Top ten cheap eco-friendly cars

With the urge for fuel efficient or environmentally friendly cars, there has been a greater consideration given by car companies to build their next electric car which has a very low CO2 emission rate. With all the car companies below is a list of cheaper of those cars.

1: Seat Ibiza, 1.4 TDI 80PS Ecomotive, diesel
CO2 (g/km): 99
Price: £11,000
Seat's probably not the first name you think of when it comes to green cars, but this three-door supermini's both cheap to buy and cheap to run.


2: Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion, 1.4 TDI 80PS
CO2: 99
Price: £11,995
This little diesel has all the solid German build quality you'd expect, plus an incredibly economic engine that'll make the man at the garage a distant stranger.

3: Honda Civic Hybrid 1.4 IMA ES
CO2: 109
Price: £16,300
As the cheapest hybrid in the UK, the Honda Civic Hybrid is a good, small family alternative to the Prius -- so long as you can stomach automatic transmission.

4: Renault Megane Sport Hatch 1.5 dCi 86 Expression 3 door
CO2: 117
Price: £13,000
Like Citroen, Renault's one of the unsung French brands which has been doing a huge amount to cut emissions across its range. This small family car is a particularly economic example.

5: Citroen C3 1.6HDi
CO2: 118
Price: £13,000
The Citroen C3 is an efficient, straightforward car with a big boot and not quite enough legroom at the back.


6: Ford Focus ECOnetic 1.6 TDCi
CO2: 115
Price: £15,800
This is a brand new version of Britain's most popular car. It's incredibly fuel-efficient and, if it's similar to the Ford bioethanol Focus we reviewed, will make for a good reliable drive.

7: Renault New Laguna Hatch dCi 110
CO2: 130
Price: £17,100
As it emits 130g of CO2 per kilometre the Laguna is just on the borderline of being a greener option, and it's also on the pricey side. But it has some of the best green creds you'll get for a car of this size.

8: Skoda Fabia Estate1.4 TDI PD 80PS
CO2: 109
Price: £13,100
No more funny jokes about Skodas. This one is big and clever -- not to mention as cheap and green as estate cars come.

9: Peugot 207 SW, 1.6 HDi
CO2: 119-123
Price: £13,900
Another big but green option. According to Autoexpress it's a little dear, but it has everything you could want in an estate.

10: SMART Fortwo Cabrio
CO2: 113
Price: £10,500
With their heavier frames for safety and structure, it's surprising any open-top cars made this list. But we can fully recommend this Smart, since it emits so little CO2 and only costs mite over £10K.

Source: http://www.smartplanet.com/news/transport/10000902/top-10-cheap-green-cars.htm

How to make compost

1
Choose a site that is handy to your garden and kitchen, yet out of plain sight.
Step
2
You don't need a bin to make compost—a pile of leaves, grass clippings and other yard wastes will do—but a bin keeps the compost contained and looks neater. You can corral compost in a simple wire column made from a 4-foot wide by 8-foot long piece of stiff wire mesh.
Step
3
You can also buy a more permanent bin or build a three-bin compost system made from slatted wood or recycled pallets. Leave the bins open on one side so you can add compost materials and turn the pile easily. Cover the top of the bins with a sheet of plywood if you live in a very rainy climate. A three-bin system allows you to turn the compost from one bin to another and store finished compost until you are ready to use it.
Step
4
The two basic elements that make up compost are green garden debris (grass clippings or old annuals) and brown garden derbis (dry leaves). Green ingredients are high in nitrogen and brown materials are high in carbon. Adding too many greens can make the pile smell bad. Do not add animal waste, meats, oils, dairy, diseased plants, weeds that have gone to seed, or plants treated with pesticides or herbicides to your compost.
Step
5
Compost piles with a balance of one part green to two part brown materials break down fastest. The easiest way to achieve this balance is to add one garden forkful of green material to the pile, top it with two forkfuls of brown material, and mix them together. Continue adding greens and browns until the pile is at least 3 cubic feet (3 ft. x 3 ft. x 3 ft.). Piles of this size heat up quickly and break down faster.
Step
6
Add in a shovelful of finished compost or garden soil to help kick start the microbial activity in your pile.
Step
7
Compost also needs the correct amount of moisture to breakdown. Compost with the right moisture level should feel like a damp, wrung-out sponge. Too much moisture can cause temperatures to fall within the pile (and make it smell). Too little moisture slows down the decomposition rate and keeps the pile from heating up. Check your compost pile's moisture level once a week and adjust it if necessary by adding water to increase moisture or more browns to help dry the pile out.
Step
8
Turn the pile once a week to move material from the outside of the pile in. Turning also keeps the pile from compacting, which reduces airflow and slows down decomposition.
Step
9
You should have finished compost in about two months. You'll know your compost is finished when it no longer heats up and you can't identify any of the original materials. The compost should be dark brown, moist and earthy smelling. Dig finished compost into your garden's soil. You can use partially composted material as mulch.
Step
10
You can also build a very basic, passive compost system by simply piling up leaves, grass clippings and other yard waste into a pile in a secluded corner of your yard. The compost will be ready when the original ingredients are unrecognizable, usually in about 6 to 12 months. Compost at the bottom and middle of the pile typically "finishes" first.

Source: eHow