Showing posts with label eco-friendly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eco-friendly. Show all posts

DIY: Build This Cabin For Under $4,000




By Steve Maxwell

(Real Farmacy) Cozy Cabin 4000Rays of early-morning sunlight gently peek through the windows, easing you awake. Looking down from the sleeping loft, you see everything you need: a pine table; a box piled with hardwood, split and ready for the woodstove; and a compact kitchen in the corner. This is the cabin dream.

In this article, I’ll show you how to build a 14-by-20-foot cozy cabin featuring a sleeping loft over the porch for about $4,000. Who can resist it?

DIY Convection Heater Warms Room for Pennies a Day



With a few readily available (and economical) supplies, you too can have an inexpensive convection heater. All you need are the following supplies:

-Tea light candles 
-A metal loaf pan 
-Two clay pots
-Glazed tiles
-Matches

Have a look at the following video and learn more about this ingenious method.

Could Micro-Algae Free America From Foreign Wars, Debt and Environmental Destruction? ‘Green Crude Oil’ and ‘Living Buildings’ May Hold the Secret to Liberation


Next time you notice green slime growing in a pool or pond, take a second look. Incredibly, that bit of algae could be the secret to solving our war related financial difficulties and environmental troubles. As an incredible source of alternative energy, algae is used in a variety of innovative ways. Two outstanding examples include an office building utilizing a bioadaptive facade to produce energy as well as an American company that employs the power behind this tiny organism to manufacture biofuel.

Solar Cooking 101: Harnessing The Sun For Health, Wealth And A Clean Environment



Cooking with the sun is not only eco-friendly, it also contributes to better tasting, more nutritious food. Preparing food in this way encourages energy independence for both developing countries and industrialized nations alike. In areas of the world where disease is on the rise and fuel is in short supply, economical sun cookers are a workable solution.

Encourage Prosperity, Alleviate Famine And Heal The Environment With Hemp


Hemp. Just the word conjures images of the Drug Enforcement Administration and political battles. But industrial hemp is a far cry from marijuana and contains almost zero THC. An ancient crop, hemp has served humanity since 2000 BCE -- providing fibers for cloth and rope, building materials and paper. It's also an incredible source of food. Even the American founding fathers recognized the brilliance of hemp and cultivated it actively on their own land. Hemp is remarkably versatile and Eco-friendly with many modern applications for fuel, automobile fabrication, toxic waste removal and concrete manufacturing.

How One Bay Area Couple Plans To Save The Bees By Planting One Billion Wildflowers



By Charley Cameron

(Inhabit) Honey bees are vital to US crop production; they are responsible for the pollination of one third of U.S. crop species, which make up a total of 75 percent of all farmed domestic crops. There are several potential causes of CCD, including “a host of new pathogens from deformed wing virus to nosema fungi, new parasites such as Varroa mites, pests like small hive beetles [and] nutrition problems from lack of diversity or availability in pollen and nectar sources,” reports the USDA.

The Biodegradable Credit Card That Fights Climate Change


(Take Part) Would you feel less guilty about whipping out your credit card if you knew buying stuff could help save the planet from climate change? Especially if that piece of plastic was biodegradable?

Here’s your chance to find out.

Goat Rentals Take Off In Seattle On First Day Of Amazon Home Services


(KUOW.Org) When Amazon launched its Amazon Home Services this week, the stars of the new initiative were …

Goats.

Seattle goats, specifically, ready to trim back your pesky shrubbery.

“We bring the goats and unload him,” said Tammy Dunakin, head goat wrangler and owner of Rent-A-Ruminant LLC. “The second they hit the ground, they’re eating. It’s incredible to watch. It’s kind of like watching marbles scatter when you drop them on the pavement. And the goats start eating everything in sight."

And it sounds like ...

This Girl Has Produced Less Trash in Two Years Than Most Do In One Day

Photo Credit: Minds.com
(Minds) Imagine, city living where you don't produce waste.  Lauren Singer imagined it, and over the last two years has produced only a mason jar of waste.

