tagged w/ Sustainable Living
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Here’s an alarm clock you might not want to smash with a mallet each and every morning. This living Bamboo Soil Clock uses two household potted plants and copper electrodes buried in the plant’s soil to run.Here’s an alarm clock you might not want to smash with a mallet each and every... more
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In Graphic Detail
http://cait.wri.org/figures/World-FlowChart.jpg
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Living a green lifestyle isn't all about spending a lot of money but rather changing your daily habits and mindset. Learns some simple ways you can help the planet and save some money in this episode. Join the conversation!!!Living a green lifestyle isn't all about spending a lot of money but rather changing... more
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A healthy ecosystem rich in biodiversity is better equipped to withstand and recover from natural and man-made environmental threats and disasters and provides the necessary elements for the continued survival of our planet...
Understanding the importance of Biodiversity and how it effects us and all living things... Exploring ways each of us can reduce our negative impact on the Earth.A healthy ecosystem rich in biodiversity is better equipped to withstand and recover... more
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Farmer in the Rift Valley, Kenya, shows how to compost, mulch,and grow food sustainably. This is the way you feed the world while maintaining biodiversity.Farmer in the Rift Valley, Kenya, shows how to compost, mulch,and grow food... more
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According to the Rodale Institute, organic farms that fertilize with compost can sequester carbon at a rate of up to 3,200 kg/ha/yr.
Under the Kyoto Clean Development Mechanism, cities in the Global South are composting their organic waste (wood, straw, coffee residues, fresh green material and manure) to create carbon credits. Composting avoids methane emissions and also improves the soil fertility of the degraded soil. Soil & More, the global composting project, gets 1 carbon credit equals to 1 ton of CO2e emissions reductions for every ton of compost produced.
Some US cities have also begun municipal composting. San Francisco has the nation's first mandatory composting law. The city already converts over 400 tons of food scraps and other compostable discards into high-grade organic compost every day. It's snapped up by farms and vineyards across the Bay Area. By requiring all residents and businesses to compost, the city will be able to increase the amount of "black gold" available for sustainable regional agriculture and improve our environment.
But it's not just farmers and cities, you can compost at home! So, if you haven't already, take your food, lawn, garden waste - even poop - and make your very own carbon piggy bank: COMPOST!According to the Rodale Institute, organic farms that fertilize with compost can... more
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The solutions to climate change, hunger, and poverty are in the soil. The key to reducing and sequestering greenhouse gases and increasing yields safely is to phase out the use of fossil fuel fertilizers and replace them with sustainable methods including cover cropping, rotation and composting. This is easier to accomplish in developing countries and would allow more farmers control over their seeds thus bringing them out of poverty and giving them food sovereignty.
Local control of food that farmers can grow for their communities and benefit from in a fair market without having to grow luxury export crops to satisfy World Bank loans thus leaving them short of food will also cut down on reliance of GM food aid from the U.S. Don't then wonder why these methods are shunned by the agricultural elitist corporations and the governments in their back pockets.
A healthier more productive world awaits us if we take it into our own hands and make the choice to stand up to those who would subjugate us to globalization at the expense of sustainability and our rich biodiversity.
Please watch this informational video on soil, agriculture and climate change and then think about supporting a campsesino group or making yoir voice heard regarding sustainable agricultural methods which have been proven to not only increase productivity, but benefit the health of the environment and those who partake of its bounty and preserve biodiversity.
