We have a strange relationship with petroleum. On one hand we love it. We rely on it to get us from A to B in a car or aeroplane; it heats and lights our homes; and provides much of the energy that makes our everyday life comfortable. There’s no doubt … Read more
Modern life is full of waste. The average North American generates about 20 tons of carbon dioxide each year while the global annual average carbon footprint is about 4 tons of carbon dioxide . Americans have a larger carbon footprint than the average global individual. Here are ten easy ways … Read more
For well over a hundred years bike frames were made of steel, and nothing else. Then along came aluminum – stiffer and lighter. Titanium took lightness and strength even further and some frame builders even experimented with exotic alloys of scandium and magnesium. Carbon fiber is now the material of … Read more
Conventional greenhouses rely on natural gas designs to keep them warm in the winter. Although heat can be felt during the winter months in an unheated greenhouse, the ground will still become very cold and most plants will hibernate or die. Solar greenhouses use thermal banking designs to create a … Read more
It wouldn’t be hard to argue that the last month has seen Twitter reach it’s tipping point, with Stephen Fry, #uksnow and even the national newspapers getting in on the action. But there was one tweet that really stood out online in this maelstrom of mumbling – Robin Grant, MD … Read more
Most horse owners will simply stockpile their horses’ manure on a daily basis. Meaning that the farmer will remove any fresh piles from the day and add it to a larger pile where it is stored for later use. This pile can be out in the open field where there … Read more
Water pollution is the term given to the undesirable effect of the addition of foreign objects to any body of water. The term first entered widespread use during the 1980s but the phenomenon had been around for many years, and especially a result of industrialization in countries. Water pollution is … Read more
Renewable resources are natural resources using natural processes that can replenish themselves over a period of time. All renewable resources are a part of the natural environment and make up the eco-systems on the planet. They are threatened by industrial progress but also must be monitored so as not to … Read more
Ecotourism sounds like it is good for the environment: after all it has the word “eco” in it. But like many things too much of a good thing can cause irreversible damage and this is true for the environment and those wishing to visit pristine areas. Ecotourism Benefits of Galapagos … Read more
People are starting to realize that industrial materials such as petroleum-based plastics, cotton and synthetic textiles and plantation-farmed rubber are destructive to our environment. Not that the processes used to make these materials was ever environmentally-friendly, but the scale to which production of these materials has grown to has cast … Read more
Whether you live in the country, the suburbs, or the city, raising chickens in the backyard of your house has become a very popular addition to sustainable living. Not only are chickens chic, but backyard chickens are a wonderful way to experience some permaculture principles and greater self-sufficiency at a … Read more
Ever noticed the number of people using Twitter to tell you about what they’re eating? I was wondering exactly that last week, and my thoughts led me back to an early A-Level Psychology class from 10 years ago. Back in 1943, Abraham Maslow was studying what motivates people and how … Read more
Forget about climate change for now. Soil erosion is a major contributor to such talk. One of the most ubiquitous problems that affects the United States and the rest of the world, look no farther than the edge of your plate. What food you see there, unless you purchased locally … Read more
Who doesn’t want a fresh garden-picked strawberry in the middle of a cold snowy winter? Hydroponic strawberries are an easy and sustainable method to meet this desire. Large scale or small, the principles of growing hydroponic strawberries are the same Strawberries are one of the best plants to grow hydroponically … Read more
Today we were allowed into the once ‘super-secretive’ headquarters of Procter & Gamble to learn about their famous and much lauded Connect & Develop programme. So what did we learn? They had a major crisis at the start of the millennium – the business wasn’t growing, innovation success rate was … Read more