Archive for January, 2010

Takes Care of Two Things at Once: Composting Food Waste


Takes Care of Two Things at Once: Composting Food Waste

Years ago my dad taught me the benefits of composting food waste. It had nothing to do with any type of “green” movement or being environmentally friendly, no, it had everything to do with reintroducing nutrients back into the soil.

Here is what he taught me then and it still holds true today. By burying your food waste and kitchen scraps (no steak bones though), you are providing a quality food source for the creatures that live in your soil. From micro organisms and those creatures that the human eye can not see, up to worms, which of course we do see.

See, what happens is these creatures eat the food (and of course each other) and then finally the worms eat basically everything and their castings (worm poop) create the best nutrients your soil could ever have. By continually supplying your garden soil with food waste you are feeding the earthly creatures and they reward you with healthy soil. Now where can you get a trade off like that!

Ok so here is how you do it. Get yourself a fairly large Tupperware bowl. One large enough to hold at least a week’s worth of food scraps. Then after each meal dump everything and anything into that bowl. Just do not put steak bones in there, they wont biodegrade or be eaten by the worms. Banana peels, apple peels, coffee grinds, fish, vegetable scraps, egg shells and basically anything you don’t eat, all qualifies.

When your Tupperware bowl gets full, take it out to your garden and dig a hole about a foot to two feet deep and then dump the food scraps into the hole. Fill in the hole with the dirt and mark the spot with a stick or something else so that you do not dig up that area again for another three months. You need to give those little rascals some time to eat it all.

Now you simply repeat this process as the Tupperware bowl gets full. If you find that you live in colder climates where the ground may freeze for lengthy periods of time, then consider starting a warm box to recycle your food scraps. That goes beyond the scope of this article but I am sure if you Googled the search term “vermicompost” you will get all the information you will ever need.

So what are the two things I was talking about earlier? Well obviously the first is you are adding nutrients to your soil through composting food waste. The second is by composting your food waste you are limiting the amount of garbage that ends up in a landfill. The average four person house hold creates about 8 pounds of food waste per week. If every family in America followed this process we would eliminate nearly one billion pounds of food waste garbage a year. Now that is a lot of trash!

Do your part and compost your food waste. The worms in your garden will love you for it and so will everyone else in the environment.

About the Author
Bruce Tucker is a contributing writer to Mike’s How-To Blog, a blog that covers a wide variety of topics and how to do them. You can also follow him on Twitter.

Green Tech News

Proper Installation of Wind Turbines is Very Important – Always Rely on Professionals


Proper Installation of Wind Turbines is Very Important – Always Rely on Professionals

The most efficient and economical way of using wind power to light up your home is to install a windmill or wind turbine as they are also called. The current trend is to use green energy to supplement energy generated from fossil fuels to ensure uninterrupted supply and protection of the environment.

Wind turbines of different sizes are available for your different requirements. If you live in an area where the average wind speed ranges around 10 to 12 miles per hour, you can install a wind turbine to generate electricity throughout the year. Depending on your energy requirements, you can opt for the right sized wind turbine starting from 2Kw units to even 20 Kw units.

Choosing a wind turbine manufactured by a reputed maker is essential but your task does not end there. You should choose the right contractors for installation of the wind turbine. Proper installation of wind turbines is very essential because of the following reasons.
• Installation of a 42 feet or more structure is not a simple task. The installation must be perfect to ensure that there are no safety concerns. Even the smallest flaw in installation can have severe consequences.
• A wind turbine may look like nothing more than a fan attached to a long pole. However, it is a complex and delicate mechanism that can be damaged with careless handling and improper installation. This can render your entire investment totally waste.
• The fans of the wind turbine may seem to be revolving very slowly from ground level. However, the height and the weight of the fans combined with its velocity can cause a lot of damage if breakage or other malfunction occurs.
• It is common to make use of the land beneath a windmill for other purposes. If you ensure that the wind turbine is safely installed, you can set up structures under the wind turbine without any fear of accidents and injuries.
• Setting up a wind turbine for your home will ensure that your energy requirements are taken care of forever. However, this requires a high initial investment. Improper installation will mean that your entire investment goes waste without sufficient benefits. What is the point of sinking thousands of dollars into your windmill if it conks off within a few days and you have to spend more repairing a faulty installation?

