Category Archives: organic

How to Prep Your Dog for Camping

by Mellisa28Y Posted on August 11, 2016

Is it a good idea to take your dog camping?

On the plus side, when you take your dog along on a camping trip, you don’t have to board her in a kennel or leave her alone with just an occasional dog sitter dropping by. She may really enjoy the outdoors, so the trip could be a lot of fun for her. And dogs are pretty good for security, so especially if you’re going by yourself, a dog could make it a lot safer for you.

On the other hand, not all kinds of camping trips are good for dogs. If you’re planning on backpacking over very steep terrain that might involve some technical rock climbing, leave your dog home. The same goes for camping in harsh cold conditions where you might be able to dress for the weather, but your dog can’t. Winter camping in snow and maybe ice might sound like fun to you, but your dog probably won’t love it.

If your trip does seem like it’s safe for your pet, here are several other issues to take into consideration:

Rabies

Make sure your dog’s rabies shots are up to date. You could encounter rabid foxes, raccoons, squirrelsor other animals.

Ticks and Heartworm

Many dogs have gotten Lyme disease after being bitten by a tick. If your dog is likely to be crashing around through woods, chances are she’ll encounter these nasty insects. Lyme disease can be as debilitating for dogs as it is for people, so please make sure that your pet’s flea and tick treatments are up-to-date. Comb outyour dog’s fur regularlywith a flea comb while on your trip. Make sure your dog’s heartworm treatments are also up to date.

Water

Take an unbreakable water bowl for your dog and give her water regularly so she won’t be tempted to drink standing water. When you calculate how much water you’ll need overall for your trip, include what your dog will need and remember, the hotter it is outside, the more H2O you’ll both need. When you filter water for yourself, filter some for your dog, too.

Food and Treats

You might be able to eat reconstituted, freeze-dried food, but not your dog. Your dog needs to stick to her regular diet, so pack inthe same amount of food she’d consume at home. Don’t be tempted to give your dog a piece of a s’more; a chocolate marshmallow sandwich is guaranteed to make your dog sick. If you cook meat or fish over a campfire, your dog could probably eat some morsels, as long as there are no fine fish bones. But otherwise, be good to your dog and feed her regular dog food. Keep treats handy in your pocket or in a reusable bag so you can reward your dog when she comes when she is called or obeys other commands.

Microchip

If your dog isn’t already microchipped, consider getting a chip implanted under her skin. Dogs can get lost in the wilderness just like people can; the microchip contains your contact information, which a veterinarian or animal control agency can use to contact you when they find your pooch.

Collar and Leash

Make sure your dog’s collar is secure and the tags with contact info and the dates of the last rabies vaccination are attached. Always have a leash with you in the event you need to restrain your dog.

Raincoat or Vest

Pack lightweight protection against rain or snow to keep your dog warm and as dry as possible if the weather turns foul.

Pador mat

If possible, have your pet sleep inside your tent with you. Bring a mat or pad for the dog to lie on, especially if the ground is cold.

Spade

Your dog will pee along the trail, and that’s fine. When she poops, if it is unrealistic for you to pick up the poop in a plastic bag and dispose of it at a later point, dig a hole 6-8 inches deep and bury it. The same goes for your feces. Here’s exactly what you should do.

Related:

What Camping Gear Can You Buy Used, and What Needs to be New?
10 Tips to Keep You Safe from Bears When You Go Camping this Summer

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

See the article here: 

How to Prep Your Dog for Camping

Posted in alo, ALPHA, Casio, FF, G & F, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, organic, PUR, Radius, Safer, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on How to Prep Your Dog for Camping

How Oyster Farming is Cleaning Our Water

by pauletteguajardo Posted on August 10, 2016

American palates are becoming more and more refined these days, with trends like pescetarianism and the farm-to-table movement increasing the demand for locally raised fish and shellfish. Overfishing remains a huge problem and so do contaminated waterwaysbut there may be a simple, natural solution on the horizon: oysters.

Increased Demand for Local Shellfish

Oyster farming on the East Coast has doubled in the past six years, according to NPR, and its no mystery why. Americans who can afford to do so are becoming increasingly interested in where their food comes from. They want local, sustainable, organic, antibiotic-free food and this desire has made a big mark in both foodie culture and agriculture.

“As much food as possibly can go on my plate at the least amount of money I can spend used to be the way things were,” says Jimmy Parks, a chef and owner of the Butcher Station in Winchester, Virginia. “Now people are getting away from that, and they’re gravitating toward … cleaner sources.”

