Category Archives: Green living

The First Ever Showers

It’s very probably true to say that the first ever showers were nature’s own; namely, waterfalls. In hot and warm countries, or hot times of year, bathers would stand under waterfalls to cool off and clean themselves just as kids like to do today on a hot day.

It is thought that ancient people would reproduce the effect by pouring jugs of water over their heads and these were often very cold as some ancient civilisations believed in the hot-cold refreshing nature of cold water just as we may do today after a sauna, for example.
Continue reading

Can you fact-check “green” home products?

Published by Sign On San Diego on 1st July 2011 – an interview with Jaimi Julian Thompson, a nationally known “green” interior designer, conducted by Lily Leung
 
How do you know if an eco-friendly product or service is truly “green”?

Are there ways to verify companies’ promises to save you money with their solar panels, bamboo flooring and cabinets?

In an email interview, Thompson gave the Union-Tribune some tips on how to fact-check green products and which have won her approval.

Question: With so much hype in the marketplace, how do you decide if a product is really “green”?

Answer: Many products portrayed as green, fall short when you look at the entire life cycle of the product. I help clients “decode the hype on green,” by looking at five aspects:

  • How does the product’s manufacturing process affect air quality and the environment?
  • Is there any recycled content in the product itself?
  • How much energy does the product use?
  • What is the lifespan of the product before it needs to be replaced?
  • Can the product be recycled after its use, and if so, how?

By looking at every aspect, consumers can create green homes that use less energy, water and natural resources, create less waste, and are more durable and comfortable.

Question: Where can consumers get independent assessments on a product’s “green-ness”?

Answer: Look for independent, third-party verification. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized green building certification system instituted by the U.S. Green Building Council (usgbc.org/LEED).

Many industry associations …


Peer to Pier: Conversations with fellow travelers

Published by View From The Pier in May 2011 is an inspiring interview with Sue Coppard, the founder of WWOOF conducted by Meg Pier
 
Sue Coppard is founder of WWOOF, a worldwide network that serves as a conduit linking volunteers with organic farms. In return for volunteer help, WWOOF hosts offer volunteers food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles. Created in 1971 and one of the world’s first voluntourism organizations, WWOOF was borne out of Sue’s desire to periodically escape her life as a London secretary and spend time in the countryside. Today WWOOF is a global movement, with over 50,000 volunteers working on 7,000-plus host farms in more than 100 countries.

I first learned about WWOOF from one of its host members and another “Peer to Pier” subject, Claudia Scholler, proprietor of Cortijo El Saltador, a traditional Andalucian farmhouse in the foothills of Spain’s Sierra Alhamilla.

In getting acquainted with Sue I learned not only a great deal about organic practices but also got an education on a wide range of other areas–from the basic tenet of anthroposophical philosophy to the potentially huge and positive impact of simply following your own heart, and the wisdom of not needing to have all the answers before embarking on a new endeavor. Not to mention, I remembered all my own reasons for seeking adventure and being out-of-doors! I hope you enjoy this conversation with Sue.

This above all, – to thine own self be true;
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

~William Shakespeare, 1564 – 1616


Meg: Can you explain what WWOOF is?
Sue: WWOOF is an acronym standing for World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms. It is a cooperative network, now worldwide, which offers members the opportunity to stay as working guests on a wide variety of organic farms, smallholdings, gardens and other rural enterprises. No money changes hands, it’s an exchange. In return for your help on the land and with other tasks you receive bed and board, and a lot more besides: farming and agricultural experience – even training to change to a rural life; contact with nature and animals; access to beautiful countryside; good physical exercise; learning a host of other skills such as bread making, weaving, cheese making, bee keeping, cider making, or running a farmers’ market stall; friendships with people from many different cultures and nationalities; and the chance to experience entirely different ways of life, regions, or even continents. The world is your oyster! Alternatively, you could visit the same WWOOF place regularly and get to know your own region throughout the seasons – leaving a considerably lighter carbon footprint!

On top of all this, you have the satisfaction of knowing you are helping the stalwart but not overwhelmingly-rewarded people who make up the Organic Movement around the world – which will surely be the salvation of the planet.

I wish to acknowledge the immensely hard and inspired work by so many WWOOF organisers which are responsible for WWOOF’s extraordinary growth. Many countries now have their own WWOOF organization, all quite different as each is independently self-governing and has evolved in its own individual way. Those WWOOF Hosts in a country without a WWOOF organization belong to WWOOF Independents, an internet network.

Meg: Can you describe what led up to WWOOF’s creation?
Sue: In 1971 when I started WWOOF I was secretary to the Textile Research Unit at the Royal College of Art in London.

I loved London and …


Branson Targets ‘Dirty’ Cargo Vessels

Published by Fox News Latino on Monday, 06 December, 2010 by Tom Parmenter
 
Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson has declared war on the shipping industry with a new climate change initiative.


Yes, yes, I know; It was published 5 months ago but I think it is interesting to know and because it is the first time I heard about such initiative I decided to have it here. Yes, I should know it earlier but … I didn’t, my fault and is too late to moan. I can’t change this 🙂 Give it a go anyway, for knowledge is never too late.


The Carbon War Room, an independent venture, wants to see an efficiency rating on every ocean going vessel to help clean up the industry.


It is the first of many industries being targeted by the group which believes climate change can be solved through business rather than government summits.

Ministers from 190 countries are into their second week of negotiations in Cancun, Mexico with no sign of a global deal.