As with solving the climate crisis, it is up to us.The solutions to climate change, hunger, and poverty are in the soil. The key to... more
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Nothing is wasted at the London-based charity Africack which collects bodily waste from across London and ships it out to Africa for use as an organic, environmentally friendly fertiliser. From Africack's East London collection point and processing centre, we learn how our own pooh can save the world. Next time you visit the loo, spare a thought for the needy and contact your local Africack centre.Nothing is wasted at the London-based charity Africack which collects bodily waste... more
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Eco fabrics and brands have been hanging around in the fashion world for a couple of years, but critics waived it off as a fad from the jump. I wonder if those critics are the same people that called Hip-Hop a fad in the '80s? But I digress...anyway, brands like Diesel, Burberry, H&M, and Christian Dior attended the Interstoff Asia Essential exhibition last week in Hong Kong to learn more about "eco fabrics, safe dyeing processes, and good working conditions"Eco fabrics and brands have been hanging around in the fashion world for a couple of... more
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Companies like EDUN, which launched in Spring 2005, have been pioneers in the emerging eco-fashion industry. The clothing line was created by Ali Hewson and Bono and founded on the premise of trade as a means of building sustainable communities in developing countries to help foster economic growth rather than provide charity.
EDUN uses organic cotton wherever possible: 61% of the Fall/Winter 2008 collection and 50% of the Spring/Summer 2008 collection is organic. EDUN sources its organic fabrics from Peru, India, Turkey and Uganda. Not only are EDUN products made in a socially and environmentally conscious way, they are also super stylish!Companies like EDUN, which launched in Spring 2005, have been pioneers in the emerging... more
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Who’s the next green ‘it’ girl? Project Green Search is looking for the woman who wants to be an advocate for the environment, animal welfare, fair trade, and human rights. The next green ‘it’ girl is a model, spokesperson, host, brand ambassador and all around green model citizen, for progressive, sustainable, ethical companies, from fashion & beauty to cars & computers.
We know just the girl… our own Dorothee Royal-Hedinger (http://projectgreensearch.com/dorothee-royal/1554), sustainable food advocate and co-founder of OrganicNation.tv! Dorothee is more than just a (ridiculously) pretty face – she’s got brains and passion for sustainability in spades, just the qualities that a well-rounded green ‘it’ girl should have.
Please vote for Dorothee so she can continue her work in spreading the message of sustainability. Voting is really easy, and every single vote counts… just click this link: http://projectgreensearch.com/dorothee-royal/1554 & select 5 stars under her photo, and leave a note at the bottom of the page if you like. Hurry – voting ends TODAY!Who’s the next green ‘it’ girl? Project Green Search is looking for the woman... more
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KAIST’s newly developed electric vehicle system could be onto something. The vehicle does away with batteries completely and relies on pulling power from a system of cables buried beneath the road. The On Line Electric Vehicle (OLEV) is comprised of electric buses that drive over tracks containing power coils. When a bus crosses the track a boost of electricity is delivered, allowing the vehicle to continue travelling without having to stop and recharge.KAIST’s newly developed electric vehicle system could be onto something. The vehicle... more
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It’s taken a long time, but the issue of global climate change is finally getting the attention it deserves. While enormous technical, policy, and economic issues remain to be solved, there is now widespread acceptance of the need to confront the twin challenges of energy security and climate change. Collectively, we are beginning to acknowledge that our long addiction to fossil fuels — which has been harming our national security, our economy and our environment for decades — must end. The question today is no longer why, but how. The die is cast, and our relationship to energy will never be the same.
Unfortunately, this positive shift in the national zeitgeist has had an unintended downside. In the rush to portray the perils of climate change, many other serious issues have been largely ignored. Climate change has become the poster child of environmental crises, complete with its own celebrities and campaigners. But is it so serious that we can afford to overlook the rise of infectious disease, the collapse of fisheries, the ongoing loss of forests and biodiversity, and the depletion of global water supplies?
Although I’m a climate scientist by training, I worry about this collective fixation on global warming as the mother of all environmental problems. Learning from the research my colleagues and I have done over the past decade, I fear we are neglecting another, equally inconvenient truth: that we now face a global crisis in land use and agriculture that could undermine the health, security, and sustainability of our civilization.
Our use of land, particularly for agriculture, is absolutely essential to the success of the human race. We depend on agriculture to supply us with food, feed, fiber, and, increasingly, biofuels. Without a highly efficient, productive, and resilient agricultural system, our society would collapse almost overnight.
But we are demanding more and more from our global agricultural systems, pushing them to their very limits.
