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Road-Tripping in an Electric Vehicle: 4 Tips for Success

June 25, 2020 0

There are a lot of different cars on today’s roads — and with a PwC forecast estimating 107 million vehicles will be manufactured globally in 2020, there are going to be even more in the next few years. And while having a vehicle is often necessary, CO2 emissions are at an all-time high, partly due to vehicle use. This is one of the many reasons more and more people are choosing to purchase electric vehicles (EVs). But if you’re traveling this summer, you may be wondering how to plan your trip with your EV. Lucky for you, we have a few great tips in this article.

Drive Smart and Save Your Battery

EV drivers have to make the most of a charge — this is why it’s important to drive smart. When you’re trying to get the most out of your car’s battery, you should accelerate and brake carefully. If you slam on either the gas or brakes regularly, your charge is going to go down more quickly. Don’t forget to use your accessories wisely, too. Additionally, you should always charge your vehicle right before you leave so you can start off with a full charge. And remember to keep charge times in mind to ensure you stay on schedule. With U.S. manufacturing producing 18.2% of goods globally, EVs have improved drastically over the past few years, but you still need to treat your car with care.

Plan Your Stops Ahead of Time

When you’re on a road trip, you’re usually rushing to get to your final destination in excitement. But when you’re driving in an EV, you need to plan to stop frequently. So when you’re planning your route and travel time, make sure to account for multiple stops. Not only will EVs require more stops than regular cars, but the stops will probably take longer — it takes more time to charge an EV than to fill up a gas tank. But with the global specialty gases market expected to exceed $14 billion by 2026, EV drivers can enjoy saving money and going green compared to regular vehicle drivers.

Go Where Charging Stations Are

Unfortunately, much of the country is still not equipped with electric vehicle charging stations. This is especially true in less populated areas. So when you’re deciding where to travel to in your EV, be mindful of where charging stations are located. Cities and urban areas are a great choice because they’re more likely to have multiple charging stations you can utilize. While there are plans in place to get more EV charging stations in place in less populated areas, for now, you should stick to high-traffic areas. This way, you won’t have to worry about being stranded without a way to charge up.

Expect the Unexpected

When you’re driving a traditional vehicle, it can be fairly easy to simply hop in the car and take off with no plan in mind. But this isn’t a smart thing to do with an EV. Running out of battery juice far away from a charging station can be bad news. This is why you need to plan for the worst and expect the unexpected. You should always have a backup plan, like knowing about a charging station before your planned stop, just in case. With 5.5 million car accidents occurring every year and millions of cars breaking down on the roads, there’s no telling what may happen. So be prepared for anything that may come up along the way.

Driving an electric vehicle is a great way to do your part to help the environment. But because road trips in an EV can be a little more tricky, keep these tips in mind to ensure everything goes according to plan.

3 Ways Eco-friendly Living Will Save You Money

June 23, 2020 0

You’re never too late to begin making changes that can alter the course of the Earth’s existence. Plus, sustainable living provides plenty of opportunities for families to live more fulfilling lives and save more money to spend on new experiences such as education and getaways. Of course, money isn’t the be-all and end-all. But it certainly helps to have some form of a financial cushion to help you bounce back through tough times, more so now than ever. And it’s a welcomed incentive as part of a person’s effort to live a greener life.

Renewable Energy Sources

Powering our homes, from TVs to lightbulbs, appliances to hot showers, is costly, not to mention incredibly harmful to the environment. However, with a bit of research and a willingness to change your existing energy sources, it doesn’t need to be that way. 

Examples of renewable energy sources include energy created with solar panels using the sun’s rays, and wind turbines using the wind. 

If you shop around online, you should be able to find an energy company who only provides renewable energy to your area. 

Otherwise, an alternative and increasingly popular option are to invest in community solar, which consists of multiple members of the public paying for a solar project to be built and supply energy to each member. Solar energy is a cost-efficient energy source, particularly when you’re sharing the investment with other people from your neighborhood. It’s definitely worth considering.

Switch Up Transport

Another effective eco-friendly solution that benefits both you and the environment is changing your usual form of transport. From push bikes to electric-powered bikes (electric generated by pedaling), there are multiple alternative transport solutions you and your family can use to get around.

The running costs of a car, in particular, amount to hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars a year. Selling your vehicle will enable you to put aside a substantial amount of cash for your kids’ college fees or your early retirement. Not to mention, you’ll significantly reduce your carbon footprint.

Vegetable Patch

Homemade compost, seeds from some of your favorite fruits and vegetables, and a homemade greenhouse are all you need to begin nurturing and growing your very own crops. 

Vegetables cultivated by farmers are often sprayed with multiple, harmful pesticides that pollute the atmosphere. Furthermore, an extensive amount of fuel is used to run transportation, which ships the food to the local store, causing more damage to the air. And the food is likely wrapped, sometimes with non-bio-degradable packaging, non-bio-degradable, meaning more trash is transported to the landfill.

