Portable Wind Turbine – I Want One

 

The Revolver wind turbine by  Frog Design set up is a snap and produces up to 35 W so you can charge up your portable electronic devices while camping or in other remote locations.

 

Read more.

Via:  Rahul Gupta at Ecofriend.com

How Much Land to Feed Your Family

 

This is a wonderful chart from 1bog.org (One block Off the Grid)

 

Really have you ever thought about how much land you would need to meet all your family’s calorie needs for a year. This is a great chart.

 

1bog.org is an inventive group that can help you find the most cost-effective way to have solar power. One Block Off the Grid makes it easier and more affordable for homeowners to go solar by organizing group discounts, vetting solar installers, and providing you with objective information and advice along the way. Our solar advisors don’t work on commission. Their salary is the same whether you end up going solar or not, so the information you receive from One Block Off the Grid is always 100 percent unbiased.

Hat Tip: William Spear

 

 

 

 

 

Your Ecological Footprint

 

 

Do you know how large your ecological footprint is? Are you interested in lowering your footprint?

Look no further. The Center For Sustainable Ecology has put together a good quiz with wonderful information about all aspects of our lifestyles and possible changes we can make.

I took the quiz and found out that if everyone lived as my family does (which I thought was very frugally and consciously) we would still require more than one earth to sustain the lifestyle. It isn’t fair to the rest of the world to take such a large share of things.

The Ecological Footprint Quiz estimates the amount of land and ocean area required to sustain your consumption patterns and absorb your wastes on an annual basis. After answering 27 easy questions you’ll be able to compare your Ecological Footprint to others’ and learn how to reduce your impact on the Earth.

Transition Town Movement

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There are communities all over the world who are coming together with optimistic and infectious energy to create vital and lasting change for the good of all under the umbrella of The Transition movement. Transition Towns is about communities around the world responding to peak oil and climate change with creativity, imagination and humour, and setting about rebuilding their local economies and communities. It is positive, solutions focused, viral and fun. You can find out if there is a town in action near you from the US-based website or the global website. Or, you can start your own group!

These slides are from the film: Transition 1o1. Check it out.

 

Under The Kitchen Sink

What toxic chemicals are lurking under the kitchen sink or at the back of the shelf in the basement or even in plain view on your bathroom countertop? This is a photo of what I found in my house.

Since it is Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day in I have been scouring the house and garage for corrosives, flammables and poisons in my home. I consider my family to be conscientious about NOT bringing hazardous materials into the house but I surprised myself with the items I collected in 10 minutes of searching.

Many items we use and discard with our trash are actually similar to EPA regulated hazardous wastes that are generated by industries that make the products we buy and use. Maybe we shouldn’t be throwing so much toxic waste away, since there is no such thing as away.

In the kitchen: oven cleaners, drain cleaner, floor-care, soaps and cleansers

In the bathroom: toilet cleaner, cosmetics, hair color, aerosol deodorant, nail polish remover

In the laundry: spot removers, chlorine bleach, spray starch, softeners, brighteners

General: pool chemicals, paint strippers, glue, furniture polish, air fresheners, metal cleaners, paint/stain/varnish, turpentine, paint thinner, wood preservatives, ammonia cleaners, moth balls and flakes

Cars: gasoline, antifreeze, brake/transmission fluid, solvents and degreaser

Lawn and Garden: insecticides, pesticides, fertilizers, weed killers, flea and tick powder

Why is household hazardous waste a problem? At home accidental burns, poisoning, or even death if not used, stored and disposed of properly. Septic systems and sewage plants are not designed to filter toxic materials. If you pour these things down the drain or in the sewer this can affect everyone’s water supply ultimately contaminating our rivers, lakes and Long Island Sound. Often solid waste is burned and if the waste has hazardous materials then the residue ends up in the air we breathe and the ash contaminates the ground water. Last but of course not least toxins in our water can affect fish and other wildlife.

I think I have reasons why I have some of the items I have, you might, too – for example, a few years back there was a huge hornets nest in the garbage shed, then it was useful again a few years later when there was another yellow jacket nest in the ground under the lilac tree outside the front door – so I thought we needed a spray to knock them out. But I still have half a canister. I also have paint thinner, pet odor attack and indoor house plant food, a few half empty spray paint cans left over from Josh’s graffiti days, charcoal starter fluid (don’t even have a charcoal grill…) and liquid ski wax (no one skis anymore).

What to do? Best solution? Don’t buy or use these things. Oh, no! No more nail polish and remover? Hmmm.

Well, anyway, we can begin to think about the products we bring into our homes. Can we do without something, or substitute a natural option? It is much easier to find non-toxic cleaners at your local grocery stores these days. Check out this list from ecomall.com and seventhgeneration.com and . Under my sink today I have products from Seventh Generation, Mrs. Meyers, Bon Ami, CitriSolv and plain old vinegar.  Or make your own and make some more. Buy only what we need, use what we buy. Pass on partially used products to neighbors or friends who can use them.