Continued population growth.The massive environmental impacts of our agricultural practices rival the impacts of climate change.(adding more than 70 million people to the world every year), changing dietary preferences (including more meat and dairy consumption), rising energy prices, and increasing needs for bioenergy sources are putting tremendous pressure on the world’s resources. And, if we want any hope of keeping up with these demands, we’ll need to double, perhaps triple, the agricultural production of the planet in the next 30 to 40 years.
Meeting these huge new agricultural demands will be one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. At present, it is completely unclear how (and if) we can do it.
If this wasn’t enough, we must also address the massive environmental impacts of our current agricultural practices, which new evidence indicates rival the impacts of climate change. Consider the following:
Ecosystem degradation. Already, we have cleared or converted more than 35 percent of the earth’s ice-free land surface for agriculture, whether for croplands, pastures or rangelands. In fact, the area used for agriculture is nearly 60 times larger than the area of all of the world’s cities and suburbs. Since the last ice age, nothing has been more disruptive to the planet’s ecosystems than agriculture. What will happen to our remaining ecosystems, including tropical rainforests, if we need to double or triple world agricultural production, while simultaneously coping with climate change?
end of excerptIt’s taken a long time, but the issue of global climate change is finally getting... more
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Only one block from a typical urban strip in downtown Silver Spring, MD, that includes an old parking garage, a beauty parlor and an Ethiopian restaurant, Charlie Koiner, who’ll be 88 in November, still has a farm. It’s hard to believe, but turning east onto Easley Street off Fenton, in the course of one block, you shift from urban grime to fertile rural splendor, from the cramped seat of your hot car to a comfy lawn chair under a mature shade tree, from the usual “rodent issue” to a farm cat named Hank.
Like the proverbial turtle, slow and steady, Charlie Koiner seems to have won the race, as his lifetime of farming and gardening has propelled him from “regular guy” to local pace-setter, an icon of the “new” urban agriculture. You first realize you’re at his place when, right there on the corner, you get a glimpse of his current offerings on a handmade sign – for example, “figs,” “raspberries” and “tomatoes” right now in September. Then you see the whole thing: his acre -- which appears much larger amid the neighborhood of modest World War II era homes with neat little yards – is brimming with a stunning variety of vegetables, berry bushes and fruit trees. Multicolored zinnias and gladioli, and magenta cockscomb celosia in the central plot give the whole place a festive atmosphere.
“It’s great!,” says Koiner’s neighbor Karla Saunders. “No one believes me when I tell them I have a farm in my block,” she says. “There’s something quite comforting about the sign that tells you what’s available. It just feels out of place and out of time.”
Experienced, talented and friendly, Koiner inspires a loyal following. If he doesn’t have what you want on his display table, Koiner is well-known to wander back into his yard and pick it for you. Steve Simko, a patron who biked by recently to pick up some produce, explains, “This is the best stuff. It’s fresh stuff. It’s close by. And Charlie is the best farmer in the state of Maryland.”
Perhaps Simko is not exaggerating. The lines of vegetables and seedlings are beautifully straight; the leafy greens are lush; there’s nary a weed in sight; the produce is unblemished. If anyone needs official confirmation of Koiner’s aptitude, here it is: This year, Koiner and his daughter Lynn -- who helps him out at the farmers market, manages his email traffic, and tends her own plots of culinary herbs – brought home a jaw-dropping 130 ribbons from the Montgomery County Fair, as well as four Grand Champion awards. Lynn also received the coveted “Best of Show” for her market basket.
Koiner maximizes the harvest on his small farm by planting in succession, that is, planting a new crop as soon as one has been harvested, instead of putting the land on hold until the next year. Spring crops include lettuce, radishes, bok choy, kale, mustard greens, potatoes and spring onions. Summer involves a lot of tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, squash and peppers as well as beans, cut flowers and some greens. For fall, “I planted late string beans, broccoli, cauliflower, collards, cabbage,” he says, “and I’m putting out lettuce now.” He shows me his newly planted seedlings, which he raises himself in trays, of romaine, sierra blush lettuce and bok choy. Where there were once cucumbers, radishes and cauliflower now sprout. “I’ll get the radishes out before the cauliflower gets too big,” he explains. “I’m double dipping. You know what I mean?”