Hence, you should always deal with professional wind turbine contractors who know what they are doing. How to identify reliable contractors from all those who claim to be the best? For starters, all professional contractors who take up such projects of green energy offer a free quote. They do not charge for a quote which helps you estimate the cost of the project. Rather, they would be more than happy to offer the quotes for free.

Another way to identify professional service providers is to take a look at the spares and materials they use. Professional wind turbine installers will never use counterfeit material to reduce cost.

They follow strict safety codes and comply with all professional standards at all times. The net result of dealing with such installers for your green energy requirements is that you are assured of the best service at all times.

Dave Morrow recommends Gary Pipia the owner of http://www.windpowerspecialist.com
He is an expert in electrical contracting as well as the installation of wind turbines for home or commercial use. Also an author in the best selling book, 30 DAY TOTAL BUSINESS MAKEOVER.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Morrow

Titan News Episode - Part Three

Fort Cherry Schools of Technology Dir.


Fort Cherry Schools of Technology Dir.

Journalism For Development

The impression created by the media over years has been held with mixed feelings. Whereas some media corporate world are known to have positively helped transform societies politically, economically, culturally and technologically; some other have only torn the world apart through negative reporting that supports aggressive confrontation, glorifying terror activities to make eye-catching headlines with selfishly money motive.

Similarly, the aggressive, corrupt and oppressive groups and individuals (religiously, politically or economically) have been glorified in the way that sustains situation that steadily extinct some societies.

Their content hardly provided or suggested solutions to alarm-triggering headlines. And much of the media activities have lacked an element of social responsibility that is tangible to give a voice to the voiceless and direct transformative opportunities to the poor, disabled and other disadvantaged groups

Journaling is a key communication tool. All organisms by nature communicate either verbally or non-verbally, yet attempting to make sense of whatever cues that are exchanged or evaluated.

True, we tend to be evaluative of one another whilst trying to figure out what intentions the other party could have towards you. The aim can be to help measure up the relationship that possibly could be developed, whether health or not.

Of course, in certain encounters some people could be threatened, suspicious, lack confidence, defensively withdraw or get on well in a healthy and rewarding relationship. This, indeed, is how communities can influence attitudes and behavior towards one another. That way, we could manage, control and direct directs and behavior. What a powerful tool a pen can be!

But success through journaling it self needs a period of training and practical experience, such that we can communicate to effectively make or unmake relationships or evolve life through the aspects of observing, reading and listening to words and actions of others and things.

The primary motivators to writing is the element of having an opinion yet unique. As part of research steps, one would be required to publish a final report or summarized article from the investigations, results and analyses carried out. Other researchers or students would want to review literature about statements pending investigation. From their successes, investigators either get awards or promotion.

Through practical experience, some people make careers out of their abilities and skills to communicate effectively as writers, as advertising agents, as interpreters and, as counselors or therapists.

Secondary employment too could be provided by journalism like driving, distribution, sale or retailing, legal advising et cetera. Eventually, those associated to it could become social icons or global media giants.

On the other hand, journaling could have important health benefits as stress reliever. By writing about one’s traumatic experience, sufferer could drop so much mental toxins off him or her.

And, at the same time it would help improve on analytical and problem-solving skills crucial in successful dealing with the ever emerging challenges encountered in day-to-day life.

From the natural or ecological sense, journaling or communication significantly help to connect different elements of the eco-system -through the principles of interconnectivity and interdependence.

And through media, we can help improve the dangerous global situations as nuclear conflicts, to make the world a better place for everyone to live in. But this would only be so if we formed a common objective in solidarity to it (non-violence) under the principle of conscious non-violence through tolerance and respect for divergent views.

