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Gaurav Gupta

Director - Finance and Operations, Skillment Edu Private Limited

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Do you have a small idea to make this world Green? Mention if you already use it.

My big greening idea is really small. I want to help households in reducing its carbon footprint. Simply by using more efficient lighting, cooling and windows. Budget all of this from ones annual energy spend.

The small acts I use to have a greener presence is to recycle every scrap of paper, even envelops that come in post.

Plus, I never travel to a place if the work can be done over the internet, like banking / shopping / meetings.

Curious for more small ideas that can have a large impact.

Topics: Development Green Green Accounting Green Economy climate change green energy green living
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    dean crawford

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    Jun 13 2012: Really that's all you want?

  • Taylor Woods

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    Jun 12 2012: I had an idea today about growing some fern trees on the side of my house..but instead planting them in pots so come winter time they could be used a x mas trees with out having to cut anything down and every year the xmas trees would get better and beter

  • Mohammad Barouqa

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    Jun 9 2012: Dear sir
    i would like to share an experience that we held last year here in Jordan and allow me to speak about it from a narrow field of view.Last year in Jordan university hospital we collected all the papers that medical students used as sheets and notes that they are not using anymore as well as any waste paper that the clinical departments in Jordan University hospital would like to recycle for 5 days and we sent them for recycling.We were really shocked about the enormous amount of paper collected especially when the last semester ended.I am inclined to believe that such an initiative if we can share it with all the universities and faculties not only within the medical school will really help in making the world more green...

  • peter stonebridge

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    Jun 9 2012: I am buying a house in snowy mtns in Australia. I will be putting my old car (when rego runs out) in backyard. This will be my day lounge, so i do not have to heat house. Old cars in backyards get warm very quickly, i will still be able to use its two batteries to charge laptop,(solar panel on roof of car) and i will make a cuppa using a billy which you simply put a few leaves around and light.

    From the car i will have a view over the valley below, much better than sitting by a gas heater and watching garbage on tv.

  • Mads Østergaard

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    Jun 8 2012: Eat less meat :)
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    Jessica Wang

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    Jun 6 2012: Hey,I was surprised that you never travel to a place if can be done on the internet!
    at least I can't do that.
    In China,I hope it can be less throwaway chopsticks,less sanitary cups and so on.
    In some cities,I hope the garbage recycling should classified in sorts!
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    robert raupp

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    Jun 6 2012: The problem here in Greenville NC is the humidity along with the heat. Luckily I have a lot of trees around me providing shade.

    Good idea Peter. Thats also a good reason to go to work during the day, they have theirs on as well.
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    robert raupp

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    Jun 6 2012: Placed all my electrical devices on power strips, which I have turned off when not using. Use fluorescent light bulbs. Turn on lights only in the room that I am in. And going to see if I can make it though the summer without turning on the AC. Probably the best thing I did to save energy, stop watching so much TV, only turn it one once or twice a week.
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      peter lindsay 30+

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      Jun 6 2012: Hey I live in Newcastle Australia, thats a whole three degrees closer to the equator than greenville and I don't even own an AC. Just go to the mall. They have their AC running anyway. May as well use it.

  • Michael Froemmcke

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    Jun 5 2012: Faith in what? As time goes by more and more people will lose the notion of "intact" environment.
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      griffin tucker 10+

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      Jun 5 2012: personally, i believe a mixture of people and faiths is what keeps diversity flowing properly for ideas that can create solutions, as well as those people who point out problems' weaknesses.


      also, just a note of observation, you can hit reply on most comments so that your comment will appear below the contextual comment that you are replying to.

      • Michael Froemmcke

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        Jun 6 2012: cool ... thank you very much. I am new to this site and still confused. I appreciate your practical hint.
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    Allan Macdougall 30+

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    Jun 4 2012: I save eggshells with the tops cut off, filled with seed compost, to plant seeds in. (The egg-boxes can be used as seed trays to keep the seeded shells upright on a window-sill).

    When the seeds have grown on a bit in the shell, I plant the whole thing out in the soil in their final position. The roots will push their way out of the shell into the soil. Also eggshells act as a good soil conditioner.

  • Enrico Petrucco 20+

    • +3
    Jun 4 2012: Don't drive anywhere.

    I have a bicycle. If the distance is more than 10km then try public transport.

    OK, may be you have to drive: use a motorbike if you aren't planning to carry other people with you EVERY time.

    If you need a passenger car then use a natural gas fueled hybrid electric, it consumes minimal fossil fuel resources per transport mile compared to similar propulsion methods for the same class vehicle:
    http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/10001_well_to_wheels_gge_petroleum_use.pdf

  • Enrico Petrucco 20+

    • +1
    Jun 4 2012: If you have an obsolete item, ANYTHING, then don't junk it...

    FREECYCLE it!!

    and get stuff you need from freecycle too - keep the system working!

