big ideas
Dehydrating Intro « Viggies Veggies
Several people have asked me about dehydrating in the last week or two, so thought I’d do a little write up about it. Dehydrating is my favorite method of preserving what I grow, so think it’s kind of funny that I haven’t really talked about it here! Dehydrating is a bit easier to do than canning because you prep the veggies or fruits and can let it sit in the dehydrator unattended.
Four African Teenage Girls Create a Pee-Powered Generator | Living on GOOD
In the past week or so since Hurricane Sandy devastated a large portion of the East Coast, we've seen people get creative about ways to harness power. From sharing outlets on the street , to using bikes as generators , people have come up with innovative ways to charge their cell phones and other items necessary for everyday life. While these ideas were resourceful, none of them are nearly as outside-the-box as what four African teenage girls came up with: a pee-powered generator. During the Maker Faire Africa , in Lagos, Nigeria on November 5 and 6, 14-year-olds Duro-Aina Adebola, Akindele Abiola, Faleke Oluwatoyin, and 15-year-old Bello Eniola presented their unique proposal. According to The Next Web , here's how it works:
Eco Bath by Jang Woo-seok
Use Your Water Twice It goes in the sink, then it goes in the toilet. What’s that? It’s your water bill! You’ve got to conserve in any way you can. Here’s a lovely simple system that makes use of the fact that toilet water never needs to be as clean as it usually is.
The World's First Vertical Forest Is Growing Sky High Did you know that Milan is one of the most polluted cities in Italy ? Apparently urban sprawl and increased emissions are major causes for slumping air quality in the international fashion capital. So Italian architect Stefano Boeri has formulated an unusual plan to give the city back what it’s lacking: namely, some greenery. Bosco Verticale is Italian for “Vertical Forest.” The project took inspiration from traditional Italian towers covered in ivy.
The World's First Vertical Forest Is Growing Sky High
Home Solar Power Batteries in Development - Sharp, Others Pushing Battery Technology
This won't work for everyone, but particularly if you have a south-facing roof that gets sun, this is a long-term investment that can yield a much better rate of return than most stock investments, even when the market is rising. How is that possible? First, generous federal and, in many cases, state tax rebates help defray the up-front costs, and you make up the investment in savings on your energy bill.
The Man Who Moved a Mountain - Neatorama
Dashrath Manjhi lived in the little village of Gahlour, Bihar, India. The nearest medical facility was in Gaya, which was only about 8 km away as the crow flies, but 50 km away by road due to a mountain. Manjhi's wife, Falguni Devi, was injured in the 1950s, and died on the long route to the hospital. Manjhi (and his neighbors) were of low caste and therefore the village was low on the government's priority list for road building.
Strombo | AWESOME THING OF THE DAY: Rio 2016's Green-Power Artificial Waterfall | CBC Television
Last week CBC/Radio-Canada announced it has won Canadian media rights for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. That's still a few years away, but here's a sneak preview of one amazing piece of architecture that is expected to feature prominently at the 2016 Games: an artificial waterfall designed to generate electricity for the Olympic village, as well as offering a great view for tourists. The 345-foot tower, designed by Swiss firm RAFAA (who created the renderings on this page), has solar panels at its base that will provide power to the city and the Games. The waterfall itself will also provide extra energy to batteries in the base by running a turbine. Water for the falls will be pumped up from the sea - but it will only be turned on for special occasions.
ECOoler tile screen for analog air conditioning by Mey kahn and Boaz Kahn
Analog Cooling of Interior Spaces How would you like to be able to cool your house (assuming you live in a part of the world where it gets hot enough to need cooling) without the use of electricity at all, whatsoever? What if instead of using electric power to stay cool in your home all day, all you had to do was run a bit of cold water in the morning? It appears that designers Mey kahn and Boaz Kahn have transported an ancient secret into the now that’ll do just that, and with a fantastically lovely bit of interior design as a conduit.The Leopold adds solar panels on roof of historic building | BBJ Today
in Share 0 David Johnston, majority owner of The Leopold, on the building's roof with the new solar panels installed in March. Photo courtesy of The Leopold.
EPA Releases Interactive Map of Facilities Guilty of Eco-Crimes
Image via EPA The EPA has released a new interactive map that lays out the locations of facilities across the US that have violated environmental laws, been caught by the EPA, and subjected to enforcement actions. As facilities are caught for polluting air, water and land, the information about the actions taken against them by the EPA, the monies gathered from them as law suits are settled, and other criminal enforcement actions are recorded and the information made available via plots on the map. We can hop on this map to check out what is going on nearby, and have access to information about the polluters in our local areas. Cleantechies reports, "In the past, this information was difficult for the public to access, and in some cases either was not made available to the public, or required a Freedom of Information Act filing to obtain. This is changing as more states and the federal government is making this information available on line."A former Abercrombie & Fitch model has become a pioneering urban farmer without trading in his preppy clothes for overalls. Rael Clarke , the 24-year-old owner of LOFT LIC, transformed a Long Island City office into a laboratory where organic vegetables and fish are grown using an eco-friendly aquaponics system. Clarke plans to turn the system into a business that sets up the water and space-saving designs on rooftops and vacant lots across the city. He is trying to raise $6,000 by March 1 on the fundraising website kickstarter.com for the project.
Long Island City lab on cutting edge of urban farming with aquaponic system - NY Daily News
Why we should teach philosophy to kids
Via the BPS Research Digest : A recent study on the long-term benefits of the Socratic method .My materials are as follows Water pump Sunterra 120016 Large Fountain Pump, 200 GPH, Black (the GPH might be a bit much but you need the power for the water to go up that high) i think it was a 10 ft Rain Master 2 in. x 3 in. Vinyl Downspout... cut down into 3 long pieces X2 with a total of 6 pieces http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xg3/R-100095267/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 Amerimax Downspout Flex Elbow X5 http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xg3/R-100036053/h_d2/ProductDisplay?