Waiswa Jacob
Situation Health Analyst
DISHMA-CONSULT
P.O. BOX 8885
KAMPALA-UGANDA
Tel. +256774336277 or +256754890614
http://www.situationhealthanalysis.blogspot.com

 

Save the Environment: Help by Recycling Cans


Save the Environment: Help by Recycling Cans

I like walking. Whenever I can I leave the car at home and walk. I walk to the shops, to the library, and many other places as well. Every day I see used aluminum drinks cans dropped on pathways and in hedgerows. If people want to dispose of them this way at least drop them where they can easily be picked up by someone else, and not in a hedgerow or other difficult spot where it is easy to be scratched and prickled by thorns.

Many people have a twinge of conscience about the environment and what we can do voluntarily to help save it. Recycling cans is what we can do easily. All you need do is separate them from the rest of the rubbish and either take them to a recycling centre or leave them in your “recyclables” bin, to be collected by, in our case, the local council.

The one thing we must not do is put them in landfill, because they don’t biodegradable.

Instead of throwing away empty aluminum cans away here are four ways to reuse them.

1. Used ring pull cans could be used as a miniature vase for a flower or two.

2. Rinse out used cans and use them in the garden shed for storing small items such as nails and washers.

3. You could use an old can to practice your putting. Take it to the office and put it on the floor any time you want to practice your putting.

4. Rather than leave your pens and biros scattered all around the house why not put them all together in a used can.

This is just four ideas of what to do with used empty cans. You might well be able to think up many more ideas for recycling cans.

Philip Woodrow is a part time author who writes on a variety of issues of personal interest including: Help save the environment and Recycling cans

Green with Pure Water Technology


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Technologies For New energy


Technologies For New energy

Climate Modeling Proves Global Warming, a Global Warming Alarmist Recently Noted

Many folks have taken to Global Warming, which by definition means the planet is warming due to CO2 from man-made emissions. If the planet were warming from any other source, it would be by definition called climate change. Unfortunately for the Global Warming evangelists the planet may not be warming, in fact, as of late the solar minimum is at a record low, and the planet is cooling.

Still, the believers in this doom and gloom scenario say that Climate Computer Modeling proves it. Oh, really, because as it stands humans wrote those computer models and the algorithms that generate these futurist prediction. In fact, one of the biggest issues with the climate modeling is they keep re-adjusting them to get the desired resultant. There is something seriously fishy about that.

Personally, I do not like pollution, land, sea or air, or even all that space debris up there. That’s just proof of inefficiency, which is not worthy of human potential or intellect. But, computer modeling is only as good as the program and data. Garbage in = garbage out.

If reduction of pollution, let’s say CO2 is the goal then let’s dump the scientific pretendism and get real; let’s just say that the human race has agreed to reduce greenhouse gases on the planet caused from mankind and then start doing it. But to hold this Global Warming doomsday theory out as real is really not helping anyone. In fact, we are liable to change our entire civilization’s infrastructure for no reason whatsoever.

Because the reality is that the Earth’s atmosphere and ambient surface temperatures heat up and cool in cycles and they have for billions of years, and there is nothing that mankind presently can do about that. Think on it.

Lance Winslow – Lance Winslow’s Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.

Green Shopping Basics


Green Shopping Basics

Going green always starts with good intentions, but the massive amount of green terms can sometimes be overwhelming. Here’s some of the common green terms you’ll hear and what they mean.

Organic
The term organic can often be used very broadly, but typically refers to products that have only organic components, produced without pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, or fertilizers or other harmful chemicals.
Look for: USDA Certified Organic

Sustainable
Products or materials that are described as being sustainable contain materials that do not deplete the Earth of its resources and is easily replenished. There are many common types of materials that are considered sustainable:

Bamboo - Bamboo is a fast-growing and renewable resource that can be used to make fabrics, flooring, furniture and other products.

