Sunlight, Bones and More

I always appreciate Vivian Goldschmidt’s timely, simple and effective advice about Bone Health. Everyone has become so afraid of the sun. Many never allow the sunlight to touch their skin. Vivian reminds us: don’t burn, but do take sunlight for Vitamin D.

Check out her 5 simple things to do this summer.

Hat Tip: saveourbones.com

 

Economic Impact of Local Businesses vs. Chains

 

 

Stacy Mitchell is a senior researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and has compiled some key studies on local store vs chainstore impact on local economics.

Of interest from a study by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Friends of Midcoast Maine, September 2003.: “Three times as much money stays in the local economy when you buy goods and services from locally owned businesses instead of large chain stores, according to this analysis, which tracked the revenue and expenditures of eight locally owned businesses in Midcoast Maine. The survey found that the businesses, with had combined sales of $5.7 million in 2002, spent 44.6 percent of their revenue within the surrounding two counties. Another 8.7 percent was spent elsewhere in the state of Maine. The four largest components of this local spending were: wages and benefits paid to local employees; goods and services purchased from other local businesses; profits that accrued to local owners; and taxes paid to local and state government. Using a variety of sources, the analysis estimates that a national big box retailer operating in Midcoast Maine returns just 14.1 percent of its revenue to the local economy, mostly in the form of payroll. The rest leaves the state, flowing to out-of-state suppliers or back to corporate headquarters. The survey also found that the local businesses contributed more to charity than national chains.”

And in The San Francisco Retail Diversity Study – By Civic Economics, May 2007: “Every $1 million spent at local bookstores, for example, creates $321,000 in additional economic activity in the area, including $119,000 in wages paid to local employees. That same $1 million spent at chain bookstores generates only $188,000 in local economic activity, including $71,000 in local wages. The same was true in the other categories. For every $1 million in sales, independent toy stores create 2.22 local jobs, while chains create just 1.31. The final part of the study analyzes the impact of a modest shift in consumer spending. If residents were to redirect just 10 percent of their spending from chains to local businesses, that would generate $192 million in additional economic activity in San Francisco and almost 1,300 new jobs.”

Mosquito Larvae Means Mosquito Bites

Don’t watch this if you are easily grossed out- this is a video of a mosquito laying eggs and then the larvae hatching. OMG! Know what mosquito larvae look like so you can do something about it if you see this in or near your home.

The Oldest Known Fossil Mosquito was found entombed in amber, approximate age of 100-90 million years. Pesky mosquitos affect humans more than any other insect. There are 2500 species of mosquitos in the world. 150 species occur in the US. Each species has a particular way of laying their eggs but all require water – be it a stagnant pond, a vase of standing water, snow melted in a bird feeder, water pooling on a puddle. Males don’t bite and feed on flower nectar. Most of the females (who are the egg layers) need to feed on blood to be able to create and lay their eggs. They can lay up to 200 or 300 eggs at a time and they hatch within 48 hours- sometimes faster depending on the temperature. the larvae need to swim around for a few days to mature. I’m not going to write any more about this because it makes me itchy to think about. BUT, knowing how to prevent unwanted swarms of skeeters is important. eHow has some good suggestions, also here is an article about using household products to kill larvae, and one more from eHow using garlic juice and apple cider vinegar in places where there is standing water. Great, I have loads of leftover garlic from last year’s harvest.

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

Mama’s Calendula Skin Food

Here is the recipe I created for “Mama’s Calendula Skin Food 2011”:

Wonderful for cuts, scrapes, chapped skin, lip balm, burns, cuticles, rough skin on heels and more.

¼ c Calendula infused grapeseed oil

.5 oz beeswax

1/8 t unfiltered honey

½ t cocoa butter

½ t sea buckthorn oil

20 drops peppermint, lavender or Thieves essential oil

Slowly melt beeswax in double boiler. (I used a pyrex measuring cup in a pan of water)

stir in honey, cocoa butter, and oils. Do not boil, just warm until melted.

When all liquid, turn off heat, add drops of essential oil and stir, pour into little containers and allow to cool.

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

 

 

 

 

 

Freezing Snow Peas

It’s the first week of August and I thought the season was over but it turns out that all my snow peas really needed was more water. There have been some huge rainstorms in the past 10 days and there are many new pea shoots, flowers and more snow peas. Yahoo. Here is how I am preserving some for the winter.

Wash and string (peel down the stringy seams on both sides by snapping the top and gently pulling down)

Place in boiling water for 2 minutes

 

Cool in iced water 2 minutes

Pat dry and freeze in freezer bags or freezer-safe containers.

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.

Flash Mob? Crop Mob!

Farming is traditionally a physical and labor intensive endeavor. In the past, community efforts were often necessary for planting, harvesting, processing, including barn-raising and house-raising. Modern day farming has become mechanized enabling  farmers to “do it alone”. A lonely career. Through resurgence of smaller farming initiatives a wonderful community spirit has emerged. People are participating in CSA’s and organic and local farmers are recognized in their communities and are well-received at local farmer’s markets.

Enter the Crop Mob movement. A group of 19 farmers, apprentices and friends in the Triangle area of North Carolina (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) began to work together to harvest sweet potatoes at the Piedmont Biofarm. They have made it a tradition and out of that tradition has grown to over 50 groups throughout the US. Find your local group on the map.

From the Crop Mob website:

“Many crop mobbers are apprentices or interns on these sustainable farms. The need for community participation matches a desire for community among young people interested in getting into farming. The crop mob was conceived as a way of building the community necessary to practice this kind of agriculture and to put the power to muster this group in the hands of our future food producers.

Any crop mobber can call a crop mob to do the kind of work it takes a community to do. We work together, share a meal, play, talk, and make music. No money is exchanged. This is the stuff that communities are made of.”

For more information, please send an email to info@cropmob.org. And check them out on facebook.

 

VIA: Kay Carroll, Market Master, Litchfield Farmer’s Market

Freezing Blueberries Made Easy

I have just learned the easiest way to freeze blueberries. In the past I washed the berries, drained them, laid them out on cookie sheets in the freezer to freeze individually, then put the frozen berries into freezer bags. LONG PROCESS.

Recently, T and I picked berries at Evergreen Berry Farm in Watertown, CT. We picked on the bushes that were NOT sprayed- as there are areas of the field that never seem to need protection from insects and some that do. Interesting permaculture conundrum there….

As we were leaving T noticed a sign with freezing instructions as follows (so easy):

Put your fresh-picked berries into freezer bags and put in freezer. When you want to use the berries remove from freezer and rinse.