Moving on, he hands me some “fall gold” yellow raspberries. “You’re never gonna find raspberries as sweet as that no matter where you go,” he tells me in a charming accent that this Yankee author would call a southern drawl. (His neighbor Saunders calls it a “legitimate-Montgomery-County-from-seventy-years-ago accent.”) But Koiner is right: Their pale yellow color belies the delicious flavor. These berries are very sweet indeed.
end of excerpt.Only one block from a typical urban strip in downtown Silver Spring, MD, that includes... more
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Solar on the go. ;-)
Excerpt:
Konarka Technologies has unveiled a line of solar panels for use in a variety of portable charging applications that will be available worldwide in the fourth quarter of this year.
Commercial products incorporating Konarka Power Plastic 20 Series material, which include battery chargers for lighting, mobile phones and devices, carry bags and cafe umbrellas, will be available through the company's qualified resellers and partners program.
"As a world leader in organic photovoltaic technology, Konarka has been working to meet the growing demand for personal and commercial solar energy solutions," commented Rick Hess, president and CEO at Konarka.
"We are delighted to see manufacturers from new and existing markets integrating our solar panels into their products, creating energy-capturing devices, and making them available for commercial use. Initial product applications will address portable and remote power needs while providing distinctive value to our partners' solutions."
The Konarka Power Plastic 20 Series includes the Power Plastic 120 (1-watt), Power Plastic 320 (3-watt) and Power Plastic 620 (7-watt) products. The panels vary in size and are available with and without integrated connectors, ready to be used or integrated into a manufacturer's device or product.Solar on the go. ;-)
Excerpt:
Konarka Technologies has unveiled a line of solar... more
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Sustainable agriculture can save biodiversity and the climate. Yet, it only comprises 1% of farming in the U.S. That is a gross oversight on the part of the USDA. This article in pdf form outlines the ways sustainable farmers are making positive changes to the sustainability of Earth. Sometimes technology is not the answer. More small farmers scattered worldwide using sustainable practices to grow local food will bring real jobs, environmental healing, and economic stability. It will clean up the mess industrial agriculture has made at the expense of our environment, health, and economy.
And if you wish to keep abreast of the latest news in the sustainable food revolution, sign up to the Sustainable Agriculture Group and be a part of this food revolution.
Viva las campesinos!
http://current.com/groups/sustainable-agriculture/Sustainable agriculture can save biodiversity and the climate. Yet, it only comprises... more
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Contrary to popular belief, a good living can be made on an organic farm. What’s required is farming smarter, not harder. Farmer Richard Wiswall is here to tell the world it’s possible to start an organic farm, enjoy it, and make a profit. Like any other business, organic farming has ups and downs. But Wiswall (who’s been farming in Vermont for 27 years) offers a hopeful and useful model to ensure a sustainable business that puts some money in the bank.
He says: “My goal is to see more happy, prosperous farmers. I see too many farmers work too hard for little money and burn out because of it. I would love it that farmland shouldn’t compete for developments because developments pay more. I want it that farms remain in farmland because it’s economically viable to do so. And I think that’s the way it should be.”
Chelsea Green recently produced an original video to introduce readers to this organic farmer and author.
Watch the 4-minute version above. There is also a link to a 30 minute version there also.Contrary to popular belief, a good living can be made on an organic farm. What’s... more
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LET me start by saying that if you want to throw bales of hay into the back of a truck, Vans are not the best choice in footwear.
That’s the sort of thing one learns when the family vacation is on a farm.
Of course, there are those who might say throwing bales of hay is a stupid way to spend a vacation — especially a vacation where the accommodations cost $332 a night, tax and fresh eggs included.