  • Enrico Petrucco 20+

    • +1
    Jun 4 2012: Communicate with or join your local Transition Town Movement.
    Actually communicate with any local environmental group...

    if that is too much to ask: find out where your local social enterprises are and support them

    If that is still too much to ask, then I reckon you don't care enough about the environment or society to have even visited this thread anyway...
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    Adam Cross

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    Jun 4 2012: Tree lovers bear with me on this one. I get paper bags when shop. I always ask for paper. The reason I do this however is because paper bags are food too. Food for worms that is. About once a month I take all the paper bags I have saved and shred them. I then mix them into my compost. In the compost pile the paper sheds act in two ways 1) They hold moisture in and speed up the breakdown process 2) they encourage earth worms to eat, grow, flourish etc. Earth worm castings are just about the best ingredient for an organic garden on this planet.
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      Colleen Steen 500+

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      Jun 4 2012: YES!!! Compost is a WONDERFUL thing!!!

    • Enrico Petrucco 20+

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      Jun 4 2012: Hi Adam,
      I think you have been misinformed about the most "green" action for your case scenario.
      It is better to re-use materials. The embodied energy spent in making your paper bags that you shred is wasted.
      To be more "green" I would suggest buying some cotton or hemp bags and using indefinitely. Or at least until over worn and torn up. Then the cotton/hemp can be used for patching clothes, for rags, or composted if necessary.
      Continually obtaining paper bags is wasteful and contributes to logging - even if 100% recycled since the recycled paper would be better used to replace virgin paper elsewhere.

      I honestly can't remember the last time I used a store-supplied bag... I always use my rucksack.
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        Colleen Steen 500+

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        Jun 4 2012: Dear Enrico,
        The question is..."Do you have a small idea to make this world Green? Mention if you already use it".

        Adam apparently chooses paper over plastic, which seems to be accepted as a step in the right direction, and he DOES re-use materials. His idea is not "misinformed" at all.

        You offer another good idea...thanks:>) BTW, I'm sure you know there is also a cost to producing cotton and hemp bags. I use canvas bags which have been passed out for free at conferences, meetings, etc.:>) They last FOREVER!!!
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          Adam Cross

          • +1
          Jun 4 2012: I really like that idea I hate moving my compost across the yard.

        • Enrico Petrucco 20+

          • +2
          Jun 4 2012: I agree Collen, a canvas bag-for-life really does seem to last for life!
          Though I dont really want to get into semantics, shredding paper and feeding to worms is disposal (composting). Though home composting is appropriate for involuntarily consumed paper (junk mail, etc), my point is that one can easily go beyond the "paper or plastic" question and intentionally consume neither.

          Adam, I am sure that you try to be very sustainable and my comment was meant with the best intentions.

          :)
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        Adam Cross

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        Jun 4 2012: I am not sure you realize how much earth worms love shredded paper bags.
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          Colleen Steen 500+

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          Jun 4 2012: It's important to keep those earth worms healthy and content Adam. I LOVE digging into the compost...it is so...earthy!

          Here's another idea, which I started doing a few years ago. I call it "on site composting".

          I lay black plastic between the vegetable plants (recycled bags that potting soil comes in, and I re-use them every year), and all summer, pile compostable matter on the plastic. The sun, on the black plastic generates heat, which facilitates composting, and it serves as mulch while it is composting. At the beginning of the next season, I simply pick up the plastic, the composted material drops into the earth and is worked into the soil. The worms seem happy with the process, and so am I! It saves the old body from moving material around too many times:>)

        • Enrico Petrucco 20+

          • +1
          Jun 4 2012: I suspect your worms "like" the shredding about as much as dried old tree leaves.
          Or about as much as finely chopped cellulosic vegetable waste.

          None of my wormeries have needed paper...

          Any cellulose will do.
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        Colleen Steen 500+

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        Jun 4 2012: Enrico,
        I had a conversation with the worms just the other day...they are really very "flexible"...LOL:>)

        Adam,
        That's why I started "on site composting"...I didn't like carrying things around the yard too many times:>)
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        Colleen Steen 500+

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        Jun 4 2012: I totally agree Enrico....there are many different levels of awareness. I like encouraging every effort to be aware of our environment, because many times, people believe their small efforts do not make a difference, so they don't make the effort.

        Awareness is the first step, and once we start with small steps, it's really fun to move forward...in my humble opinion:>)

    • peter stonebridge

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      Jun 9 2012: Adam, you are spot on. At Lane Cover River National Park Sydney Australia (top camping spot) in the cabins they provide paper bags for you to put food scraps, you then ace these PAPER bags in a special bin and they are fed to the worms. YES they love the paper and the craps inside.

  • Michael Froemmcke

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    Jun 4 2012: The Easter Islander probably didn't believe that they were were carving their last sculpture when they did. So if we cannot make the big changes there is really no point tackling the minuscule issues.
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      griffin tucker 10+

      • +2
      Jun 4 2012: "There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened."
      - Mary Kay Ash
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        Colleen Steen 500+

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        Jun 4 2012: Good one Griffin!
        Reminds me...

