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ECODESIGN: The Ultimate Source Book Long gone is the myth that eco-friendly and sustainable design comes at the sacrifice of style. EcoDesign (fully revised and updated) is the ultimate one-stop resource for all those looking to completely immerse themselves in an eco-conscious lifestyle, or those who just want to pick-up a few new green-friendly pieces. With more than 700 product listings from clothing, kitchenware, electronics, and furniture in an easy-to-navigate, color-coordinated collection, ecoDesign is an incredible catalog and resource for both seasoned professionals and the everyday consumer.
Installing a Bee Hive: A Nervous Beginners' Experiences A typical package of bees - Image credit: TheBeeYardHow to Install a Bee Hive: It Really Isn't ScaryI got pretty excited about news that the Obamas were including bee hives in the White House garden. After all, honey bees are one of the most important pollinators for our modern food system (and a great source of, errrm, honey). But many people are still very wary of bees - after all they sting like crazy, right? Well having been preparing for a few weeks now, I finally picked up my first bees over the weekend. I'll be the first to admit that I was more than a little nervous - but those nerves proved unfounded.
The Myth of Self Reliance A mass emailing went out a while back from a prominent permaculturist looking for “projects where people are fully self sufficient in providing for their own food, clothing, shelter, energy and community needs. . .” There it was, the myth of “fully self sufficient,” coming from one of the best-known permaculturists in the world. In most US permaculture circles, the idea that anyone could be self sufficient at anything past a very primitive level was abandoned a while ago, and the softer term “self reliant” replaced it.
A Guide To Sharing For Every Season It's a new year! The first page of the calendar is the perfect time to identify the things that are working in your life as well as the things you'd like to do differently. Although times are hard, communities are more connected than ever before. Self-Reliance: Backyard Farming + Radical Home Ec Erik Knutzen and Kelly Coyne have been farming their yard in Los Angeles for over a decade. In addition to a mini orchard and extensive veggie garden, they have all the instruments of an urban homestead: chickens, bees, rainwater capture, DIY greywater, solar fruit preserver, humanure toilet, rocket stove, adobe oven. But they don’t like to talk about sustainability of self-sufficiency, instead they prefer the term self-reliance. “I don't like the goal of self-sufficiency, I think it's a fool's errand to chase that goal,” explains Knutzen. “I think we live in communities, human beings are meant to live, and trade and work together.
The Forgotten Slaves: Whites in Servitude in Early America and Industrial Britain “When I was a boy, ‘recalled Waters McIntosh, who had been a slave in Sumter, South Carolina, ‘we used to sing, ‘Rather be a nigger than a poor White Man,’ Even in slavery we used to sing that.’ Mr. McIntosh’s remarks reveal…that the poor whites of the South ranked below blacks in social standing…slaves felt unbridled contempt for lower‑class whites…Frederick Douglas opened his famous Life and Times with an account of Talbot County, Maryland, which he said housed a ‘White population of the lowest order… Click to enlarge Re-earth the Cities! Home Page Our Home Planet is in trouble, so what can we do? See You CAN live lightly on the Earth! Why the Cities? Last Updated 1st.February 2014 | Site Map Lughnasad 2014, New Year, and News Seasons and Calendars
The Self Sufficient Blog The Self Sufficient Blog is my mini-journal about self sufficent farm living. It... -- keeps you up-to-date on new information and what others are doing to become more self sufficient. ---New methods and creative approaches to farm living. CAP REFORM 2020 - an opportunity for European democracy Belgium | 10/04/2014For the last 50 years the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has played an instrumental role in how food and farming systems develop in Europe and further afield. Slow Food together with many other European NGOs has been calling for a transition towards a greener and fairer agriculture, supporting agro-ecological food systems that work within ecological and equitable limits – to achieve food sovereignty in Europe and the rest of the world. Now it is in the hands of the Member States to implement this transition. We are inviting citizens, organisations, politicians and local authorities to look for existing solutions in their Member States and regions and to find the best ways to support them under the new Common Agriculture Policy 2014-2020. Europe needs #agroecology, not agrochemicals: #CAPreform must encourage food sovereignty and #biodiversity Click here to read the letter.
Yellow Pea Protein & Kidney Health For the one out of every three adults in the US with hypertension, medication is almost a given. There's an amazing array of possible medications to keep blood pressure under control -- diuretics, ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, alpha-blockers, calcium channel blockers and so on. Unfortunately, though these various drugs do a reasonable job of pushing down blood pressure readings, they also can cause serious complications and come replete with a list of side effects ranging from fatigue, insomnia, and depression to impotence, gout, diabetic episodes, fatal liver problems, heart disease (ironically), and permanent kidney damage. New research out of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, has uncovered a surprising natural treatment that may help control hypertension without incurring the high cost or potential danger of drugs. Study director Rotimi Aluko said, "In people with high blood pressure, our protein could potentially delay or prevent the onset of kidney damage.
How to Feed Yourself for $15 a Week Our discussion about how to eat for cheap generated a lot of great tips. Daiko shared a detailed explanation of how he once got by spending just $15/week on food. This is a great real-life example of how it’s possible to eat well without breaking the bank. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Maslow wanted to understand what motivates people. He believed that individuals possess a set of motivation systems unrelated to rewards or unconscious desires. Maslow (1943) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When one need is fulfilled a person seeks to fullfil the next one, and so on.