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Dirt Craft Natural Building. 5 Gallon Bucket Hydroelectric Generator. This is by far the most technically advanced innovation I’ve found for a five gallon bucket so far. Sam Redfield developed this design to provide a source of electricity that can be built cheap and hooked up to any source of flowing water – including irrigation systems, creeks and streams, or even sewage systems. If you are very mechanically capable, you can download the full 35 page design manual and attempt to build your own five gallon hydroelectric power plant. The Food and Climate Connection. From Trash to Treasure - Don’t Throw it Away! Make something BEAUTIFUL out of it!

Take these ideas and use your imagination to make your own treasures from junkyard items bound for the trash! How about creating a fun swing from an old tire? Reuse an old tree to make a log pathway Turning an old file cabinet into garage storage….what a fabulous use for an item that usually ends up in the dump! Over 400 Social Change Documentaries on 1 Page.

Just imagine what could become possible if an entire city had seen just one of the documentaries above.

Over 400 Social Change Documentaries on 1 Page

Just imagine what would be possible if everyone in the country was aware of how unhealthy the mainstream media was for our future and started turning to independent sources in droves. Creating a better world really does start with an informed citizenry, and there's lots of subject matter to cover. From all the documentaries above, it's evident that our society needs a new story to belong to. The old story of empire and dominion over the earth has to be looked at in the full light of day - all of our ambient cultural stories and values that we take for granted and which remain invisible must become visible. First Earth – A Cob Building Film for Inspiration Permaculture Forums, Courses, News, Information. Forget Sustainability. It’s About Resilience. 5 Easy to Grow Mosquito-Repelling Plants. As the outdoor season approaches, many homeowners and outdoor enthusiasts look for ways to control mosquitoes.

5 Easy to Grow Mosquito-Repelling Plants

With all the publicity about the West Nile virus, mosquito repelling products are gaining in popularity. But many commercial insect repellents contain from 5% to 25% DEET. There are concerns about the potential toxic effects of DEET, especially when used by children. Children who absorb high amounts of DEET through insect repellents have developed seizures, slurred speech, hypotension and bradycardia. There are new DEET-free mosquito repellents on the market today which offer some relief to those venturing outdoors in mosquito season. Here are five of the most effective mosquito repelling plants which are easy to grow in most regions of the US: Indoor Gardening. About Us. Is It Time For Water-Saving “Hybrid” Gardening?

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..if it can be applied in cars, why not to grow vegetables. Not too many years ago there was abundant space and unlimited water available for gardening. Today, with our postage-stamp size yards and increasingly scarce, rationed water resources, a new paradigm for water management by the home gardener has come to the forefront. Traditional in-ground planting with “broadcast” watering is highly inefficient, along with creating an unintended weed bed to cope with.

Result: higher water bills coupled with back-breaking labor in pulling weeds and constant cultivation. TetraBox Light by Ed Chew. Liquid to Light Designer Ed Chew takes a green step in the right direction with the TetraBox lamp, a light object made from discarded drink packets that would have otherwise ended up in landfills already packed to the brim.

TetraBox Light by Ed Chew

The design is achieved by unfolding the packets and refolding them into hexagonal and pentagonal sections that are then pieced together to form a geodesic sphere or any other desired shape. Here, the Epcot-like ball makes an attractive overhead light and casts an impressive web of shadows and shapes on the surrounding space. Designer: Ed Chew.

Enviro freaky fun

BuildItSolar: Solar energy projects for Do It Yourselfers to save money and reduce pollution. New Stories From 'Urban Agriculture Notes'. Food security, social justice. This video explains the end of the wolrd in 2012. Portable Farms™ Aquaponics Systems. How many people can live on planet earth? - BBC Horizon.

Who Needs Grass? Permaculture Research Institute. The Kniskerns’ yard is a sustainable smorgasbord The fifth of an acre where James and Mary Kniskern live in Arnold [Maryland, USA] was about what you’d expect for a suburban dwelling: grass, azaleas, daffodils in the spring, pachysandras year-round.

Who Needs Grass? Permaculture Research Institute

As you’d expect, it required the drone of a mower and sweat non-equity to keep it in shape. “I didn’t like to mow,” says James. But what was the alternative? Less than a decade later, the Kniskerns are living the alternative. Before the Kniskerns headed down the wood-chipped path to zero grass, they considered buying into an eco-village, so they visited several throughout the Mid-Atlantic. “It looked ugly,” James says. But their desire to reduce their impact on the land propelled them. “We just started sticking stuff in,” says Mary, of the “odds and ends of edibles” and fruit trees they planted in Arnold.

The Kniskerns knew nothing of Food, Not Lawns, a movement to turn grassy yards into food forests while building communities. Permaculture 101.