Archive for May, 2009
1000 year Chandelier
Everyone’s heard that styrofoam takes 1000 years to break down, but we still use it for coffee cups and packaging. The least we can do is upcycle. Eric Lawrence just won the Sustainable Prize in Design Within Reach Austin’s M+D+F competition for his beautiful chandelier made out of the styrofoam packing material from Apple laptops.
It reminds me of all those crazy 70′s plastic lamps-of-the-future.
via Make.
Rabbit Poo!
Today I made friends with a woman who breeds rabbits for use as pets. Because I came to take her poo.
What would I want to do with several bins of rabbit poo? Because you can’t run a closed loop system (self sustaining) garden without animals to help you fertilize, and rabbit manure is the greatest fertilizer made in this part of the world (next to worm castings, but I’d need a LOT of worms). Plus, it’s the only manure that doesn’t need to be composted first. And the roll-y pellets don’t smell. Here’s how rabbit manure stacks up against other standard manures:
Rabbit manure: Nitrogen(N): 2.4 Phosphorus(P):1.4 Potassium(K): 0.6
Most concentrated of animal manures in fresh form. No composting needed.
Cow manure (dairy): N:0.6 P:0.2 K:0.5
Often contains weed seeds, should be hot composted.
Steer manure: N:0.7 P:0.3 K:0.4
Often contains weed seeds, should be hot composted if fresh.
Chicken manure: N:1.1 P:0.8 K:0.5
Breaks down quickest of all manures, but it will probably burn your plants (and it reeks) so it should definately be composted.
Until I get out of the city, I’m very lucky to have a new rabbit breeding friend!
and finally, because I had never heard of Peruvian sea bird manure until today:
Peruvian Seabird Guano (pelletized): N:12 P:12 K:2.5
“Legendary fertilizer of the Incas. Use in soil as a long lasting fertilizer, or make into tea (1 tsp pellets to 1 gallon water).”
There’s lots to learn about fertilizer here.
Wine to Water
I’d never heard of Doc Hendley, 30, until today, but he’s officially earned the rank of hero in my books. Back in 2003, when he was working as a bar tender, he literally dreamed up the idea of Wine to Water, a non-profit organization that provides clean water to people around the world.
When the idea came to me to start Wine To Water the only real world job experience I had was tending bar. I dreamed of building an organization that fought water related death and disease using completely different methods than anyone else. So I started raising money to fight this water epidemic the best way I knew how, by pouring wine and playing music.
He started raising money at wine tasting events, and took the procedes to Samaritan’s Purse, to support their well-drilling operation. But instead of just taking the money, the head of Samaritan’s Purse taught him how to drill so he could use the cash he raised to do his own water work in Sudan.
While he was there, he noticed that
“big organizations came along with million dollar grants and half-million dollar drills to meet a quota of 50 wells in six months to successfully complete their grant, only to get another. It’s like a business. That’s how they make their money. And that really upset me.
Besides, he had a better way. Instead of popping a hole in the ground and leaving he’s teaching people how to dig their own wells. So they can sustain themselves. And each other. That is beautiful.
Via Tonic.
Is Your Lawn Worth Someone’s Ability to Live?
How about desert produce?
According to this disturbing article, America’s largest reservoir is drying up. It’s really simple math: the amount of water being removed from Lake Mead every year excedes the amount being fed into it by the Colerado river.
In 2008, the Scripps Institute of Oceanography issued a paper titled “When will Lake Mead go dry?” which set the odds of Lake Mead drying up by 2021 at 50-50. No more water, no more electricity, no more pumping power.
This is bad news for the million acres of crops being irrigated by the water source accross the U.S. and Mexico. Oh, and the tens of millions of people who depend upon the reservoir for their water supply, and the half-million homes that are powered by “its mighty Hoover Dam”.
How did this happen?
Well, for starters, there’s the farmers who flood arid farmland with water to grow rice (what?). There’s the fact that we depend on veggies grown in the desert (how much are those California strawberries worth to you?). And then there’s the fact that residents of desert communities maintain beautiful green grass lawns, and “golfers demand courses in areas where the temperature exceeds 100 degrees Fahrenheit”.
Is the status of a green lawn or the convenience of out-of-season food really worth “turning the tap off for 800,000 households”?
At least they’ve started “grass buyback” programs to convince people to consider drought-tolerant landscaping. They’re offering tax incentives to people who use pool covers. Lovely.
Of course, when Las Vegas residents tried to pass a bill to allow homeowners to install graywater systems, Southern Nevada Water Authority blocked it, saying that “legalizing graywater will cause people to use more fresh water and return less dirty water to the reclamation plant”. Sorry? It’s like the laws making rain barrels illegal.
Instead of considering a shift in thinking/lifestyle, the best solutions that the Big Thinkers could come up with for the problem are either to pump water in from eastern states or to de-salt seawater.
The power requirement for either proposal—desalting seawater or transporting water over great distance—is enormous. But if the only other alternative is a mass evacuation from the western United States, what other choice do we have?
Pardon me?
