF South Africa, speaking at the launch of the Living Planet Report 2008.

The report, published every two years since 1998, has become widely accepted as an accurate statement of Earth's ability to retain its functional integrity as a "living planet". The Ecological Footprint analysis shows that while global biocapacity - the area available to produce our resources and capture our emissions - is 2.1 global hectares per person.

The average individual footprint worldwide is 2.7 global ha. Thus, we are exceeding the Earth's carrying capacity by about 30% on average.

The report finds that the USA and China have the largest national footprints, each in total about 21 per cent of global biocapacity (the productive area of the earth), but US citizens each require an average of 9.4 global ha (or nearly 4.5 Planet Earths if the global population had US consumption patterns), while Chinese citizens use on average 2.1 global ha per person. Biocapacity is unevenly distributed, with eight nations - the United States, Brazil, Russia, China, India, Canada, Argentina and Australia - containing more than half the world total.

Population and consumption patterns make three of these countries ecological debtors, with footprints greater than their national biocapacity - the United States (footprint 1.8 times national biocapacity), China (2.3 times) and India ( 2.2 times).

According to Du Plessis, the average individual footprints of South Africans sits at 2.1 global hectares per person slightly below the world average of 2.7gha.

"While this seems very positive," says Du Plessis, "We must bear in mind that this does not indicate that you and I are necessarily living sustainable lifestyles. There is still a large gap between rich and poor in our nation and the reality is that this creates a biased perception of individual footprints."

The report also looks at the Living Planet Index (LPI) which reflects the state of the world's ecosystems. The LPI.of global biodiversity, as measured by populations of almost 2,000 species of mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian and fish from around the globe, has declined nearly 30 per cent over the period from 1970 -2005. To give some perspective: the 2006 Living Planet Report showed a decline of greater than 20% in the Global LPI for 1970-2003.

A closer focus shows much more vividly where the losses are occurring with the LPI for terrestrial species generally down by 33 per cent, the Freshwater LPI down 35 per cent and the Marine LPI down 14 per cent. Dramatic losses in our natural wealth are being driven primarily by deforestation and land conversion in the tropics (50% decline in Tropical LPI) and the impact of dams, over abstraction and climate change on freshwater species (35% decline). Pollution, over-fishing and destructive fishing in marine and coastal environments are also taking a considerable toll. Globally, the Grasslands LPI is down 36 per cent.

"In South Africa, grasslands sustain major economic, agricultural, industrial and urban centres," says Du Plessis. "The grasslands in South Africa have an indigenous species diversity which is second only to the Cape Floristic Region." "A decrease in the LPI of grasslands can be attributed to a number of reasons. In South Africa they are one of the most threatened biomes, due to the pressure of unsustainable development and coal mining in particular," explains Du Plessis.

The water footprint
The water footprint of a country is the total volume of water used globally to produce the goods and services consumed by its inhabitants. The new water footprint measures in the report illustrate the significance of water traded in the form of commodities with, for example, a cotton T-shirt requiring 2,900 litres of water in its production.

On average, each person consumes, through direct and indirect means, 1.24 million litres of water per year (about half the volume of an Olympic size swimming pool or nearly 3400 litres per day).

"Around 50 countries are currently facing moderate or severe water stress and the number of people suffering from year-round or seasonal water shortages is expected to increase as a result of climate change," says Dr. Deon Nel, WWF Sanlam Living Waters Partnership Manager.

South Africa is an example of a water scarce country and through projects like WWF's Water Neutral Scheme (in partnership with SAB and the Working for Water Programme) which allows participants to quantitatively balance their water-usage accounts through a three-step process of reviewing, reducing and replenishing water supplies, WWF is actively working to address this issue.

The energy challenge
"Energy production from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas accounted for nearly 45 per cent of the global Ecological Footprint in 2005," adds Richard Worthington, Climate Change Programme Manager for WWF South Africa.

The report suggests some key strategies, represented as "sustainability wedges" which, if combined, could stabilise and reverse the slide into ecological debt and enduring damage to global support systems, by reducing the gap between humanity's footprint and available biocapacity.

"For the single most important challenge - climate change - the report shows that a range of renewable and low emissions "wedges" could meet projected energy demands to 2050 with reductions in carbon emissions of 60 to 80 per cent," says Worthington.

"These "wedges" could include, for example, technological innovations and measures to reduce individual consumption."

"We have only one planet. Its capacity to support a thriving diversity of species, humans included, is large but fundamentally limited. When human demand on this capacity exceeds what is available - when we surpass ecological limits - we erode the health of the Earth's living systems. Ultimately, this loss threatens human well-being," says Du Plessis.

Welcome to Green Life Store

Thank you for visiting Green Life Store. Every product that we sell has been carefully researched and tested to make certain that we offer the safest and greenest products available. If we wouldn't use it for ourselves, you won't find it in our store. We also believe that you shouldn't have to spend a fortune to go green. That is why we carry premium products.

The aim of our site is to provide a wide range of environmentally friendly products for all of your household needs. Through extensive research we have come up with a range of green products that help to reduce our impact on the planet and on our own health and save you money We are constantly looking for new green products to add to our range and if there is anything eco-friendly that you are looking for which we don’t have please let us know at info@greenlifestore.co.za and we will do our best to find it for you. Thank you for visiting The Green Store.

A lot of people are now waking up to the idea of renewable energy and recycling. If you are concerned about the carbon footprint then take a look at our extensive range of innovative energy saving products: from Domestic Wind Turbines & Solar Panels to Energy Saving light bulbs to Solar Geysers.