Jute – Jute is a long and shiny vegetable plant fiber that can be woven into a strong thread or twine. It is commonly used to create cloth or used within carpets, and rugs.

Hemp – Hemp is a fast-growing plant that is most commonly used for its strong fibers to create cloth used in bags and clothing. It can grow organically and also be used to create oils for cosmetic products as well as be used in food.

Sustainable Wool – There are many types of sustainable animal wools such as alpaca fibers or merino wool that can be used to create strong fibers commonly used in clothing.

Energy-Efficient
Products that are energy-efficient are design to consume less energy when operating without sacrificing performance, reducing long-term environmental and cost impacts. Energy-efficient products can range from appliances to light bulbs as well as contain different levels of efficiency.
Look for: Energy Star Qualified, EPEAT Rated

Post-Consumer Recycled
Once a product has completely served its purpose, what remains are post-consumer materials that would otherwise be disposed as waste but are instead recycled. This would include products such as old packaging, glass bottles, aluminum cans, and plastics. When you recycle from your home these products become post-consumer recycled.

How is this different vs recycled? Regular recycled materials can contain a combination of materials, often coming a scraps or other by-products as a result of manufacturing. This could include both pre-consumer and post-consumer waste.

Recyclable
A recyclable product means that it can be recycled and be used to create future products. Polypropylene #5 is a common plastic to look for in products which is one of the most easily recyclable plastics.
Look for: Polypropylene #5

Reusable
Reusable products mean that a product can be used multiple times before the product is discarded or recycled. Some common reusable products are shopping bags, water bottles and tableware.

Fair Trade
Fair Trade is a social movement that promotes certain standards of sustainability practices and empowering producers in developing nations. Fair trade supports fair prices, fair labor conditions, community development and environmental sustainability.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
VOCs are organic chemical compounds that have high vapor pressure and easily evaporate at room temperature. VOCs can be released from many household items such as paints, flooring, upholstery, and cleaners. These VOCs are not only air pollutants but have also been known to cause health effects as well.
Look for: Low-VOC, Zero-VOC

Bisphenol A (BPA)
BPA is an organic compound that is used in the creation of many plastics and resins. Most commonly you will find BPA used polycarbonate bottles. While there is some controversy about the effects of BPA, some research has raised serious health concerns about the usage of BPA.
Look for: BPA-free

Biodegradable
Biodegradable means that a substance can be naturally decomposed by biological processes. If a product is biodegradable, this means that it can be disposed of with no negative environmental impacts.

Solar-Powered
Solar powered products are powered using energy from the sun. Solar power can be used in a range of products from small household gadgets to entire home heating systems.

Now you’re ready to start shopping for green products!

To learn about more about shopping for green products, please visit the All Green Store.

The News for Green Vehicle Team (segment 3)

Technologies For New energy


Technologies For New energy

Your Second Hand Clothes: Recycle

Landfill in the UK is becoming a huge problem. With the drop in the price of recycled products, the issue is what to do with all of the waste that we produce. The breakdown of waste in landfill sites creates huge amounts of the greenhouse gas methane. There are also many products that will not breakdown and will remain in the environment for ever with the potential to contaminate water supplies.

Traid, a charity specializing in the recycling of textiles reports that 900,000 tons of shoes and clothing are thrown away each year in the UK. Only 200,000 tons per year are recycled and the rest is dumped in landfill. The government estimates that similar amounts of between 550,000 and 900,000 tons of textiles are thrown away each year.

In addition to the problems of waste and landfill in the UK, there is also the consideration of the energy used and waste generated by the manufacture and distribution of clothing and textiles. Growth of cotton uses a huge amount of chemical pesticides and environmentally damaging cultivation methods. The manufacture of man made fabrics also has a huge environmental impact with. Demand for polyester the most widely used synthetic fabric has almost doubled in the last 15 years. The manufacture of polyester uses large amounts of crude oil and an energy-intensive process. It releases emissions including volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and acid gases such as hydrogen chloride, all of which can cause health problems for workers by causing or aggravating respiratory disease.