As an environmental studies major at NYU, Lauren was aghast when, day after day, another student in her class would bring in plastic cups, plates and forks and throw them away.  One day, after being particularly annoyed, she went home and opened her refrigerator to realize she, too, had plastic packaging problems.  Pretty much everything she had in her refrigerator was in plastic containers.  She WAS that girl.

At that moment, she made a decision.  She would no longer produce waste.

Baltimore's Solar-Powered Water Wheel Can Devour 50,000 Pounds of Harbor Trash Every Day


By Lucy Wang

(Inhabitat) Trash isn't a pretty sight, but Baltimore's new Water Wheel actually makes collecting garbage look cool and fun. Powered by 30 solar panels and the water current, the Water Wheel Trash Inceptor can remove a whopping 50,000 pounds of trash a day--a rate that the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore hopes will make the harbor swimmable by 2020. Designed by Clearwater Mills' John Kellett and Daniel Chase, the solar-powered trash collector generates 2,500 watts of electricity a day, which is enough energy to power the average Maryland home.

Egloo heats your room without electricity for 10 cents a day




Can you heat your room for just 10 cents a day? Egloo can. Egloo is a clever little heater that harnesses candle power to heat a room without wasting electricity. Egloo works by concentrating the heat from the flame of a few candles inside a terracotta dome, radiating warmth into a room even after the candles are blown out. The concept was developed by Marco Zagaria, a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, and right now, he is looking for funding for the brilliant little heater. The project is being funded through Indiegogo where you can get in on the project and start heating your office, dorm or bedroom without using electricity.

How to start a 1-acre, self-sustaining homestead

(Mother Earth News) Expert advice on how to establish self-sufficient food production, including guidance on crop rotations, raising livestock and grazing management. Your 1-acre homestead can be divided into land for raising livestock and a garden for raising fruits, vegetables, plus some grain and forage crops. Illustration by: Dorling Kindersley

Everyone will have a different approach to keeping a self-sufficient homestead, and it’s unlikely that any two1-acre farms will follow the same plan or methods or agree completely on how to homestead. Some people like cows; other people are afraid of them. Some people like goats; other people cannot keep them out of the garden. Some people will not slaughter animals and have to sell their surplus stock off to people who will kill them; others will not sell surplus stock off at all because they know that the animals will be killed; and still others will slaughter their own animals to provide their family with healthy meat.

Beautiful glass roof tiles heat your home with solar energy year-round

(Inhabitat) SolTech Energy, a Swedish company selling solutions for clean solar power, has developed a unique home heating system contained within roofing tiles made out of ordinary transparent glass. The attractive house-warming tiles (somewhat ironically) give roofs a beautiful, icy appearance quite unlike anything else we’ve ever seen before.


In 2009, the SolTech Energy System was selected by a jury and nominated among nine as the year’s “Hottest New Material.” Based on votes by the people, the company’s glass tiles were awarded with a gold medal from the North Building Fair, Nordbygg. “The winning entry combines an attractive design with essential functions for clean and sustainable energy. It is an innovative product that is well in time,“ said the chairman of the jury, PhD. Bengt Toolanen.

Britain’s first ‘Bio-Bus’ powered entirely by human and food waste takes to the streets

(The Guardian) Britain’s first ‘poo bus’ will take to the road on Thursday, powered entirely by human and food waste.

The 40-seat “Bio-Bus” runs on biomethane gas, generated through the treatment of sewage and food waste. It can travel up to 186 miles on one tank of gas, which takes the annual waste of around five people to produce.

The bus is run by Bath Bus Company and will transport passengers between Bath and Bristol Airport.

Bolivia grants legal rights to Mother Earth

(Earth We Are One) Law of Mother Earth sees Bolivia pilot new social and economic model based on protection of and respect for nature.

Bolivia is to become the first country in the world to give nature comprehensive legal rights in an effort to halt climate change and the exploitation of the natural world, and to improve quality of life for the Bolivian people.

Developed by grassroots social groups and agreed by politicians, the Law of Mother Earth recognises the rights of all living things, giving the natural world equal status to human beings.