Sir Richard told Sky News: “It is up to us business leaders to help those politicians deliver, they haven’t delivered so far, if they don’t deliver we can’t afford to wait.

“It is up to us to get our house in order …


Flat pack homes are the future

Is the recycled plastic good material for eco-house?

For me, it is not the first or even the third choice of material to build a house from. My preference takes also recycled but natural one such as wood. It can be reused in many ways.
The problem with plastics is that they are … plastics, artificially crafted non-breathable products; in many cases containing unhealthy ingredients. Of course, house can be eco-friendly designed and all that make it as such could be implemented, however. How eco-friendly is plastic on its own? It is recycling, yes but is it using plastic as building material the best way of utilizing it? Not for me, but you may have different point of view.

 
Article published by Waste Management World on 28 January 2011
 
Flat pack homes which cost as little as £20,000 and properties made out of recycled plastic hold the key to solving the UK’s housing shortage, a report says.

 

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said traditional building methods must make way for more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly designs in order to tackle the current housing crisis.

It called on the house building industry to make use of off-site construction methods, recycled materials and innovative structural designs to enable homes to be put up quickly and cheaply.

The group said that modular homes …


Huge Eco-Friendly Self-Build

Published by Homebuilding & Renovating
on Saturday, 18 December 2010
At 1,550m2, just how does John and Leigh Croft’s self-built Cotswolds home justify our Award as Britain’s Best Eco Home? 

If ever a self-build project could be deemed ambitious, it’s the new 1,550m2 (yes, it’s some 21 times larger than the UK average) home of John and Leigh Croft in the Cotswolds, east of Cheltenham. For the big story here is not just that it ever managed to happen in the first place – the planning process wasn’t particularly run of the mill – but that it can also claim with some justification to be an absolutely A1, top-of-the-class, eco-friendly home, despite its whopping size.

This being a plot within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in the middle of open countryside in the Cotswolds, John and Leigh’s vision of building a contemporary family home was always likely to meet resistance.

It was actually the conservation officer …


Eco-friendly boutique online

By Maire McMahon and published on The Post and Courier
Thursday, August 26, 2010

Sara Manucy is an environmental enthusiast and outdoorswoman. When she is not working for Charleston Naturally, the Charleston native can be found biking, sailing or walking her 10-year-old golden retriever mix, Honey.

Manucy met Charleston Naturally founder Sharon Harvey at the Serenity Now yoga studio in Mount Pleasant. After discovering their common love for Charleston, eco-friendly products and the outdoors, the Charleston Naturally team was born. Work on the business started in June 2009, and it began operations in January.
Read more HERE


Very interesting and well designed shop they are running. Well, it is not that simple, it is rather more an exclusive store with eco-friendly products for babes, brides, home/garden and pets as well as for body (I presume women) pampering.

I must admit I found some stuff for men too 🙂

Eco Galactic

How to BE Honest, Make Money and Still Protect Environment while Creating Future

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j21nZ3ewJno&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]

I couldn’t stop myself from posting this video. I have two reasons for this:

  • First – Richard Branson is my first and the only one in my entire life idol, the person I really admire
  • Second – He talks about ecological solution to flying into space and I believe Him.

Now, how many of us are fans or at least saw the Star Trek? I guess that thousands, hundreds of thousands. Can you see Sci-Fi vision turning into reality? Can you see a desire, passion and dreams coming true? I do.

What conclusion can one draw out of this? Do what you like to do or do what you think you have to do but NEVER EVER stop DREAMING!!! Never give-up your desires and do not let others to make you drop them.
There are millions of people, including your closest family and friends, who may and will pull you down because they cannot see things you have in your mind and they do not believe that what your dream of CAN become reality!

What is even more important – feel good, enjoy what you do and listen to those who question them selves looking for and expecting answers, listening and observing very carefully, knowing that for every problem there is a solution. A solution, that will present it self when the time is right and in its best form.
You don’t know what you don’t know, so THINK … the power is in you.

Aviation and Health Care Lag in Recycling Space

From Greentechnolog.com

The reasons to recycle are many and should be helpful to any business … lower  cost with less trash to dispose and pay for and “bragging rights” to promote are just two … Yet two very large “inductries” have not jumped on the recycling bandwagon …

” … a The New York Times article, Leaving the Trash Behind, explored the aviation industry’s massive contribution to global waste … millions of plastic bottles discarded at security checkpoints, but separate recycling containers in terminals or on board planes are not common. …no industry standard for recycling …”

Read more HERE

What is the Impact of Wealth on the Environment?

What I’m going to say may have nothing to do with ecology or environment but … it helps with wealthy living.

Wealthy living may have immense impact on the environment; both positive or negative. Obviously, it will depend on what one will do with its wealth but I choose thinking positively. 🙂

OK, the wealthy living can start with FREE gift or with some money spent on product or for education. Here is a product which will give you education, it is FREE and by learning you will invest in yourself. What could be better?

Some, will be skeptical because nothing is for FREE and this true, some other will say it must rubbish because is or FREE. Will the last pay is it wasn’t? Maybe but there is no guarantee. I would agree with the first because the price one will pay is time and effort to do something others will not to be bothered.

At least, if you get something that is FREE and you do not like it you can easily get rid of it without pain, it was FREE anyway or  find yourself in the beneficiary position and ahead of others just by gaining useful knowledge. The call is yours.

So, HERE AGAIN is the Educational and FREE product for You to explore and gain.

Remember: Be First, The Second is The First Looser. 🙂