For some species, like salmon and tuna, this trend may be alarming. Fish farms are notoriously dirty and bad for the planet, with antibiotics, unnatural fish feed, overpopulation and huge amounts of waste putting a strain on oceanic and river ecosystems.

Oysters, however, are a different story.

Oysters as Natural Water Filters

For one thing, oyster farming has an extremely low carbon footprint. According to the environmental news blog Grist, oysters are one of the cleanest animal protein sources you can eat in terms of carbon emissions.

Additionally, oysters act as natural water purifiers. According to The Nature Conservancy, roughly 40 percent of U.S. waterways are currently considered too polluted for swimming or fishing. Oysters can help change that. Grist reports that a mature oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water every day. That means that just one acre of populated oyster territory can filter 140 million gallons of water per day.

The mighty bivalves are ocean filters, Grist reports. Oysters soak up nitrogen through their flesh, turning the nutrient into a benign gas. They absorb nitrogen into their shells, too, and can store it there for decades, or even centuries, long after the little creature inside its shell is dead. At their most plentiful, the Chesapeakes oysters were capable of filtering all 18 trillion tons of bay water in about a week, rendering it nearly crystal clear.

Gulnihal Ozbay, an oyster researcher at the University of Delaware, told NPR that oysters not meant for consumption could be added to polluted waterways to help purify them, hopefully making them more appropriate for swimming, drinkingand fishing down the road.

Rebuilding Ecosystems and Economies

Finally, oysters stand to improve the health of some very important ecosystems: those of local waterways and our own human economies.

“The coolest thing is within our cages we see these little shrimp-like creatures that actually eat the pseudofeces of the oysters, Tim Devine, a Maryland-based oyster farmer, tellsNPR. And then things like seahorses and crabs and other things eat those little guys, and then the food chain has begun.”

This helps create a reef-like ecosystem within the waterway, bolstering aquatic populations and filtering water to boot.

From a human population perspective, these mighty little mollusks also play a strong role in maintaining balanced local economies. For years, Chesapeake Bay fisherman survived on proceeds from oyster hunting and sales. When oyster populations collapsed due to overfishing, many oystermen considered making career changes.

I tell you, there was nothing left, fisherman Johnny Shockley told Grist. We knew every spot there was in this river that was a good oyster bottom, and they were all gone.”

Maryland only legalized aquaculture (oyster and clam farming) as recently as 2009. Since then, the economy around oysters and other shellfish has begun to recover, to the relief of many local fisherman and their families.

Oysters are small creatures, but they sure can make a big impact, and its tiny steps that could add up to big changes for our oceans and waterways.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Visit link – 

How Oyster Farming is Cleaning Our Water

Posted in aquaculture, FF, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, organic, PUR, Radius, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on How Oyster Farming is Cleaning Our Water

A Tantalizing Offering From a Meal Kit Service: The Box

by Myrna Posted on August 3, 2016

The reusable box that FreshRealm created to reduce packaging waste is a selling point of its delivery service — and a product it sells to competitors. Source:   A Tantalizing Offering From a Meal Kit Service: The Box ; ; ;

View original: 

A Tantalizing Offering From a Meal Kit Service: The Box

Posted in eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, LAI, Monterey, ONA, organic, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on A Tantalizing Offering From a Meal Kit Service: The Box

Sanders Delegates to Bernie: You’re Not the Boss of Me

by AmyPalacios Posted on July 27, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

At a press conference held on Tuesday by the Bernie Delegates Network, an outfit independent of the Sanders campaign, none of the speakers indicated they had any knowledge that dozens of Sanders delegates later that day would walk out of the convention, stage a sit-in in the media workspace, and join a protest mounted by Sanders supporters outside the Wells Fargo Center. On Wednesday morning, Karen Bernal, a Sanders delegate who co-chairs the large and boisterous Sanders delegation from California, explained how that demonstration transpired. It was an organic action, with Sanders delegates deciding spontaneously to express their discontentment with a dramatic gesture. The protest signaled that some Sanders delegates were not looking for unity and had rejected Sanders’ request that his delegates not stage such actions during the convention. The message from these delegates to Sanders: You’re not the boss of me.

