Off-the-grid homes operate independently of all public utility services. Gas, electricity, water, sewage disposal – it’s all generated supplied or disposed of by independent means. Off the grid home made with adobe and strawbales Estimates for off-grid homes are approximately 300,000 off-grid homes in the United States and another 40,000 … Read more
Composting is a great way to teach your kids about reducing waste, recycling materials and reusing resources when we can. Although they may not completely understand why it’s so important at first, it will help them better understand the challenges we face as an Earth community to build a sustainable … Read more
Plastic is a victim of its own success. It’s so practical, cheap and versatile we manufacture millions of tons of it each year. It’s used right across the board, from cheap containers for food to high performance plastics used in motor vehicles. But getting rid of it is a nightmare. … Read more
Throughout the undeveloped world, more than two billion people cook and heat their homes with inefficient stoves or open fires, burning wood, straw, dung, or coal. These technologies, though essential emit air pollution that can harm respiratory and cardiac health of the individuals (typically women who are doing the household … Read more
Keyline design is a relatively new concept to those located outside of Australia although its origins have ties to the American dust bowl of the 1930s. Originally developed in the 1940s and 1950s by P.A. Yeoman on his farmland in Australia, this system of rainwater storage and gravity-fed irrigation is … Read more
The goal of Appropriate Technology (AT) is to increase the standard of living for the developing world without requiring excessive resources and to use sustainable materials appropriate to the cultural aspects of the local community. Appropriate Technology is one step beyond the basic concept of sustainable development because it is … Read more
Conventional farming today has lost most of it’s natural processing. Scientific advancement has led to using chemically enhanced fertilizers mixed with fossil fuels, genetically engineered seeds and organisms, pesticides and herbicides, and a process called irradiation. That is all before it is sold to buyers who then process it more … Read more
Sustainable practices in agriculture are required for a long and prosperous agricultural system. Since agriculture techniques became integrated with human culture, about 10,000 years ago, agriculture was practiced in a sustainable way; the intent may not have always been to be sustainable as human beings are likely to employ work-reduction … Read more
Chicken Farming Benefits, Latest Method of Poultry Farming Business Free range chicken farming versus commercial factory farming- which is better? These are the two most prominent ways that eggs end up at the local grocery store or farmers market. The first obviously the friendlier of the pair and the latter, … Read more
“In a hole in a ground lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing to sit on or eat: It was a hobbit hole and that means comfort.” The famous … Read more
Tree houses are an unusual undertaking. Generally those who embark on building a home in the trees cite the closeness to nature and the minimal impacts on the ground surface as evidence of an eco friendly and sustainable lifestyle. However, the sheer human cost of lifting all building materials up … Read more
Yeoman’s Plow is a type of farm machinery developed by A.P. Yeoman in Australia as a sustainable agricultural tool and enhanced method creating keyline designed farmland. Keyline design relies on the concept of gravity-fed irrigation and is a method that provides long-term water security, conservation of soil through prevention of … Read more
Compost tumblers are awesome. They create a compact, easy-to-turn space for your discarded food scraps and yard waste that will produce rich compost. Commercial systems can range anywhere under $1,000, which is outrageous. Smaller home versions can be found used at a discount or even free (check out Craigslist). This … Read more
A wonderful addition to any school science program is the construction and maintenance of an aquaponic garden. The advantage for schools is that aquaponics is a scalable system; it can be a small table-top endeavor or occupy a large area of the school yard or even the rooftop. School Aquaponic … Read more
With the cost of energy steadily rising every day, we tend to invest in electric appliances that are cost efficient. These are usually products that comply with Energy Star requirements. Using these types of products, we are assured that costs will be kept down. While using less energy, the impact … Read more