Second hand clothing is becoming more popular as people begin to recognise the real costs of fast fashion. Consumers are becoming more aware of their buying choices and ways that they can help the environment.

Finally, there is one more great reason to recycle second hand clothing. Just because you are fed up with a piece of clothing or it does not fit you nay more, it does not mean that it has no worth. You can make sure that the worth of your second hand clothing is realized by swapping it at a swishing party on a clothes swapping website, selling it or donating it to your favorite charity.

This article was written by Ceri Heathcote for posh-swaps.com, a website for swapping, buying and selling second hand and vintage clothing.

Clothes swapping and buying and selling second hand clothes is a great way to reduce the impact of fashion on the environment and to save money.

Activated Carbon Odor Combatant


Activated Carbon Odor Combatant

There are many stinky things in the world today. From the bathroom to the kitchen there are things in everyday life that can cause a nose to curl. However, activated carbon can quickly eliminate odors in the home, office, or commercial building. While many products simply mask odors or cover them up, activated carbon can absorb the odor and eliminate it once and for all. There are many ways that activated carbon can be used within a building to remove odor. Whether the smell is a permanent or occasional odor, activated carbon can be used to eliminate it.

Air Filtration Systems

An air filtration system can be placed on the air supply to any building to help eliminate the odors in the building. If there is a central heat and air system in the building the air filtration system can be used in the circulation process. A free standing air purification system can also be used in bathrooms that are used by numerous employees. These systems are much more effective than other means of removing odors.

Odor Blocking Masks

For those who work or play in environments that are not appealing to their noses there are activated charcoal masks that can be worn. These masks work to block the smells from reaching the nose. As the smell passes through the mask it is sucked up against the carbon and held there, eliminating the smell. These masks are perfect for those who work with garbage, waste, or cleaning products.

Flatulence Elimination pads and Inserts

Flatulence is a problem for many people today. Because of a fast paced environment and fast food restraints many people experience this condition. Luckily, there are now flatulence pads that can be used to eliminate the odor that accompanies flatulence. These pads can be placed in a chair for those in an office. However, there are also flatulence pads that can be placed inside the undergarment to eliminate odors.

Odor Eliminators for Pets

Activated charcoal can also be used to eliminate the odor that accompanies pet ownership. There are many smells that can come from litter boxes, accidents on the floor, and messes made in the yard. However, activated carbon can be made in the form of a powder. This powder can be sprinkled into the litter box, on the carpet, or in the yard outside. For use on the carpet in can be sprinkled on and then vacuumed up However, in other places it can be left to continue working. It is perfectly safe to use around pets and will not cause any harm if they ingest it.

There are many uses fro activated carbon today. It is an excellent odor eliminator. While these are many of the uses for eliminating odors there are many more. Anywhere there is a smell or odor; activated carbon can be used to eliminate it. This product is a green option for cleaning, absorbing, and eliminating odor. Activated carbon also has many other uses including purification, detoxification and moisture absorption.

Carbon Resources Management Team has over 70 years of experience in the Activated Carbon and Activated Charcoal carbons industry. Our Sabre series® activated carbon products are the most diverse line of activated carbon products on the market.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_Walsh

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Is Making Biodiesel at Home Safe


Is Making Biodiesel at Home Safe

The flammability point of biodiesel.

I’ve mentioned that it’s biodegradable that it’s safe to use blah, blah, blah, all these different things, but I want to show you how safe this is. This biodiesel, I’ve made from canola oil, so I’m going to pour a little bit in here, and now it’s time to play with fire. We’re going to come down here. Light up our torch, notice I have my fire extinguisher people.

We now have a nice blow torch going. Notice I’ve got some nice biodiesel on the ground here. I want to show you that biodiesel is very, very safe to have around. I can’t light it on fire. This torch is a really hot torch. I’m actually using map gas. Map gas actually has a higher flame temperature. So I’m just trying to light this sucker on fire, and you know what, she’s not going. That’s because biodiesel isn’t actually that flammable. It has a much higher flash point than normal diesel, and I’ve just proven it.