At the Wednesday morning briefing conducted by the Bernie Delegate Network, it was clear that Sanders was not in full control of his delegates. The group noted that the previous day, it had polled the 1,846 Sanders delegates on two questions. The first query: Did listening to the speakers on the first night of the convention (which included Sanders, who made a strong pitch for Hillary Clinton) make you more or less enthusiastic about the Clinton-Tim Kaine ticket? Of the 311 delegates who responded, only one-fifth said the night had juiced them up. Fifty-five percent said they were less enthusiastic. The second question: How much had Sanders’ message—work for Clinton in order to stop Donald Trump and don’t disrupt the convention—influenced you? Of the 276 who responded to that query, 43 percent said considerably, 30 percent replied somewhat, and 27 percent said that Sanders’ request had no influence on them.

Put that all together and here’s the picture: There is a noisy and substantial portion—perhaps a minority—of Sanders delegates who do not want to go quietly into the good night of a Hillary-Rah-Rah convention. And they’re not listening to the guy who brought them—or whom they brought—to the party.

A pro-Clinton convention/infomercial is just too hard for these delegates to swallow. “They’re accustomed to healthy granola,” said Norman Solomon, a coordinator of the Bernie Delegates Network, “and they get into the convention and they hear puffy white bread. It’s a shock to their system.” It certainly did not ease any of their concerns, he pointed out, that Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime pal of the Clintons, said on Tuesday night that he was sure that Hillary Clinton would reconsider her opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal if she were to become president. As Solomon noted, his group’s survey of Sanders delegates found that the opposing the TPP is their paramount issue.

Speaking at the Bernie Delegate Network, Bernal explained that the Sanders delegates spoiling for a fight—or a protest—at the convention are beyond Sanders’ control and are not an organized force. “No one organized yesterday’s quiet walk-out,” she said. “It was Occupy-style…It came together very organically in the most old-fashioned way. People were talking to one another.”

Bernal excoriated the Democratic establishment for not making room for the Sanders dissidents. “If you don’t allow for the space for that type of dissent within the party, you basically say we don’t have a place for you in the party,” she said. As a leader of the California Sanders delegation, she added, she could not rein in the protesters even if she wanted to (which she does not). “It is not a top-down affair,” she said. “We feel that we are not willing to go along with being extras in a scripted production.”

The delegates who walked, she said, were upset by the Kaine pick and remain angry about numerous slights directed at the Sanders crowd by the Democratic powers that be. “We’re still fighting an establishment orthodoxy we have pledged to fight against,” Bernal explained. “This is our one shot of doing that. We’re doing what we were elected to do.”

Solomon and Bernal both said they accept Sanders’ analysis that Trump must be defeated and that means Sanders people should support Clinton. Asked whether walk-outs and protests during the convention are in sync with this mission of thwarting Trump, Bernal responded with a long explanation about how the Democratic Party must respect and incorporate the Sanders wing:

It is a big experiment. The Democratic Party is being tested with our actions on how they will respond…We don’t start out with a plan of agreement. If you’re negotiating with an adversary…you don’t start out with below your bottom line…If they don’t provide that kind of space, the rank-and-file Bernie delegates say there is no place in this party for me.

Sanders has declared that he and his delegates did succeed in winning victories during the deliberations over the party platform and the party rules governing future presidential contests. Yet Bernal said she and other delegates were still upset that they lost platform fights on several matters: fracking, single-payer health care, TPP, and Middle East policy. And she was not satisfied with the rules change that will diminish the influence of superdelegates in future elections. She explained passionately that it was hard for many Sanders delegates to sit through the roll-call vote the previous night that included superdelegate votes that heavily favored Clinton and “skewed” the overall count. The roll call, she said, “spat in the faces” of the Sanders delegates.

Repeatedly, Bernal noted that a slice of Sanders delegates will not heed Sanders. “Sanders has a job to do,” she said. “He’s in a difficult position. We have a different job.” But, she added, she thinks that Sanders is actually delighted to see delegates upset the order of the convention. “I have to believe that deep down, secretly, he’s happy about some things,” she said. He had the motto during the campaign: ‘Not me, us.’ And some of the Bernie delegates have taken this to heart.”

A reporter asked Bernal if Sanders had started a fire that he no longer controls. She quickly replied, “He was never in control of it.” She then added, “We haven’t gotten much instruction from the Sanders campaign at all. And that silence speaks volumes.”

