Sun Plans :: Sun-Inspired Passive Solar House Plans Drawings Available for Passive Solar Sun Plans In addition to creating new sun-inspired designs, Sun Plans has several types of house plan drawings that will make planning a sun-inspired home easier! Customization of each design is available. Illustrates the sun-inspired principles in both educational material and in house plan examples. Study the design of a home inside and out without the clutter of construction information. Review the construction details of a house plan with your builder, who may create a budget estimate. Ready to build! Make changes, then build. A service that reverses the home along the north-south axis. A comprehensive service included with Construction Prints and CAD Files. Alert: Several customers have mentioned that certain builders and designers (architects typically are aware of the illegal nature of the action) have told them that they do not need to purchase Construction Prints or CAD files. New!
Sustainability Policy Workshop & Retreat Jan 2012 Santa Barbara Jan 15-22nd, 2012 - Santa Barbara, CA Sustainability Policy Retreat for Activists, Enlightened Policymakers and Regulators Santa Barbara, CA foothills, January 15th-22nd 2012, short session 16-19th Public Presentation with Carolyn Raffensperger, 7 pm Jan 16th, SBCCRoundtable with local regulators, 12-1:30 pm Jan 19th, SB downtown =Please RSVP by Friday, Jan 6th if possible, the 9th at the latest= Overarching goal: reduce institutional barriers to sustainability. creation of a legal umbrella to permit existing and new centers for sustainability research that don't conform to existing codes improve building code and zoning support for integrated, context-specific solutions for sustainability. We aim to have a balance of skills and positions represented, including people both inside and outside the system. This will be an unprecedented gathering of extraordinary thinkers, doers and collaborators, focused on an extremely important and high-leverage part of the system. --David Eisenberg Food Cooks
The Coolest Small Towns in America Kayaking near Ely, Minn. Anna Wolf Ely, Minn. Pop. 3,470 The best backyard in the country It says a lot about a town when there are more wildlife centers (two) than Wal-Marts (zero), and more canoe and fishing outfitters (27) than, well, anything else. Rocky's is a classic old-time drugstore soda fountain in downtown Brevard, N.C. Christfield/myBudgetTravel Brevard, N.C Pop. 6,716 Blue Ridge views and Appalachian pride If the notion of town-wide square dances with an old-time caller sounds appealing, then Brevard is your kind of place. Saugatuck, Mich., at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River and Lake Michigan. Sally Ryan Saugatuck, Mich. Pop. 954 A lake town where time stands still One weekend in Saugatuck was all it took for Philippe Quentel. Boats in the harbor at Bandon, Ore. Wood Sabolt Bandon, Ore. Pop. 3,295 A farm-to-table hub on Oregon's rugged coast The Friday Night Live outdoor free concert series in downtown Cloverdale. Mollibug/myBudgetTravel Cloverdale, Calif. Pop. 8,454 Jennifer L.P. Pop. 385
Form and Pour a Concrete Slab Project overview and what you can save Forming and pouring a concrete slab can be intimidating. Your heart races because you know that any mistake, even a little one, can quickly turn your slab into a big mess, a mistake literally cast in stone. In this article, we'll walk you through the slab-pouring process so you get it right the first time. We'll pay particular attention to the tough parts where you're most likely to goof. Still, pouring a large concrete slab isn't a job for a beginner. The bulk of the work for a new slab is in the excavation and form building. In our area, hiring a concrete contractor to pour a 16 x 20-ft. slab like this one would cost $3,000 to $4,000. Step 1: Prepare the site Before you get started, contact your local building department to see whether a permit is required and how close to the lot lines you can build. Your concrete slab will last longer, with less cracking and movement, if it's built on solid, well-drained soil. Thickened slab detail 1 of 3 2 of 3
Pema Chodron In order to have compassion for others, we have to have compassion for ourselves. In particular, to care about other people who are fearful, angry, jealous, overpowered by addictions of all kinds, arrogant, proud, miserly, selfish, mean —you name it— to have compassion and to care for these people, means not to run from the pain of finding these things in ourselves. In fact, one's whole attitude toward pain can change. Instead of fending it off and hiding from it, one could open one's heart and allow oneself to feel that pain, feel it as something that will soften and purify us and make us far more loving and kind. The tonglen practice is a method for connecting with suffering —ours and that which is all around us— everywhere we go. We begin the practice by taking on the suffering of a person we know to be hurting and who we wish to help. People often say that this practice goes against the grain of how we usually hold ourselves together. Use what seems like poison as medicine.