And that’s one of the reasons people like biodiesel is because it’s so safe to use. In fact, if this stuff spills on the ground the MSDS and things that it calls for is get a garden hose and wash it off. It’s not going to light up. It’s as safe to have around as vegetable oil. No I have to cavy up that this biodiesel has been cleaned. We have got all the methanol out of it, and we’ll talk a little bit about that later, but I just want to show you that it’s very clean and it just doesn’t burn. That’s that little fun experiment. We want to show you that biodiesel will burn though. When it’s under pressure it does burn quite well. For this experiment I’m just going to start a fire, and I’m going to spray it into it. As you can see it will burn, so when it’s in your diesel and it becomes injected, it will burn beautifully. That’s biodiesel burning.

The DR Performance Diesel Products & Edge Diesel Products are both fully compatible with biodiesel- Nathan Young


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You Should Start Recycling Today


You Should Start Recycling Today

Recycling is like exercising – everyone knows we should do it, but not all of us do it as frequently as we should and many of us don’t do it at all. However, there are tons of reasons why you must make an effort to recycle as much as feasible. If you have not been diligent about recycling, this article provides some great reasons why you should start.

1. Recycling cuts back on global warming.
2. Production of certain materials from the start can release serious amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.
3. Recycling paper saves trees – for each ton of paper recycled, 17 trees are saved. Each of these trees can extract around 250 pounds of carbon-dioxide from the air in a year.
4. Recycling makes us more energy-efficient. It frequently takes a great amount more energy to form something from nothing than to reuse it.
5. It keeps our landfills from overflowing. We are fast running out of space for landfills especially near towns.

Beach towns have been dumping trash into their seas for years to by-pass the difficulty, but with widespread sea ecological collapse, this isn’t longer a practicable option. Worse yet, it’s hard to find land in suburban and agricultural areas whose residents will permit landfills to come into their areas without a fight. The squeeze for rubbish heap land is only going to become worse in the future.

Recycling gives us some hope. Studies show that 60% to 75% of rubbish in landfills can be recycled. That suggests that if everyone recycled, we would have 60% to 75% less rubbish in our landfills, and we’d need at least that far less land for rubbish disposal. The rubbish in landfills is mostly not treated in any way it’s simply thrown in a huge hole and buried over. A lot of this rubbish isn’t environmentally friendly or readily biodegradable and it is unsurprising that contaminants can get into our water. It is also a major reason why it isn’t safe to drink from streams and brooks when you are hiking and camping even when it’s like you are in a spotless environment. It reduces air pollution. A lot of factories that produce plastics, metals, and paper products release poisons into the air.

For instance, plastics are usually burned in incinerators. Plastics are made with oil, and that oil is released into the atmosphere when the plastic burns, creating significant greenhouse-gas emissions. From manufacturing to processing, from collection to invention it’s common knowledge that recycling is an expansion industry, earning billions of bucks yearly. Our desire to recycle is only going to grow more insistent as populations grow and as technology changes. It adds to property worth. It is obvious a rubbish heap near your house can decrease your property values significantly. Recycling decreases the quantity of land required for landfills. This decreases the quantity of homes near landfills, keeping property values up and house owners cheerful. The more folks recycle, the less landfills we need and if enough folks pitch in, recycling should pay off for everyone. It is good business. Pitting business against the environment is a lose-lose situation – everyone suffers.

Commercial factories and processing plants save masses of cash on energy and extraction systems when they use recycled materials rather than virgin resources. They also make sure that basic resources don’t become a scanty commodity, keeping demand and costs down and making sure that their business can continue for years to come. One person can contribute. Many of us think this is true with recycling, too but the reality is that small acts of recycling make a giant difference.

David Sein is a freelance journalist reporting on socially conscious issues.

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