Yet Sanders, with his direct messages to his delegates and his speech to the convention, has been clear that he wants his base to join the party to elect Clinton. But Bernal shows that there is a band of Sanders delegates who embraced his crusade but who now believe they have a better strategy than he does. She said she had no idea what this group might do on the final nights of the convention. (Will they disrupt Kaine’s address on Wednesday night? There could be disorder. Or maybe not.) Their version of the Bernie revolution is not organized at this moment. The Sanders campaign empowered them, and now they are using that power on their own.

Original link:

Sanders Delegates to Bernie: You’re Not the Boss of Me

Posted in alo, FF, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, organic, Radius, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Sanders Delegates to Bernie: You’re Not the Boss of Me

The One Thing Hillary Cares About Most—When It Comes to Food

by ModestoKXP Posted on July 27, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

If Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton wins in November, what kind of food and farm policy can we expect from her? Like most presidential campaign seasons, the current one has been lighter than a soufflé in terms of debate around food issues. Here’s what we know so far.

(1) The 2016 Democratic Party platform is mostly short on food policy details. Farm programs get all of two paragraphs, under the rubric of “Investing in Rural America.” The section nods to “promoting environmentally sustainable agricultural practices” and “expanding local food markets and regional food systems,” a likely reference to the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food program instituted under President Barack Obama. It also takes a stand on farm workers, advocating “stronger agricultural worker protections including regulation of work hours, elimination of child labor, ensuring adequate housing for migrant workers, and sanitary facilities in the field.”

In other notable sections, the platform mentions developing “science-based restrictions” to protect Alaska’s wild salmon fisheries from a controversial proposed mine, and it vows to enforce antitrust laws to “protect competition and prevent excessively consolidated economic and political power, which can be corrosive to a healthy democracy.” As I noted a few weeks ago, that section contains the first mention of antitrust policy in a Democratic Party presidential platform in three decades; and if a President Clinton were to make good on it, there could be profound implications for our highly concentrated food industry.

(2) …except one: Clinton will likely defend hunger programs. The platform bluntly promises to protect “proven programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—our nation’s most important anti-hunger program—that help struggling families put food on the table.” SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, has been in the Republican crosshairs for years. President Obama and Democrats in Congress fought off a GOP attempt to slash SNAP in 2013, and there’s no reason to think Clinton won’t hold the line.

(3) The State Department hotly promoted GMOs abroad under Clinton. Diplomatic cables dumped by WikiLeaks back in 2013 showed that Clinton’s State Department lobbied foreign governments to weaken regulation of GMOs, including food labels, and operated public relations campaigns to improve their popularity. (More here and here.) Back in 2012, Jack Bobo, then serving as senior adviser for biotechnology at the State Department, even lobbied me to take a less critical view of ag biotech. (Bobo is now the chief communications officer of a biotech company.)

(4) She showed signs of appreciating organic ag as first lady. In the 1990s, before organic food went mainstream, Clinton was a fan. Walter Scheib, whom the first lady hired as White House chef in 1994, later reminisced that the Clintons “dined regularly on organic foods” and favored “both wagyu and grass-fed beef.” He added that “nearly all the product used was obtained from local growers and suppliers.” While Michelle Obama is widely celebrated for her robust White House garden, Hillary Clinton kept a small one on the roof, Scheib noted.

(5) She’s tightly aligned with Tom Vilsack, Obama’s US Department of Agriculture chief. The two veteran pols go way back—Vilsack credits Hillary Clinton’s fundraising efforts on his behalf for boosting his successful run as Iowa governor back in 1998. A decade later, Vilsack endorsed Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary. Last year, Clinton put longtime Vilsack adviser Matt Paul in charge of her Iowa caucus campaign, plucking him from his post as the USDA’s director of communications. The Clinton team aggressively floated Vilsack as a contender for vice president before settling on Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine for the post. But despite his getting passed over, there was a Vilsack angle—the campaign quickly named Paul, Vilsack’s longtime right-hand man, as Kaine’s chief of staff. Two Washington insiders who declined to be quoted directly have told me that Vilsack is and will likely remain Clinton’s top ag adviser, on everything from policy details to choosing the next USDA chief. That tells me that if Clinton prevails, the next administration will look a lot like the current one on ag policy. Here’s my recent summary of Vilsack’s eight-year run as USDA chief.

