Have you ever wondered how electricity is produced and how it hurts the environment? Is this whole ‘go green and save energy’ kick for real? If you knew how electricity is produced you would know that the kick really is for real, and you might decide to join in and go green yourself.

How electricity is produced and gets to your home can happen in one of two ways. The first is by using fossil fuels, coal, to heat water in order to produce vapor. The vapor is ten sent through a turbine (like the blades of a fan) that is magnetized, which ends up in the power lines and then to your home. The part about how electricity is produced that is bad for the environment is the use of fossil fuels. Coal is a natural resource that has to be mined. Coal mining is taking this resource from the earth faster than the earth can produce it. The burning of coal to heat the water is also polluting the atmosphere.

The other possibility of how electricity is produced in your area is by water being pushed through dams. These are called hydro-dams. The turbine is in a tunnel, or series of tunnels, which creates the electricity that goes to the power lines. This doesn’t produce the pollution in the air like the burning of coal does, but it creates havoc on the natural eco system in the waters that it uses by killing fish and by reducing and forcing the natural movement of the rivers.

Now, are you interested in knowing how electricity is produced in an eco-friendly world? Electricity can easily be produced using the sun (solar power), the wind (wind power) and the water (hydro power). These can be done in ways that generate electricity without ever causing pollution or using up natural resources that might be in limited supply.

Green building is not the wave of the future, it is the wave of the present. It should have been the wave of the past and the environment wouldn’t be in as much trouble as it is in today. If you can’t turn your home into an eco-friendly home, then do what you can to support green building in your area. Talk to your local politicians and tell them how electricity is produced and alternative solutions that you support.