Maybe we shouldn’t be throwing so much toxic waste away, since there is no such thing as away. I mean, where does our hazardous waste get stored or disposed of –  is there any place safe?

What we can do is keep all our hazardous products in one place and dispose of properly by taking to a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day.

How to find one near you: Best to search on the internet under “Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day” and add your state and county. Here is a great informational site for the Twin Cities. There will be something near you, too.

Free Your Allergies

It’s the time of year again for pollen, dust, molds.

Achoo. Stock up on tissues, homeopathic and other natural remedies, maybe even antihistamines and consider lightening the load for your body by  clearing the environmental toxins that cause your seasonal allergies: How about an Air Filter – I have been using the Nikken Air Wellness Power 5 Pro for years – I have several filters running around the house, and one right next to my bed. They are small, unobtrusive, whisper-quiet yet powerful machines. Fresh-air-ist that I am, these filters are useful- it’s dusty, even in the country.

Ask me for details or take a look here.

Gesundheit.

Turning Blue Jeans Green, Happy Earth Day

Levi’s WaterLess Jeans are one of the five companies featured in Jill Baron’s article  in lifestyle.msn.com.
These  jeans are made with eco-friendly denim, using organic cotton and natural indigo dyes. The new line reduces water use by an average of 28% per pair (up to 96% for some of the 12 available styles) and represents the brand’s commitment to turning blue jeans green.

Baron writes of these  5 new mainstream fashion lines:  “progressive thinkers with a true flair for style have worked not only to use sustainable fibers, like organic cotton, into their creations – but also to work with major brands and retailers so those fashions are available to mainstream U.S. consumers.”
Happy Earth Day.

Tip from: Greta

Cool Hunting in Paddington, NSW

Who says that Josh Spear is the only cool hunter. I wandered into the Spotted Magpie a few weeks ago while moseying down Oxford St, heading back to Sydney. (See tall building in background? That’s Sydney..Australia. Note also the car driving on the left side of the road? Okay then.)

With a sign like this, the store could be anything.

Outside the door there are rolls and rolls of oilcloth, one more fun and fabulous than the next. And inside is a collection of whimsical, practical, deco, retro and joyful new and not-so-new decorative items for the home.

After chatting with the owner, Mary, for a minute I recognized and American twange (yep, Ohio..) behind her Aussie accent.

Great store, creative owner who is also an interior designer- well, duh!  She can decorate my house- fun, fun, fun! My friend, T, would get a real kick out of this store. Mary says:

“The idea behind Magpie is that, like a bird, we collect things here and there to create our own unique nest. We normally don’t go into it with a big master plan – we pick up things along the way, we bring back souvenirs from when we travel, we collect mementos from our lives, and are given, for better or worse, things that reflect the taste of those we love.”

I bought a little oilcloth apron as a house gift for Lela (2 years old). Too cute:

 

New Spiritual/Sci-Fi Book by Deborah Pratt

Social Networking at work – I read a random post on a friend’s page from another friend about her new sci-fi book available for FREE download. Curious, I clicked the link and downloaded what turned out to be a good and even inspiring read. A good storyteller with a spiritual dream for a better world, Deborah Pratt’s The Vision Quest, Book One reveals the Earth in the not-too-distant future is suffering from the effects of genetic tampering, over-corporatizing and greed. Freedom is hanging by a thread. There is hope involved, too, in the form of passionate and talented young people, some broad-thinking adults and a “Yoda”- like sage/teacher. The lost continents have risen due to massive earthquakes and storms and polar cap meltings and it is a brave new world, complete with sentient and dangerous robots and the precious and endangered Gnorbs of knowledge, of course.

Deborah Pratt was a co-executive producer and a writer on the Quantum Leap TV series. Book 2 is already out and Book 3 is about to be released. The Vision Quest website looks like a haven for teen interaction, including “transmissions” and online experiences including:

Pratering – a single, focused thought supported by love, organized on a mass level, to occur at a specific time with the intention to create a shift in consciousness and manifest a result into reality. We are the heroes we have been waiting for. The Quest begins now.”

Home Sweet Home

Check out this wonderful Hobbit home built a few years ago for $5,000. It is sustainable and cozy!

According to Simon it took about 1500 hours to build over 4 months:

Sustainable design and construction:

1. Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter
2. Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
3. Frame constructed of fallen trees from surrounding woodland
4. Reciprocal roof rafters are structurally very easy to do
5. Straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building
6. Plastic sheet and mud/turf roof for low impact and ease
7. Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture compared to cement
8. Reclaimed (scrap) wood for floors and fittings
9. Other items were reclaimed from “a rubbish pile somewhere”: windows, wiring, plumbing

Notice the “goodnight, moon” in the sky.

Via: Julie Tara