Originally from:

The One Thing Hillary Cares About Most—When It Comes to Food

Posted in FF, G & F, GE, LG, ONA, organic, oven, Radius, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The One Thing Hillary Cares About Most—When It Comes to Food

Eco-Aware Kitchen Cabinet Replacement or Renewal

by fji5enf2 Posted on July 26, 2016

You work hard at keeping your kitchen greenbuying healthful, sustainable food and drink to nourish your family and friends. Good for you! Now heres another area where you can make a positive difference to our planet. Make sure that your kitchen cabinets, as well as their contents, are eco-friendly, locally produced whenever feasible and constructed from sustainably produced or harvested substances. Whether you are planning to install new kitchen cabinets or upgrade your existing ones pick and choose from these 7 tips to minimize your impact on the health of Mother Earth.

  1. Reuse. Reusing what you already have is one of the basic principles of anenvironmentally mindfullifestyle. Repair damaged kitchen cabinets if possible, to extend their usefulness and postpone the need to purchase new material. Often cabinets which are somewhat the worse for wear can be renewed by changing the hardware or stripping their finish and redoing with water-based stain or paint.
  2. Reduce. If your present cabinet doors are a little (or a lot) battered, you might need to take more serious steps to make your kitchen functional once again. You can make choices that will reduce the amount of new materials youll need, though. Consider simply refacing the cabinet surfaces or replacing just the doors themselves, while preserving the boxes.
  3. Recycle. Recycling venerable old wood (salvaged from barns or fences that have been torn down or fallen on their own) is not only praiseworthy, it will also give your kitchen a very appealingly weathered rustic look. Do be sure to ask permission before bringing home wood from a demo site or a pile of discarded pallets; it may not be free for the taking. And check whether wood you plan to reclaim issafe free of mold, rot, or insect infestation, to name just a few examples.
  4. Replace responsibly. If none of the previous suggestions works for your situation, you might decide that your cabinets life is done and it is time to look for an appropriate replacement at last. Should you decide toinstall new kitchen cabinets, select natural materials, preferably ones that have not been transported long distances to where you live. Durable, beautiful wood, such as oak, cherry, or mahogany is a good choice; look for Forest Stewardship Council certification that it was sustainably sourced. A new hybrid wood, lyptus, is fast growing and can be harvested without damaging the surrounding environment.
  5. Research other materials for their green potential. Bamboo has become a popular, less expensive, alternative to wood; however, recently questions have started to be raised about its sustainability. In addition, bamboo planks may contain a formaldehyde-based adhesive. A promising new source for cabinet construction is actually farm waste. A process has been developed to transform the debris which is left over from harvesting sorghum, sunflowers, or wheat into attractive fine-grained boards.
  6. Recycle once again. Dont just discard your old kitchen cabinets after they are removed. You may be able to donate them to your local branch ofHabitat for Humanityor at least drop them off at the salvage center.
  7. Remember the details.Opt for environmentally sound materials to craft the interiors of your kitchen cabinets, as well as their faces. Avoid using any toxic adhesives or finishes that will off-gasVOCs (volatile organic compounds)into the air of your home.

By Laura Firszt, Networx.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Originally posted here: 

Eco-Aware Kitchen Cabinet Replacement or Renewal

Posted in ATTRA, bamboo, eco-friendly, FF, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, organic, PUR, Radius, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Eco-Aware Kitchen Cabinet Replacement or Renewal

Why Home Solar Panels No Longer Pay in Some States

by FranzisIXZ Posted on July 26, 2016

green4us

Cesar Millan’s Short Guide to a Happy Dog – Cesar Millan

After more than 9 seasons as TV’s Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan has a new mission: to use his unique insights about dog psychology to create stronger, happier relationships between humans and their canine companions. Now in paperback, this inspirational and practical guide draws on thousands of training encounters around the world to present 98 essential lessons. Taken together, they will […]

iTunes Store
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo

This New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant […]

iTunes Store
The General’s Handbook Enhanced Edition – Games Workshop

An essential resource for all warlords of the Mortal Realms, the General’s Handbook comes packed with new, exciting ways to play Warhammer Age of Sigmar, including: Open Play – Ideal for new hobbyists, this straightforward system will have you playing games in no time. Narrative Play – Narrative play brings the stories of the Age […]

iTunes Store
Signs from Pets in the Afterlife – Lyn Ragan

Communications from beloved pets are seen by thousands every day. Some messages are given in ways that do require an acute awareness, and more interpretation as well. From the Heavens above, Signs are given by deceased pets to connect with their families they left behind. Oftentimes, the gifts they share are unseen or are difficult […]

