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CO2, Global Warming, and Pollen-Allergies
CO2, Global Warming, and Pollen-Allergies Thomas Ogren The benefits of added organic matter to the soil have long been known and are usually attributed to increased nitrogen, greater water-holding capacity and an increase in activity of soil...
Dear our beloved crying planet…
Dear our beloved crying planet… I read an article last week in “The Gazette”, a local English paper here in Montreal Canada. It was titled “Time is running out” and was written by Peter G. Brown. He is a professor in the school of the Environment...
Global Dumbing?
I am beginning to wonder if scientists have been getting it all round. All this time, people have been worried about the Ozone, a giant asteroid, or some breakout of a bio-hazardous agent by a terrorist organization being the doom of mankind. We...
Saving Energy in the Kitchen
Saving Energy in the Kitchen (312 words) The kitchen, with all its appliances, gadgets and heat, is a real hotspot for potential energy saving. As the oven uses the most energy and creates a vast amount of heat while cooking foods, it is a good...
Solar Cooling - Air-Conditioning From the Sun
At first glance, solar cooling looks like an oxymoron. However,
the same energy that can provide heat in the wintertime can also
provide cooling during the summer.
Several passive cooling systems have been developed and tested.
At their...
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Sustainability Today
Sustainability Today
Achieving a sustainable lifestyle today is of paramount
importance for the health of future generations. The devastation
of our natural environment by individuals and corporations who
carelessly pollute the water and air, clearcut forests, and
destroy topsoil and natural habitats is in many cases
irreversible. Those of us living an urban or suburban lifestyle
may just be beginning to feel the repercussions of our
industrial lifestyle in the form of climate change. However, the
perpetuation of anti-environment practices is sure to cause
consequences that we cannot even imagine.
The world in which we live is a system in which all elements
interrelate and coexist in a harmonious balance of creation and
destruction. Nothing exists or functions in isolation.
Everything is interconnected and every act affects the future of
countless other elements. This concept, also known as systems
thinking, is easy to see when observing an ecosystem, especially
when the harmony of that ecosystem is disrupted. The extinction
or reduction of one species rebounds through the entire food
chain, causing havoc on the lives of the rest of the species.
A sustainable lifestyle is one that seeks to harmonize with the
elements of the natural world. We can use the forces of nature
to our advantage, without abusing them and causing as little
disturbance to the natural environment as possible. One such
example is harnessing the energy of the sun. Solar energy can be
captured in a variety of ways. The most basic way, passive solar
energy, refers to the type of construction
Diagnosis Can Miss ADHD Symptoms In Girls
The majority of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) research has focused on boys. But recent research shows that many girls who have ADHD simply aren't diagnosed — ADHD manifests itself in girls as detachment and distraction rather than in the disruptive behavior often seen in boys.
New Ratings Help Buyers Scan TV Energy Use
Energy Star has posted new energy ratings for TVs to help consumers evaluate potential purchases. But an Energy Star listing alone doesn't mean the TV uses less energy. It means the TV is efficient — compared with others in its class.
materials used and
their placement. For example, a house designed to face the south
allows the heat of the sun to warm the house all day long. Add
to that other passive solar features such as thermal mass and
the house is already well on its way to energy-independence.
Industrialism and the Information Age have provided our society
with the tools it needs to reverse our current path of
environmental degradation. Solar panel technology and the
multitude of other inventions for collecting the energy of the
sun are constantly improving and becoming more affordable. We
may also gather energy from the wind, water, ground and even our
own waste products.
The key to becoming sustainable as individuals and as a society
is our own willingness to change and to be creative.
Permaculture is a design system that guides us to build and
manage sustainable living and working environments in which all
of the elements overlap and interrelate to create a functioning
whole. Combining our knowledge of ecological principles with our
earth-friendly technology we have only to succeed in achieving a
more sustainable lifestyle today, and a brighter future for our
children and grandchildren.
About the author:
Dayna Schueth works as a permac
ultural design consultant in Boulder Colorado and South
America.
She teaches people how to become sustainable and create
sustainable gardens that can feed entire families.
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