South Carolina and Clemson University are now to be a force of change in wind energy production. See the following article for more details about the Department of Energy’s grant to develop new wind technologies and jobs.
http://www.independentmail.com/news/2009/nov/23/big-grant-puts-clemson-wind-turbine-business/
This is my favorite time of year: cool mornings and leaves turning warm shades of ochre, red and rust. It is also time for my favorite holiday, when all the spooky and creepy things are afoot. This year I vowed to have an eco-friendly Halloween party. I looked into what was on the market for eco-friendly items and found there is not many option at the local mega mart. Being the creative type, I decided to recycle some items I have to create a sustainable Halloween.
One of my family’s favorite Halloween traditions is carving pumpkins. There are not many options for lighting a masterpiece jack-o-lantern other than tea-light candles or battery-operated lights. A little trip to our backyard shed made me think of other options. Riffling through boxes of things waiting to be fixed, I came upon a great inspiration: if you have ever had solar garden lights, you know how the stems often break, rendering them seemingly useless. If you are anything like me, these lights won’t be tossed in the …
organic coffee beans
I cannot imagine a day without coffee—the aromas and tastes awaken all my senses. Personally, I have gone green with this daily practice: buying organic beans, using ceramic cups and composting used coffee grounds. As a coffee-loving greenophile, I often ponder how we can take personal practices, such as drinking coffee, into the local marketplace. While most of us have heard bad press about disposable coffee cups, perhaps we’ve not considered other opportunities that can take the daily coffee ritual into green territory. With cup in hand, I’ve thought of a few ideas for how green coffee-lovers can take to our home-based environmental practices to the local coffee marketplace. After all, small steps practiced at home can often be encouraged on the local, community level. You can take green ideas the next level by talking to these merchants about some ideas that they can use to go green. Here are a few ideas to consider:
• Fair Trade produced coffee. Fair Trade is a trading partnership, …
Going local doesn’t just apply to buying foods these days; it’s also about biodiesel. The Pickens County biodiesel program began production in July of this year. Their efforts are being commended state wide for the job they are doing with this program and its success. Currently, they are producing an average of 1000 gallons a month to fuel about 20 county trucks and backhoes. Future plans estimate being able to produce around 750,000 gallons a year. The biodiesel is made from used cooking oil, recycled from around the upstate, and methanol produced from corn. One of the future goals in the production of the biodiesel is to fuel generators used at the county’s sewer treatment plants. If these goals are met, it would enable the county to have the plants “off the grid,” ultimately saving an estimated $500,000 a year. This is just another good example of local people working towards a greener future.
As a collector of living art — better known as tattoos — I’ve questioned the impact of my collection. In my pursuit of living a “greener” lifestyle, is getting tattooed a bad thing? What types of chemicals were in the ink that was pushed under my skin?
Reading the article “Tattooed Greenies” on agricultureguide.org shed some light on my own thoughts and concerns. It was really scary to read that the traditional inks used in today’s tattoos are unregulated by the FDA. It has only been within the last year that the FDA has launched probes into the implications of the inks used in tattooing.
There are some questions that are still left unanswered. Are there truly green alternatives for the tattoo enthusiast? I would love to get some feedback from readers with their own experience in going green and tattoos.
If you would like to read the article on agricultureguide.org please follow this link. http://agricultureguide.org/tattooed-greenies-whats-really-lurking-under-your-skin
We’ve all heard about bamboo flooring and clothing. Here are some facts about this fast growing tree (it’s actually in the grass family).
Bamboo is the fastest growing “Tree” on earth.
Bamboo is as strong as hard wood.
Hardwoods can take over a hundred years to mature; some varieties of bamboo can mature in as little as three years. Under the right conditions bamboo can grow from 1.5 to 2 inches an hour.
Its healing properties have been utilized in the treatment of infection and respiratory ailments.
Bamboo has been used to make cooking utensils as well as being the dish being cooked.
Bamboo has been used as paper since the 5th century in China; it was the standard during the Han dynasty.
In Japan bamboo forests surround Shinto shrines to ward off evil.
There are almost 1000 species of bamboo in the world today.
The information here was found onWikipedia follow the link for more facts about this amazing plant.
I’d love to hear about some unique uses for bamboo everyone might not know about. Send me comments.
Have you ever wanted to make your own Eco-Friendly cleaning supplies? With all the chemicals in cleaners what’s a greenophile to do. Sara Novak from Planet Green posted some green cleaner recipes she found on Maryjanesfarm.com.
read more from Sara’s post and get your recipes here. http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/buy-cleaning-supplies.html
Have you ever wanted to make your own Eco-Friendly cleaning supplies? With all the chemicals in cleaners today what’s a greenophile to do. Sara Novak from Planet Green posted some great green cleaner recipes she found on Maryjanesfarm.com.
Read more from Sara’s article and the recipes here; http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/buy-cleaning-supplies.html
I was reading a blog post about helping schools in need by Melanie Smollin on takepart.com. As a parent in a rural area I understand the issue teachers face when the money just isn’t there for the classroom. We always have to send items needed to our kid’s classes that the school can’t afford to provide. The link to the article is below; there are some direct ways you can help now.
