Saturday is world car-free day. One day out of every year is selected to highlight the idea that it is possible to live without cars. It really is."No Car Day'' will cut 3,000 tons of emissions and save 33 million liters of gasoline, according to the ministry. (that's 8.7 billion gallons)Some places have been celebrating car-free week. Greenwich, UK, is celebrating by closing the town square to cars, and having a party with art, music, and a beach. Montreal, Canada, is also closing town square for a concert, and they're having hiking and other events this week.
This mower is so easy to use, even I can use it. When we brought it home, and to this day, my husband and I almost fight over who gets to mow the lawn. I'm not kidding! It goes like this... "I'll do it." "No, that's ok. I can mow it." "No really, you go inside. I'll mow the lawn." Finally we agree to split and each mow half. We've even had neighbors come over and ask if they can push it around, and they reminisce about the good old days.
Farm Aid was started in 1985 by Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp to raise awareness about family farms, and to raise money for farmers. For 22 years, they've been having concerts to educate people about the value of the American family farm.
America's family farms face many challenges from bird flu to genetic engineering, globalization to factory farms. We can help family farms by buying local food, teaching kids how to grow food, and being aware of where our food comes from. Factory farms are producing hormone and antibiotic-laden meat and chemically-produced vegetables that have an adverse effect on our health, which costs billions in the health care industry. Helping family farms helps everyone.
Some people are looking for more eco-conscious clothes and finding new (not-so-new) materials such as hemp, soy, bamboo, and organic cotton. They are long-lasting, durable materials and easy to care for.“Someday homeowners will even be able to print sheets of these solar cells with inexpensive home-based inkjet printers. Consumers can then slap the finished product on a wall, roof or billboard to create their own power stations.”Awesome!! I think this could be the future of power.
Volkswagen is teaming up with Carbonfund.org to offset an entire year of carbon emissions for every car bought between Sept. 1, 2007 and Jan. 2, 2008. The money will be directed to "help reforest areas of the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV) in Northern Louisiana."Not only does this program help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but it also restores native trees to habitat, provides food for local wildlife, reclaims barren pastureland and increases water security.-Autoblog
“It supports what dietitians have known for a long time, that feeding children on diets largely consisting of heavily processed foods which may also be high in fat, salt or sugar is not optimal for health.”-MSNBC
Buildings like West Quad also enhance and protect ecosystems and biodiversity, improve air and water quality, reduce solid waste, and conserve natural resources. Other benefits include improved individual and community health.Many students go home with the environment in mind and encourage their families to recycle, and live more eco-responsibly. When I read these stories, I'm always looking for something revolutionary, but these ideas are so simple! Reduce, reuse, and recycle are the prominent themes. They save the universities money on energy, and benefit the environment at the same time.
Increased ITN (Insecticide-Treated Nets) coverage in Kenya has resulted in 44 per cent fewer deaths in children, and increases in the birth weight of babies, according to preliminary data from the Malaria Control Department of the Kenyan Ministry of Health.Check out Nothing But Nets, a program partnering with the UN Foundation to provide free ITNs to people in Africa.
Powerfilm solar tent covers. They are able to generate solar power by covering their tent with a "thin amorphous silicon technology."
Free Air Conditioning (if you have well water!)
Over 2 million tons of non-biodegradable cat litter made from clay that is mined ends up in municipal landfills each year.Thurston County, WA is concerned with pet waste, and gives suggestions for disposal. One suggestion is to flush dog and cat waste down the toilet. There has been some confusion about toxic cat waste, and whether flushing is a good solution. Do not flush if you buy clay litter. It must be flushable. If so, it is perfectly safe to flush. Some people even train their cats to use the toilet. The concern with cat waste is from feral cats who relieve themselves outside, which will seep into ground water and sewer water.
Visit the City Farmer.com for a step-by-step guide to making your own dog waste composter. All you really need is a garbage can and a shovel. Cut out the bottom of the garbage can, dig a deep hole, bury the garbage can, dump the poop inside, and cover with the garbage can lid. You can add enzymes to start the composting process. Since this method reaches the soil, make sure you bury it away from food gardens.Earlier this week, a string of severe thunderstorms caused significant flash floods, mudslides and dam breaks throughout Ohio. As families and individuals wade through deep waters towards shelter, the rains continue. Local chapters immediately opened shelters for the hundreds of people that had to evacuate their flooded homes. Over 700 Red Cross disaster workers are serving hot meals and snacks, as well as distributing clean up and comfort kits to affected residents. - Red Cross
every month in the United States some 100,000 pounds of CDs become outdated, useless or unwanted. Every year, more than 5.5 million software packages go to landfills and incinerators. -earth2techComputer software is another element that is being moved to the web almost entirely. By the time a CD-based software program hits the shelves there may be updates, so you can save packaging, and maybe some money, by buying software online.
Humboldt penguins are warm climate penguins, unlike their Antarctic relatives. Humboldt penguins are commonly found in more temperate cThey are an endangered species, with some estimates giving them 10 years of existence. Akron Zoo worked with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Humboldt Penguin Species Survival Plan to breed the chicks.limates like Peru and Chile.
... uses the right kind of wood that serves as a heater and as an air conditioner, combined with some other techniques in how the wood is assembled to operate energy life pressure. You don't have to add energy into a house after you build it. I love that concept. It's like the way I used to make computers. I want to build it myself.His home will be built from Southern Yellow Pine, which maintains a temperature of 71 degrees. He said that more Souther Yellow Pines are planted each year than are cut down. Read this article to learn more. This engineering is fascinating - it is well worth your time!