However, by growing food at home in your garden, you’ll eliminate the process above, which applies damaging pressure to the environment. And in turn, create healthy organic food, which will cost you next to nothing compared to purchasing food from the shops.

Living a sustainable life and utilizing eco-habits offers much more than fresh and healthy vegetables for your family. As highlighted above, it can also provide you more money to create a better, more fulfilling future for you and your loved ones.

 We can never have enough of Nature. – Henry David Thoreau

The Daily Eco-Habits We Should All Utilize

June 21, 2020 1

While there are many crucial problems facing the world right now, it’s true that bettering ourselves where we can will still make a difference. No matter how powerless you may feel in the midst of a pandemic, or with sweeping political issues causing conflict in countries around the world, we can all act locally and try to be better people in our own lives. If more people thought that way, the change would happen overnight to some degree, as we each share a burden of responsibility to this end.

Yet, many of us are ill-equipped to give the most thought-out and lifetime-researched political ideas to a large audience, nor can we make massive systemic change overnight. However, we can focus on issues that are becoming more relevant by the day, such as the ecological crisis that elevates our environmental awareness each day.

So, what habits can we integrate into our lifestyles, habits that are sustainable, a keener alternative, and more importantly, those that offer a real, measurable effect? Let’s explore these questions together:

Eco Fashion

We would heavily recommend reading our excellent guide to eco-fashion in 2020. As more and more people are conscious of their environmental impact, knowing where to source sustainable clothing and to make the most of fashion in this light will become a popular new method of developing and benefiting from ethical daily habits. Furthermore, eco fashion alternatives allow us to support vital initiatives that truly do care about the environment, and away from clothes sourced in sweatshop conditions abroad, or other less friendly areas. This way, your conscience can stay clean even as you look stylish.

Eco Home Design

With the best planning architects, eco home design allows us to manage a property in the right way, renovating with an eye on our carbon footprint. From conservation areas that make the most of natural lighting, to better organizing space for an indoor garden, or finding the best roofing designs to allow natural solar integration in your energy system, the more you can reduce your power intake or pull from sustainable, renewable sources, you’ll be more likely to ensure your home is a stable, environmentally sensitive place to inhabit. The more this becomes the norm, the better.

Our Travel Impact

Now that lockdown is starting to end, we can consider the choices we make moving around this world. It can be that we purchase a bicycle to get to work instead of using public transport, a measure that can also protect us for the time being. Furthermore, it may be that using Uber carpool options or giving a friend a lift to work instead of taking two separate cars helps you move forward with conscientiousness. It may even be, if you have the means, that trading your vehicle in for a hybrid or eclectic option can make a significant impact. The more you can approximate differing solutions like this, the better your results will be.

With this advice, you will be sure to develop eco-habits that affect your everyday.

9 Tips for Keeping your Family Safe from Sharks this Summer

June 21, 2020 1

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As you already know, my family loves the ocean. We spend the majority of our free time paddleboarding, swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, surfing, and free-diving. Our love for the ocean includes everything that lives in the ocean. There are many creatures that inhabit that ocean that humans may find dangerous – especially after all of the media coverage surrounding some recent shark attacks. While I understand that some people may find sharks to be terrifying, the ocean is their home and we are simply visitors. However, as a family, we have a realistic view of these animals and follow the rules of the ocean to help ensure no harm comes to the sharks or our family.

Eben learned how to swim before he could walk or talk, he was almost 6 months old. He is a natural in the water – it is the one place where he feels completely at ease. When it comes to the ocean, he has no fear – he has been stung by jellyfish, bitten by countless creatures, stepped on a sea urchin and even tore his leg open kneeling on the ocean floor. However, all of these incidents have not changed his view of the ocean, it is still his favorite place on Earth.

I am not as adventurous as Eben or the mister, I am the cautious one – the one always on the lookout for possible dangers. We have swum and snorkeled with sharks many times and we have never felt threatened by them. In fact, we have nothing but love and respect for these amazing creatures. Since I am so cautious and a natural planner, I have tips that I live by to keep my family safe in the ocean. I am not trying to scare you, you are more likely to be hurt by a toilet than a shark! However, if you are hitting the beach this summer, read on and take note, these tips can help to keep your family safe.

#1: What’s Going On?
The first thing to consider before even getting into the water is to stay on top of what is happening in the ocean in your area. A great place to start is at the lifeguard station – they will have a sign that will outline any dangers for the day. Check the news, have there been reports of whale migration, baitfish or seals in the area? If so, stay out of the water. Also, if sharks are migrating through the area, it is a good idea to steer clear of the water too.

#2: It’s All in the Sky
Waters tend to be cloudy at dusk and dawn – and if you can’t see well through the cloudy water, a shark won’t be able to either. Many causes of shark bites happen simply as a case of mistaken identity. Also, if it is overcast or stormy, going in the ocean isn’t recommended – again the water is usually cloudy and incoming storms can stir up bait fish, the last thing you want to do is get between a shark and its prey.