They might also say I was a fool to pay the farmer an additional $35 so I could dig up the beets and carrots she would later sell at a farmers’ market. It did have a little of that Tom Sawyer fence-painting quality to it. But I got a little education in the process. And I got to keep a pile of spectacular Tuscan kale, some tender stalks of fennel and a few crookneck squash.
In a world where small farmers need to diversify to keep their fields afloat and city dwellers are more desperate than ever to learn where their food comes from, a “haycation” for about the price of a nice hotel room in Manhattan didn’t seem like such a far-fetched idea.
For my family, the appeal was a fancy floored tent with a flush toilet and running water. On the Web site, it looked bigger than a junior one-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side.
I’m no stranger to this kind of thing. My mother grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm. I was once so tough, I hiked for days across Alaskan tundra. But I have gone soft from all this city living. And my partner makes a point of telling me regularly that her people don’t camp.
On the other hand, we have a toddler who had never seen a live chicken. And I was desperate to get out of the city and eat vegetables still warm from the sun. So what if I had to do chores? How tough could a $300-a-night farm stay be?
This is essentially how we talked ourselves into spending a long weekend at Stony Creek Farm in Delaware County, N.Y., a part of the Catskills so rough that most everyone who grew up there describes it as “two stones to every dirt.”
Sleeping and eating on a farm is a common way to vacation in Europe, where the ties to farming are strong and motels are few. It’s rare but not unheard of in the United States. Stony Creek Farm is part of a new way to get hay in your hair. Call it farm stay 2.0.
The owners are often young, recent converts to farming, with few acres and strongly held beliefs: animals should be raised on pasture, vegetables should be grown without chemicals, and America needs to be re-educated about food.
They cater to people looking for a connection to their food that goes beyond a stroll through the local farmers’ market. Their customers, like me, want to get manure on their Vans.
“When we first started, we were like, ‘Why would somebody want to come to a farm?’ ” said Kevin McNaught, a former chef from Boston who bought Trevin Farms in Vermont with his partner six years ago. “We were pleasantly surprised that there are a whole lot of people out there who want to know what a brussels sprout looks like when it’s growing, and actually want to milk a goat.”
They charge up to $500 for a two-day cheese-making package that begins with milking goats and hanging cheese. Guests select vegetables for the owners to cook for dinner. Breakfast with eggs from their chickens is included.
These new farm stays are profitable. For three years, Scottie Jones has been subsidizing her small lamb and turkey business by renting out a cabin on her 60-acre Leaping Lamb Farm, about two hours from Portland, Ore. For $125 a night, visitors can feed the animals, bring in hay and learn the basic rule of farming: closed gates stay closed and open gates stay open. It now brings in seven times what she makes on her meat business, plus a little free labor.
“Even those people sitting on the porch drinking a glass of wine will come help me feed eventually,” she said.LET me start by saying that if you want to throw bales of hay into the back of a... more
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To help meet the world's critical need for renewable energy, Applied Materials has developed an innovative fab2farm business model for solar deployment designed to bring cost-effective, utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation capability to local areas and stimulate economic development.
The fab2farm model represents a complete regional ecosystem, bringing together communities, utilities and solar panel manufacturers to drive down the cost of solar electricity, create green jobs, and spur local economic activity - while delivering a supply of clean energy for decades to come.
Key to the fab2farm model is a locally-sited solar panel factory built by a solar module manufacturer using Applied's revolutionary SunFab thin film production line. The SunFab line produces the world's largest and most powerful solar PV panels, which are optimally suited for utility-owned solar farms.
Since electricity generation is sited for distribution near load centers, a solar farm can be quickly deployed without the need for extensive, costly transmission lines. This utility-scale solar farm would not only generate cost-competitive, clean, renewable energy for the community, it can help the utility avoid up to 170,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year.
"Applied's fab2farm model unlocks a low-risk, cost-effective opportunity to integrate solar PV electricity into a community's energy portfolio," said John Antone, vice president, Energy and Environmental Solutions, Applied Materials.To help meet the world's critical need for renewable energy, Applied Materials has... more
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My personal blog devoted to wild foods and sustainable foraging practices.
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