Eco-Pirates Seize Raven’s Ait
Back in February, an activist who goes by Nick Revolving, 28, was taking a leisurely boat ride in the Thames and realized that an island that once served as a venue for weddings and conferences was lying vacant as a result of the economic downturn. So he decided to do something productive with it. So he invited his friends, and with an aim to “to give it back to the people,” they’ve been squatting on it in a sustainable model commune, complete with a tree-house and raised-bed permaculture gardens.
The goal of the group is to “transform the island into an eco conference centre, aimed at showcasing green ideas and promote sustainable development” In the hopes of making it official, they’ve submitted formal plans for their “sustainable island” to the local council, but the council members are unwilling to negotiate while the squatters are still on the land.
In fact, they’ve issued an eviction notice, so my understanding of squatters rights in England is obviously flawed. It seemed to work for the Geurrilla Gardeners. Interesting though, that although the island has been vacant since November, council urgently wants them off because “there are companies interested” in the land. The community’s behind these eco-pirates, saying that “They’re serving the community”, but the group says it will leave in eight weeks time. Shame. I wonder what the consequences of ignoring an eviction notice are?
Read the article in Yahoo News. Or better yet, visit the Raven’s Ait website to read about their plans and show your support.
UPDATE:
from the Ravens Ait Facebook page:
The island was evicted by a large armed police operation in the early hours of Friday May 1st 2009.
The council are now paying for 24 hour security with a continous rolling presence of around 10 guards (at an estimated cost of £2000 a day of taxpayers money) while they try to sell off the island.
We think this is a gross waste of taxpayers money that could have been spent supporting our proposal for a community centre. Of course the island is no longer accessible to the public either, so effectively taxpayers are paying vast sums of money to keep themselves off the island while the council prepares to sell this historic piece of common land to a hotel or property developer
What a terrible lack of vision. The group hasn’t given up, though. They’re appealing to the media to help them raise £1.5 million “to save this island as a community facility for all generations to enjoy into the future.” I’ve asked them if they have a paypal account, and will post the link if they have one, for anyone who wishes to make a donation.
Environmental Heroines and Snail Porn
TreeHugger has posted an inspiring slideshow of 11 “environmental heroines” who have brought about change “with their work as activists, community builders, sustainers, nurturers, artists, politicians, scientists and teachers alike.”
Whether or not you celebrate Mother’s Day, it’s hard not to celebrate woman who have changed the world, in their own way. Plus it led me to this: 
Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno: short films on the mating habits of insects. Who knew snails were sadomasochistic?
Garden Warfare: Squirrels
As I moved my artichoke and pepper seedlings outside this morning, I was greeted by a horrible sight. My beautiful beet babies were tossed about and buried. My mizuna roots were lying bare.
Squirrels.
Bane of my existance! Oh why do you torment me so?
So, I reached for my handy dandy secret weapon. Cayenne Pepper. Yup, just plain old cayenne pepper. You can sprinkle it right on your young plants, the soil, and even mature leaves, without harming anything. My only problem is remembering to reapply after rain and waterings.
The Brooklyn Botanical Garden suggests a more peaceful method: Feed the squirrels. They claim that squirrels are territorial, so it won’t increase your squirrel problem, and if they’re well fed, they won’t bother digging in the dirt. It’s a lovely thought, but I don’t negotiate with terrorists.
The Great Food Massacre of 2009
Perhaps it is Karma. I’ve been bragging that we still have a freezer full of food from last year’s harvest, and to teach me modesty, the freezer pooched. Bag upon bag of spaghetti sauce (in various colours according to the time of year), cabbage rolls, casseroles, pesto, soups, curries, and frozen vegetables thawed into a sticky puddle and leaked out the bottom of the freezer. We dug an open pit grave in the backyard and buried our bounty unceremoniously. *sigh* Now I am REALLY ready for this season’s harvest. We will have to rethink our strategy and do more canning and less freezing this year, so we don’t have to rely on electrical devices to keep our food safe to eat.
Fortunately, the farmers market on Saturday had Leamington zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, etc already. Most of the veggies are probably hothouse grown, but I nevertheless envy Leamington for managing to be Zone 7 just down the road. That’s right, I have zone envy.
Goat Power
I`ve seen the goat rental directory before, but only in the context of individuals using “grazing service providers” to deal with their overgrown backyards. Now renting goats has gone mainstream. According to the Official Google Blog, Google has hired goats to landscape their headquarters yard.
“It costs us about the same as mowing, and goats are a lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers,” they say.
I haven’t seen any goat rental listings for Canada yet, probably because they’re primarily employed to reduce fire hazards in hot, dry states. But the idea is both brilliant and entertaining. Plus touring goats don’t need as much dedicated space, so everybody wins. Except the people losing their jobs to goats. oh. How do you feel about google’s goats?
Green Walls
Green roofs are nice, but green walls are awesome! As long as you have a south-facing wall. Check out this beautiful living wall by ELT EasyGreen.
Stay tuned, i’m going to figure out how to make one this summer.
