Easy To Be Green?

It's easier being green than it used to be…

When I first set up house and decked my home with household goods, I must admit there was not a single non stick pan in sight. I was utterly convinced that not only does that chemical coating give you cancer, but that it was killing birds as well. Did I mind scrubbing a few saucepans to help the planet? Not at all.

Three months later, after spending ridiculous amounts of time scrubbing pans, I took myself back to the department store and invested in a full set of Teflon enriched pots and pans. Call me a piker if you like.

Things were a little bit different then. It was just wasn't easy being green. Recycling programs were basically non existent beyond a compost heap. There were no energy companies that offered to use renewable sources. You got laughed at if you rode a bike to work and there were certainly no hybrid cars. In the last five years the Green Movement has come along in leaps and bounds, making it much easier to be kind to the environment.

Not everyone is as much as a hypocrite as I am, many people stick to their non-non-stick pledge and rely on good old elbow grease. Having spent many an evening scrubbing lasagna baked on to the bottom of a pan, I salute them.

The good news is we may no longer have to decide between poisoning birds and extreme arm muscle fatigue. Thermalon launched there GreenPan line back in 2007 and have recently expanded the range. The GreenPan line replace PFOAs (FHOG), the chemical which when heated releases dangerous toxins into the atmosphere. The EPA has also branded PFOAs as a carcinogenic. Instead of PFOAs the pans are coated with a ceramic based non-stick coating.

Yes, I am a lazy greenie. I'll recycle more now that my local council has provided a bin for me, and I'll buy the GreenPan line, because I really am terrible at washing dishes.

Many brands in the household appliances market have followed suit from GreenPan, bringing out green friendly product lines. It's becoming easier than ever to deck out your home with green friendly fixtures and appliances. Have you noticed now that being green is fashionable how much more accessible environmentally friendly options have become? It's not a bad thing by all means, in fact it's fantastic. If only someone could go back to 1984 and have started the ball rolling then.

Of course, nothing is greener than choosing appliances which are energy saving and water efficient. In most places, law now requires all new appliances to be sold with a rating displaying this efficiency.

Water saving taps are becoming more common in homes these days. Most retailers offer water efficient shower heads and taps. Remember, a leaking tap even at a slow drip can waste 22 litres of water in a day.