iTunes Store
Make a Statement – Janet Crowther & Covington

From runways to boutiques, statement jewelry has become the coveted accessory. In Make a Statement, jewelry designers Janet Crowther and Katie Covington share their trade secrets for using basic techniques and easy-to-source materials to make stylish jewelry and accessories, from a gold bib necklace and geometric hoop earrings to a classic charm bracelet and elegant […]

iTunes Store
How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, […]

iTunes Store
Spark Joy – Marie Kondo

Japanese decluttering guru Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up  has revolutionized homes—and lives—across the world. Now, Kondo presents an illustrated guide to her acclaimed KonMari Method, with step-by-step folding illustrations for everything from shirts to socks, plus drawings of perfectly organized drawers and closets. She also provides advice on frequently asked questions, such as whether to […]

iTunes Store
Dream Home – Jonathan Scott & Drew Scott

. Jonathan and Drew Scott have taken HGTV by storm with their four hit shows, Property Brothers, Property Brothers at Home, Buying & Selling, and Brother vs. Brother. The talented duo’s good-natured rivalry, playful banter, and no-nonsense strategies have earned the popular twins millions of devoted fans who have been anxiously waiting for a Scott […]

iTunes Store
The Sustainable Vegetable Garden – John Jeavons & Carol Cox

From the author of our best-selling and widely beloved HOW TO GROW MORE VEGETABLES comes this “quick and dirty” introduction to biointensive gardening that shows it is not only possible but easy to grow astonishing crops of healthful organic vegetables and fruits, while conserving resources and actually helping the soil. A revolutionary approach to feeding […]

iTunes Store
Projects for Kids – Authors and Editors of Instructables

21 Projects Guaranteed to Keep Your Kids Occupied This Weekend give you full step-by-step instructions for 21 amazing kids activities that your family will love.  Learn how to entertain your kids with the DoodleBot360, LED Throwies, Grow Your Own Magic Crystal Tree, the Marshmallow Shooter and other projects that are sure to hold your child’s […]

iTunes Store

Originally posted here:

Why Home Solar Panels No Longer Pay in Some States

Posted in ALPHA, eco-friendly, Everyone, FF, G & F, GE, LAI, LG, Monterey, ONA, organic, solar, solar panels, solar power, TOTO, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Why Home Solar Panels No Longer Pay in Some States

A 1-acre permaculture farm supplies 50 families

by RosettaKunkle Posted on July 26, 2016

green4us

The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) – Monks of New Skete

For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America’s most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond. In their two now-classic bestsellers, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, the Monks draw on their experience as long-time breeders of […]

iTunes Store
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo

This New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant […]

iTunes Store
Make a Statement – Janet Crowther & Covington

From runways to boutiques, statement jewelry has become the coveted accessory. In Make a Statement, jewelry designers Janet Crowther and Katie Covington share their trade secrets for using basic techniques and easy-to-source materials to make stylish jewelry and accessories, from a gold bib necklace and geometric hoop earrings to a classic charm bracelet and elegant […]

iTunes Store
Cesar Millan’s Short Guide to a Happy Dog – Cesar Millan

After more than 9 seasons as TV’s Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan has a new mission: to use his unique insights about dog psychology to create stronger, happier relationships between humans and their canine companions. Now in paperback, this inspirational and practical guide draws on thousands of training encounters around the world to present 98 essential lessons. Taken together, they will […]

iTunes Store
The Sustainable Vegetable Garden – John Jeavons & Carol Cox

From the author of our best-selling and widely beloved HOW TO GROW MORE VEGETABLES comes this “quick and dirty” introduction to biointensive gardening that shows it is not only possible but easy to grow astonishing crops of healthful organic vegetables and fruits, while conserving resources and actually helping the soil. A revolutionary approach to feeding […]

iTunes Store
How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, […]

iTunes Store
The General’s Handbook Enhanced Edition – Games Workshop

An essential resource for all warlords of the Mortal Realms, the General’s Handbook comes packed with new, exciting ways to play Warhammer Age of Sigmar, including: Open Play – Ideal for new hobbyists, this straightforward system will have you playing games in no time. Narrative Play – Narrative play brings the stories of the Age […]

iTunes Store
Be the Pack Leader – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

