Amongst the barrage of technological advancements, home-improvement appliances constitute a considerable portion demanding its own share of investors and consumers. While there is no denying the numerous advantages that have indeed facilitated a better standard of life, the flip side, however, is rather grim. In our urgency to outdo ourselves by creating faster gizmos that hardly seem to take any time to complete tasks, not all is well and balanced in this technologically driven cityscape. Sadly, our environment is at the receiving end of this story, and, in this article, Guy C Noronha draws our attention to the damage caused to our environment on a daily basis. He also suggests some methods or practices by which we could try and improve the energy efficiency of our gadgets, such as refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners.
We truly live in a wonderful world! Using a tiny, flat gadget that fits in our hand, we can speak to a friend on the other side of the world. Another hand-held device allows us to view a football match—capturing all its excitement and colour—taking place on another continent. Cooking is not the old smoky, sweaty, greasy, and lengthy affair it used to be. Thanks to microwave ovens and pressure cookers, cooking has become an easy task.
These are just a few amongst the various other gadgets that did not exist many years ago. However, such inventions that make our lives simpler come at a price. Nearly all the things we use in our homes are harmful to the environment; they are usually made from materials that exhaust our planet depleting resources that cannot be replenished. Moreover, many of the items use far too much electricity and are often wasteful or poisonous to the environment. Not many are aware of the fact that homes are the world’s largest consumers of electricity. Energy waste is formidable global issue requiring serious involvement of countries to keep it under check. Little acts of carelessness on our part, such as keeping the computer on when not using it or not switching off lights when not in the room, add up to an enormous electricity drain that we can only imagine.
There are several ways to turn our homes green and cut down energy consumption. The question is how? We can get and use products that help to save resources, such as water and energy. We should use products that do not pollute the air, water, and land, especially the common gadgets in our homes.
Refrigerators
In a hot, tropical country such as India, a fridge has become a basic necessity. Over the last 15 years or so, refrigerators have changed quite remarkably. While they may still look more or less the same, their inner workings are not. They have become a lot greener and efficient.
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