15 year old girl creates power generating water filter

By John Vibes

Last week, True Activist published a story about a 15 year old who invented a shoe insole that creates electricity while you walk.  His device was a submission for this year’s “Google Science Fair” which features a number of brilliant inventions, many of which were created by teenagers and young children.

Another finalist in this year’s contest is 17-year-old Cynthia Sin Nga Lam from Australia, who also has an invention that creates electricity.  Her invention is a water purification system that does not require an external power source, but actually creates electricity of its own.

Her device, which she calls a Portable Photocatalytic Electricity Generation and Water Purification Unit, or H2Pro for short, produces both clean energy and fresh water at the same time.

She hopes that one day her invention can be used to bring water and electricity to people in remote, poverty stricken areas who are currently struggling to find access to these basic amenities.
Cynthia explained in her application that “The entire process only needs titania and light — no additional power source is required. However, hydrogen production is generally low since photoexcited electrons tend to fall back to the hole (i.e. photoinduced electron-hole combination.) Fortunately, it can be overcome by adding reductants, while some organic pollutants serve such purpose. Hence, I propose to combine the two mechanisms together to enhance the yield and lower the cost of hydrogen generation, meanwhile efficient water purification can also be achieved.”

Luci inflatable solar lantern: eco-friendly, zero emissions and affordable—what more can you ask for?

(The Grommet) Luci is an inflatable, affordable, solar lantern that generates continuous light with zero emissions anywhere on earth independent of the grid; it can be charged under direct sunlight or cloudy skies (as well as incandescent light).

As easy to use as it is to deflate and stow, Luci’s durable, waterproof design makes it ideal for everything from boating and camping to outdoor entertaining, and power outages. In fact, lack of electricity was the inspiration for the idea. MPOWERD was co-founded by Jacques-Philippe Piverger, John Salzinger and Jason Alan Snyder. Principal inventor Jason Alan Snyder worked hand in hand with John Salzinger to develop the Luci lantern after an earthquake in 2010 left thousands without power in Haiti. Now, MPOWERD is on a mission to illuminate the lives of people who live in energy poverty all over the world.

DIY solar food dehydrator

(Mother Earth News) More and more people are recognizing the importance of food quality in their daily lives. The freshest, ripest, tastiest and most nutritious food comes from our own gardens or local farmers. But because these high quality fruits and vegetables are seasonal, you have access to them for only a few weeks or months each year.

What do you plan to eat the rest of the year? Will you rely on industrial foods grown by strangers from all over the world and shipped thousands of miles? With increasing interest in healthy eating, sustainable local food supplies and self-reliance, many people are discovering the benefits of a solar food dehydrator.

This City Aims to Be “Car Free” in 20 Years

By: Amanda Froelich

(True Activist) To live in this age is an exciting time. The technological advances have accelerated communication around the world, and in effect, a shifting of resources to more sustainable alternatives continue to be implemented at an increasing rate. Who knew thirty or even fifty years ago that cars would so quickly go out of fashion in favor of more sustainable, alternative modes of transportation?

Yet this is exactly what is happening in the German town of Hamburg. The city council recently disclosed it has plans to divert most of its cars away from the city’s main thoroughfares in twenty years. In order create what will someday be a large green network, local authorities are to connect pedestrian and cycle lanes; this is expected to smooth inner city traffic flow.

The £150 hobbit hole: Farmer builds a cosy cob home using materials he recycled from skips... and the tenant pays the rent in MILK

(MailOnline) By David Wilkes

It looks like something straight out of Middle Earth – and the story behind it is almost as fantastical.

This cottage cost just £150 to build, using only natural or reclaimed materials, and is now rented out for a fee of fresh milk and cream.

And with no mains electricity, gas or water, the bills don’t come to much either.  He also made the simple wooden roof frame and thatched it himself with straw from his fields. The 300 sq ft of floor space features floorboards rescued from a skip, while an old windscreen from a lorry provided glass for the windows.

With no central heating, you might think it would be a bit chilly, but he says the cob walls and thatched roof make it incredibly well insulated – and the ceiling is stuffed with sheep’s wool from a nearby farm to help keep the heat in further. Continue »