10 Affordable Places to Retire on the Water Check out these low-cost lake, river, and bayside communities Few retirees would complain about spending each evening watching the sunset sparkle off the water, if it weren't for the B-word. Budget. Most condos with an ocean view will gobble up even more of your nest egg than the stock market did last year. U.S. Riverfront Riverfront property is one frugal way to be lulled to sleep to by the hum of rushing water. Bay Views Alternatively, take a seat on the dock of the bay in Fairhope, Ala., or Dover, Del., two bayside bargains. If you must live directly on the water, check out the hydrophilic community of Cape Coral, Fla. Lake Living Buying property near an inland lake is another thrifty way to fill your retirement years with boats and bait without draining your retirement accounts. Many homes near the Great Lakes also have great prices, if you don't mind snow in the winter. 10 Affordable Places to Retire on the Water Bella Vista, Ark.
Free Adirondack Chair Plan {Printable} This month Lowe’s challenged me to do something to enhance my backyard. I have always wanted Adirondack chairs along the lake. So we took the challenge and made a chair for each family member! The chairs go together quite easily and this a great way to get the whole family building! First download the Adirondack chair template. Free Adirondack Chair Plans Printable Download Supplies for Adirondack Chair 60 -1 1/2″ deck screws 10 – 2″ X 1/4″ carriage bolts along with flat nuts and washers 2 – 12 ft 1 X 6 treated lumber (on one cut the middle back of chair, upper back support, one seat, and two arms) (on the second cut two legs, the first seat piece/bottom support for back, and two seat pieces) 1 – 8 ft 1 x 4 treated lumber (cut both support for arms, the front cross piece of chair, and two legs) 1 – 10 ft 1 x 4 treated lumber (cut all four of the remaining back of chair) Lay all templates out before cutting, carefully placing to get the most pieces from one board. Screw on seat boards.
the free encyclopedia Quotes on sustainable development, climate change & sustainability in general - Quotes Corner Sustainable Development Strategies - Vision - Future Wouldn't we all benefit from living in societies that were more careful, more resourceful, more respectful and more forward-thinking? - Jane Davidson, University of Wales Trinity Saint David The 2013/14 storms & floods show the UK needs to invest in a climate resilient, low carbon, food secure, full employment, positive future - Phil Harding (2014) What politician ever thinks beyond 4 or 5 years? But such thinking is hopelessly inadequate for the big questions that involve the fabric of the world we live in - Simon Barnes, columnist, The Times (4.5.2013) A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman of the next generation - James Freeman Clarke The fate of the climate, forests and agriculture are bound together. We're never going to scare people into living more sustainably! Simply doing 'better' environmentally will not stop the unravelling of ecological relationships that we depend on for food and health. Return to Top
Why Green is not Sustainable. “An Environmentalist on the Lie of Locavorism” crossed my desk the other day. It’s a pretty eye-catching title, pitting “An Environmentalist” against local eating and urban farming, darlings of greens and urban planners everywhere – and calling them liars, to boot. That is a pretty big brag. But it didn’t take much reading to see Will Boisvert’s environmental vision needs a very strong pair of glasses. Ignoring flagrant greenwashing,2 I use green to mean stuff that is less bad – and I chose my words carefully – for the planet and the flora and fauna3 that live on it. Sustainable, on the other hand, gets beaten around the ring – mostly by people who throw their hands in the air and say, “Sustainable. It means able-to-be-sustained. It means, for all intents and purposes, that whatever you are talking about can keep on doing what it is doing, and can do so essentially forever. So green can be a continuum. Because we live on a finite planet everything that makes up our planet is also finite.