#3: Watch for Fishermen 
I don’t recommend being in the water anywhere near fishermen. Whether the fishermen are simply fishing, cleaning the fish in the water, dumping fish guts into the water, or chumming, it’s a good idea to steer clear of the area. Sharks have an amazing sense of smell and taste and fish guts in the water may attract them to the area. Some sharks have been known to hang around areas where fishermen fish, snatching the fish from their lines too. So as a rule, we do not swim near anywhere near a fishing pier.

#4: Stick Together
As with many things in life, there is safety in numbers when in the ocean too. I don’t recommend swimming far offshore or even hanging out in the water by yourself. Sharks come into all depths of water. We have seen them in knee-deep water and 30-foot waters – swimming or playing in the water as a group is a much better option. Stick together.

#5: Skip the Shiny
Shiny or metal objects can attract sharks – they are curious creatures, they may just want to check out your bling. When heading out to the sea, remove all of your jewelry – and skip swimsuits with any shiny metal embellishments.

#6 Keep Noise to a Minimum
Stick to playing Jaws at the swimming pool only! Splashing around, yelling and thrashing about may attract sharks to the area. They may think you are a struggling prey or may just be curious to see what all the ruckus is about.

#7: Keep a Safe Distance
Most of the times that we have encountered sharks have been on a reef. We always respect their space, put a lot of distance between us and them, stay close together, all the while remaining calm and still. They have always just swum past or under us – never giving us a second look. Again, I don’t recommend snorkeling or diving at a reef alone and when you do see a shark, don’t freak out and frantically try to swim back to the boat. Stay calm and still, and most likely the shark will just swim by.

#8: Pick a Guarded Beach
If you are on vacation, not familiar on how to read the ocean or just want a little more protection, hit the guarded beach. The lifeguards are not only there to keep us safe from drowning, but they will also alert you as soon as they see sharks, baitfish or other dangerous creatures or weather conditions. As soon as you hear that whistle blow, get out the water until the lifeguard says it is safe to go back in. Also, when you arrive at the beach make sure to read the signs at the lifeguard station if there is baitfish in the area or they have a red/no swimming flag – follow their recommendations.

#9: Don’t Feed the Fish
There have been documented cases of people being bitten by sharks after feeding them. Sharks are highly intelligent creatures if you feed them once they will remember it and come back to the area for more. What happens when someone else swims in that spot and doesn’t have a treat to offer them? They may bite someone on accident simply looking for food. As in all cases, do not feed the wildlife, it isn’t a good idea for you or for them.

How do you keep your family safe from sharks at the beach? Are there tips I may have missed?

Sustainable Lunches for Your Little Ones

June 18, 2020 0

You might think that making a meal for your kids that’s sustainable, healthy, and delicious is about as likely as finding a law firm that delivers results. However, we’d like to happily disagree, as it’s surprisingly easy to craft a meal that nourishes growing bodies while putting satisfied smiles on little faces–and all while staying kind to the Earth.

If you’re new to the sustainable lifestyle, choosing the right foods and beverages can be overwhelming. Fortunately, we’re here today to give you some tips on creating a nutritious and eco-conscious lunch for your child.

Let them be a little picky

Moms everywhere agonize about getting their kids the daily nutrients they need to keep growing big and strong. On the one hand, you want to instill healthy, sustainable habits in your children from an early age. On the other hand, sugar. Lots and lots of sugar everywhere. How do you reconcile this age-old dilemma? One way is by taking your kids shopping with you and letting them make their own food choices.

Of course, where you take them matters, too. A convenience store won’t have a fraction of the nutritional value you’ll find at a farmer’s market. Farmer’s markets provide local, pesticide-free produce, and can also be exciting places to visit in their own right. If you’re looking to educate your children on sustainability while giving them the freedom to make healthy choices of their own, you can’t go wrong shopping at a farmers market.

WIY: Wrap it yourself

If you’re a younger mom, you more than likely remember your school lunch days that were plentiful with individually-packaged snacks. As fun and accessible as these treats were, they offered little nutrition and sustainability. Skipping the packaged foods cuts down on plastic consumption, but you’ll also get the opportunity to create your fun snacks loaded with the vitamins and minerals your kids need to keep moving. Interestingly, the popularity of individually-packaged foods is a vestige of a wartime era when food had to be rationed. However, you can kick these old habits by packing much healthier meals for your kids in reusable wrappers and bags.

Skip the meat and dairy

Animal products tend to have a more significant effect on the environment than their plant-based counterparts. If your kids are carnivores, though, opt for one meatless day of the week (Meatless Mondays, perhaps?). Even by choosing to go meatless for only one day of the week, you can teach your children the importance of doing their part to help their environment. Vegan standbys for kids include hummus wraps, veggie dip packs, and the beloved peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

It’s surprisingly easy to make your children’s lunches both more sustainable and delicious at the same time. By letting your children make their lunchtime choices, you can teach them valuable lessons about caring for your body and the world around you. If that doesn’t make lunchtime a win-win, we don’t know what does. Happy lunch packing!

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