        The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it"
        (Chinese Proverb)

        A person who does not want to participate in the care of our environment is depriving him/herself of a lot of pleasure....in my humble perception:>)
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      Adam Cross

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      Jun 4 2012: Come on man have a little faith!
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    David Semitekol

    • +1
    Jun 3 2012: I try very hard to only use green cleaning products. For example, I only use laundry detergent that is EPA approved for the environment. Its a small change in my life and when we have a bunch of little changes we get to have a big change!
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    Deborah Zotian

    • +4
    Jun 3 2012: All lights in my home are CFLs, I've had my attic fully insulated so as not to lose heat in the winter; I shop farmers markets when I can. Another thing - I unplug anything that has phantom power when I leave the house - TVs, microwave, etc. My comptuer is on a powerstrip, so that turns off the monitor, CPU, speakers, printer when not in use. My electric bill shows my average bill is about $30 less/month than my neighbors. It does go up in the summer (I have to use a dehumidifier in the basement in the summer or mold grows from the damp), but it is still relatively low. No A/C - just fans when I'm home, and open windows. Every little bit helps.

  • Michael Froemmcke

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    Jun 3 2012: Well ... more energy could be saved by scrapping navies all together

  • Lee Bruce

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    Jun 3 2012: try to shop the local product only the carbon footprint will be decreased productively
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    Colleen Steen 500+

    • +1
    Jun 2 2012: GARDENS:>)
    http://smugdud.smugmug.com/Quintessential%20Vermont )

    Recycle, reuse, renovate, reconstruct, restore.....BE AWARE of our environment (which sustains us) and the impact we have on it in every single moment!

    I totally agree with you Gaurav...many small steps can make a large impact:>)
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    griffin tucker 10+

    • +2
    Jun 2 2012: paint this stuff on concrete buildings around your city and more specifically and importantly, industrial areas, (or petition your government to)

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120530100416.htm

    it eats pollution! (no kidding!)
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      Colleen Steen 500+

      • +1
      Jun 2 2012: That is VERY COOL Griffin!!!
      I will try to bring that idea to the regional project review committee I serve on, and to developers:>)
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    Debra Smith 200+

    • 0
    Jun 2 2012: If greening had to wait for me to figure out how to turn my roof into a soddy (that is somertime what the immigrants to our Canadian praries fiirst lived in!) it might not happen at my house but I do know how to plant a tree and I have planted many. Your question asked for behaviours I already perform and I think that practical aspect of your question is wonderful!
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    Rafi Amin 20+

    • +2
    Jun 2 2012: 1) I do not call this a project. but I always try to use both sides of a A4 paper & I don't trash it unless both sides of it is not used

    2. Even though my own city is not very clean but I always take my cloth bag while I go for buying food items. Just to avoid plastic bags.

  • Rajeev Seelam

    • +2
    Jun 1 2012: Great idea !!!!!!!!!!!! as u said to share a small idea...that's very simple and hard as well " EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US (humans) MUST TREAT EVERY TREE AS OUR OWN FAMILY MEMBER OR LIKE OUR OWN CHILD "..as we all try to expand our race by letting our successors into this beautiful world,in the like way we all should try to expand the growth of trees or at least should try to stop cutting them... .that's all..hope it will work
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    Debra Smith 200+

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    Jun 1 2012: Plant a tree on your property, on the circle in the subdivision or in any public space that it is permitted.
    It does not have to be expensive- many trees throw off shoots or their seeds implant themselves near the mother tree.
    Your in greening!
    Debra
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      Gaurav Gupta 500+

      • +1
      TED AttendeeTED TranslatorTEDx OrganizerLanguage Coordinator
      Jun 2 2012: That's conventional and simple. I like that.

      I often wonder, what if everyone can have some level of greenery on their roof tops? In warm countries like India our roofs are usually flat, plus we are urbanly cramped for space so there are no gardens in a majority of Delhi houses.
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        Adam Cross

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        Jun 4 2012: I wonder about that quite often, I feel like it would make life more pleasant and the city would be cooler from the extra shade. Not much but 90 degrees is much better than 95 degrees.
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    Gaurav Gupta 500+

    • 0
    TED AttendeeTED TranslatorTEDx OrganizerLanguage Coordinator
    Jun 1 2012: Is there any company that can supply cheap CSP (Concentrated Solar Power) modules for residential use? I find it quite appealing, it cuts my very expensive utility bill, and the cost of CSP can be recovered usually in less than half the life of the module. As long as the company takes care of maintenance as well, I have no hassles investing my cashflows upfront in my utility bill for the whole year.
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    Heather White 10+

    • 0
    Jun 1 2012: Room for allotments in towns and cities is at a premium and many local authorities are selling the land to developers. Petition to have all commercial buildings with flat roofs allocate this area for community or even corporate allotments for their staff's use. Even if some structural work is needed for access, safety, access to water, wind screening and weight loads it will be worth it. The use of containers to grow herbs, salad leaves, veg and some fruit (strewberries, raspberries etc) will not need much room.

    Petition local authorities to undertake thermal image surveys of all buildings - residential and commercial - to see where heat or air conditioned air is leaking. Provide grants to help home owners upgrade insulation but insist commercial buildings resolve their thermal leakage issues.

    All residenital and commercial buildings to be fitted with rain collection and storage systems to run toilet flushing and/or allotments (see point 1)
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