Bestselling author Cesar Millan takes his principles of dog psychology a step further, showing you how to develop the calm-assertive energy of a successful pack leader and use it to improve your dog’s life–and your own. Filled with practical tips and techniques as well as real-life success stories from his clients (including the Grogan family, […]

iTunes Store
Spark Joy – Marie Kondo

Japanese decluttering guru Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up  has revolutionized homes—and lives—across the world. Now, Kondo presents an illustrated guide to her acclaimed KonMari Method, with step-by-step folding illustrations for everything from shirts to socks, plus drawings of perfectly organized drawers and closets. She also provides advice on frequently asked questions, such as whether to […]

iTunes Store
Gardening Basics For Dummies, Mini Edition – Steven A. Frowine & National Gardening Association

Your green-thumb guide to planning, planting, and cultivating a garden With some basic knowledge, the right tools, and a little work, anyone can transform a boring old yard into a beautiful garden. This friendly guide tells you how. From improving your soil to selecting plants and caring for them, you get just the information you […]

iTunes Store

Continue reading – 

A 1-acre permaculture farm supplies 50 families

Posted in aquaponics, eco-friendly, FF, For Dummies, G & F, GE, Jason, LAI, Monterey, ONA, organic, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A 1-acre permaculture farm supplies 50 families

Would You Build a Compost Powered Hot Tub?

by HeribertoMcConn Posted on July 24, 2016

How would you like to take some lawn waste, use it to heat your hot tub for 18 monthsandbe left with a huge pile of rich compost at the end of the project?

It sounds like the last scene from Back to the Future, right?

Well, Tom Bartels of Durango, CO is a very inventive gardener and has figured this out. The best part is that its a project that anyone can do with enough space and time to assemble it. The materials are all readily available, no flux capacitor necessary.

How It Works

You know how compost gets hot as it decomposes? Most gardeners would be familiar with that effect but few have ever considered harnessing that heat for any real purpose. But it can be done.

Tom uses a large quantity of wood chips (and a few other minor ingredients) to power his off-the-grid hot tub. It ends up being a 6 foot tall compost pile that he insulates with leaves. The hot tub itself is insulated only with straw bales and a foam topper.

He uses an electric pump to circulate the closed-loop system, which costs him a whopping $3.27 per month in electricity. Hook it up to a solar panel and it would be totally off the grid!

Consistently Hot Water in Freezing Weather

The water temperature in the hot tub stays between 104 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit all day, every day. Any time he wants to take a dip, the water is piping hot, without fossil fuels used to heat the 250 gallons of water.

All his data collection for the project was done over 2 months from mid-December to mid-February in Colorado with nighttime temperatures in thesingle digits.

Tom estimates that this heat production will continue for 18 months (!) after which the temperature will decline due to the compost maturing.

Pays for Itself in Year One

The cost to set all this up was about $700, mostly for the pump and pipes. But get thisthe market value of the organic compost is $700-$1,200!

So it pays for itself (or more) in the first year; every year thereafter is effectively free because the pump and piping are reusable and the wood chips that provide the fuel are waste material that landscaping companies are happy to get rid of.

Use It for Anything

Tom made a hot tub but what he created is just a system that produces heat from yard waste. You could use that heat for any purpose including:

Heating a house using a radiant floor
Heating a green house
Heating aquaponic fish tanks
And more; its limited only by your imagination…

Want More Info?

You can get complete details on how to create this system for free, fromToms website. He teaches this method in one of hisfree webinars.

Sabrina Wilson is a natural health enthusiast and a staff writer for the Organic Daily Post. Originally from Boston, MA, she is a recovering Lyme disease sufferer who attributes her recovery to naturopathic remedies and an obsessively clean diet. Find similar posts on Twitter @organicdailypst

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Source – 

Would You Build a Compost Powered Hot Tub?

Posted in eco-friendly, FF, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, organic, PUR, Radius, solar, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Would You Build a Compost Powered Hot Tub?

As Its Leaders Deny Warming Risks, the G.O.P. Platform Urges Private Sector to Capture CO2?

by Myrna Posted on July 23, 2016

Deep in the Republican platform, a quirky line urges the private sector to invent ways to sop up CO2 — a gas many G.O.P. politicians assert is harmless. Original source:   As Its Leaders Deny Warming Risks, the G.O.P. Platform Urges Private Sector to Capture CO2? ; ; ;

Original source: 

As Its Leaders Deny Warming Risks, the G.O.P. Platform Urges Private Sector to Capture CO2?

Posted in alo, alternative energy, Black & Decker, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, Monterey, ONA, organic, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on As Its Leaders Deny Warming Risks, the G.O.P. Platform Urges Private Sector to Capture CO2?