One aspect of conservation is to use less so that there is more to go around, either to more people or for a longer time. I disagree with this concept pretty strongly. Personally I want to conserve but I wouldn't push that concept on others as a "right" way to live. I only want to serve as an example. I don't want to tell others that they are bad people or doing "wrong" things. That's not a good way to keep open communication.It's definitely a good idea to live by example, and to share ideas about what we're doing to reduce our impact on the environment. Pick what works for you, and do that. You'll save $$ and feel pretty good, too.
"Everyday drivers can adopt some of our best practices to ease their pain at the pump, reduce exposure to accidents and lessen their own environmental impact," said Robert Hall, UPS's fleet environmental manager.$3.69 a day? That's $25 a week!
With a travel makeover from UPS, a family of four recently shaved 84 miles a week off its driving. Using the routes mapped out by UPS, the family discovered it could save $3.69 a day, or almost $1,000 a year, on weekday travel alone.
Opponents fear sugar cane may present many of the same problems as corn - namely the clear cutting forests and destroying native crops to make room to grow sugar cane. It may also eventually force farmers to grow more sugar to meet demands, driving up the price of food crops. However, sugar cane doesn't grow well in rain forest conditions. "To show they're going the extra mile, many [sugar cane companies] have signed a pact to gradually put an end to the slash-and-burn method of harvesting that has been a sooty hallmark of sugar cane farming." With this approach in mind, sugar cane may be better than corn ethanol. Either way, let's keep this discussion going.
American company Rubbersidewalks has created a (I think) brilliant product. They recycle car tires and make rubber sidewalks out of them. Why? The rubber sidewalks allow tree roots to breath and get water, so they don't pop up through the sidewalk and cause all sorts of damage and unsightliness. Saving trees and city sidewalks... what could be better? They save money and keep tires out of landfills too!The reversible pavers don't expand in hot weather, and they absorb and retain less heat than concrete. The system has been freeze-thaw tested according to ASTM C1026 with good performance characteristics exhibited, and is also ADA compliant for pedestrian and wheeled traffic. While the pavers aren't considered porous themselves, the system provides immediate drainage at the module seams.Washington, D.C. tested it last year and found that, although it costs more initially, the rubber sidewalks will save money, trees, and resident complaints, and it won't have to be replaced for about 14 years - 3 times as long as concrete. Part of the high cost is due to the fact that the company is located in California, so shipping is a big factor. They are hoping to open a New York location to spread the goodness.
We have recently discovered the benefits of composting. I had been thinking about it for a while - every time I threw a banana peel into the garbage -there's got to be a better use for this. So, we looked more into it at the Burning River Fest. The people from The New Agrarian Center were very helpful, as was the guy from Great Lakes Brewing Company. Both are master composters.
PowerPod has created a super ecologically-friendly house. The roof is designed with solar panels, and they bounce sun off each other to ensure maximum exposure and absorption of the sun. It funnels rain for collection and reuse, and the solar panels heat the water. So far, no carbon use.
We went to the Burning River Festival on Saturday and it was the best festival ever. It was on Whiskey Island in Cleveland and the weather was perfect! There were vendors from Whole Foods, Great Lakes kegs of course, Green Energy Ohio, the Cleveland Co-op, Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, The New Agrarian Center, and so many others. Everyone was fantastic and the food was great. I missed the Great Lakes ice cream, but was treated to chocolate-covered strawberries for dessert!
I try to follow what I call the Pronounceable Diet. That means that I try not to eat anything I can't easily pronounce, specifically, things like TBHQ (tert-Butylhydroquinone), acesulfame potassium, cochineal, mono or diglyceride, etc. The purpose is to avoid un-natural chemicals in what I eat.“My legislation will close these loopholes and make our federal animal welfare laws more comprehensive by ensuring that anybody who knowingly sponsors, exhibits an animal in or views a dog-fighting venture can be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. My legislation also ensures that it is illegal to buy, sell, possess, train, transport or deliver any animal specifically for the purpose of participating in a dog-fighting venture,” Sutton said.There could be tens of thousands of people involved in dog fighting in the US every year. Even in Ohio, dog fighting is a popular activity. "In March, a federal grand jury in Dayton, Ohio, indicted nine people on 45 counts for their roles in the operation of an extensive, multi-state dog-fighting ring." NE Ohio has also seen some dog fighting and cock fighting cases.
The legislation will also delete provisions in current law requiring prosecutors to prove that animals crossed state lines to fight and increase the penalty for dog fighting from a maximum three-year prison sentence to a five-year prison sentence.It should have a much longer sentence, in my opinion - participation in dog fighting unveils some serious psychological problems, and animal abuse often leads to domestic violence and other crimes.
MISSIONLocation: Wendy Park at Whiskey Island
With the goal of raising awareness of environmental issues that affect our region and the Cuyahoga River ecosystem, the annual Great Lakes Burning River Fest educates families and the community on how to sustain a cleaner and healthier environment through interactive programs, music and art.
an environmentalist's dream: separating wet garbage, crushing cans, adding grass clippings to the compost, letting grass grow longer (and setting your mower to mulch instead of throwing grass away), and put fruit and vegetable waste in the compost.Will these waste-reducing residents hamper the striker's leverage? Possibly. If people use less, reduce their garbage, and learn to recycle and compost, the garbage collectors may not be as critical as they thought. The garbage strike won't be fun long-term, but it may get people to think about their consumption, and where it all goes.
I graduated from Ohio University, and I loved Athens so much that my husband and I try to go down there every year for the Athens International Film Festival. We didn't make it this spring, so we went down for 2 days this week. We brought our dog, Kimse, and stayed in a cabin on Lake Hope. It was beautiful! We packed our food, and grilled every night. I enjoyed a Burrito Buggy burrito for lunch. Yum! Athens is such a fun town, and it's always interesting to drive the back roads and wonder about the people who live in Southern Ohio. Here are a few pictures of our trip.
Oct 19-21
