December 5th, 2006
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Sorry this is getting posted so late in the game. Unfortunately I only just learned about it (via Hugg.com).
I’ll admit, I’m not much of an Oprah-Winfrey-watcher, but I’m definitely going to tune in today (or at least record it for later viewing). Not only is Al Gore the main guest, but even Simran Sethi (from Treehugger.com) will be featured in one of the segments, taking the Oprah crew on a tour of three ‘green’ spots in Lawrence (Kansas?).
Here is the article with all the info: ‘Oprah is Coming to Town
Technorati Tags: oprah, treehugger, christmas, simran sethi, lawrence, green products, inconvenient truth, green living tips
Written by Bentley on December 5th, 2006 with no comments.
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(Image courtesy of Carol Steinfeld)Speaking of ‘flow’, I seem to have the writing bug today. Funny how some days it just…well…flows, while other days its like frozen molasses (is that how you spell ‘molasses’?).
Ok, this is a bit of a delicate topic for some (I would imagine), but hopefully we can all keep our minds open and hold hands as I carefully walk us through it. We’re all adults after all and this is a blog on a mission – a mission to get people revved up about sustainable living.
Here we go…
I bought a book a couple weeks ago called, you guessed it, “Liquid Gold: The Lore and Logic of Using Urine to Grow Plants” by Carol Steinfeld.
Aside from being a person who prides himself on maintaining a very open mind, as you must certainly know by now I have a serious passion for waste management. Truth be told, I’ve been curious about the use of urine as fertilizer for quite some time now. You see, unlike some other human waste (a.k.a “#2″), urine is typically quite sterile in healthy people, and is a great source of plant nutrients – of course this is certainly not to say there aren’t some ‘green’ options for #2 as well (but let’s save that for another post).
So why do most of us poo-poo pee pee, you ask? (I can’t believe I successfully incorporated ‘poo poo pee pee’ into a coherent, semi-mature sentence!)
It just comes down to ‘guilt by association’ I guess – what goes in the toilet STAYS in the toilet!
Well as I discovered in this book, there is no good reason for it to be going in the toilet (conventional, water-guzzling toilets anyway) in the first place.
I found “Liquid Gold” to be a very enjoyable, fact-packed, unique read from cover to cover. Carol Steinfeld takes us through four main sections (aside from Intro) – “Urine lore”, “Unexpected Urinals”, “Science and Technology of Using Liquid Gold”, and “Gold To Green”. I found the last section to be particularly interesting, since this is where she provides a number of ‘real world’ case studies.
Super book – I highly recommend it! You can buy it from the Liquid Gold site (see link below or image above), and Carol is even signing the first 100 copies she sells.
She signed mine “Shift Happens! -Carol Steinfeld”
I love it!
Here is a blurb about the author (from the Liquid Gold website) in case you are curious:
Carol Steinfeld is a writer, researcher, and resource-recycling specialist who writes about ecological resource management solutions. She is the co-author of The Composting Toilet System Book and Reusing the Resource: Adventures in Ecological Wastewater Recycling. As projects director for Ecowaters, a nonprofit public information project, she conducts workshops worldwide. She is currently working on a new book.
Technorati Tags: urine, gardening, fertilizer, plants, nutrients, waste, composting, sustainable living, toilet, poo, pee, book reviews
Written by Bentley on December 5th, 2006 with no comments.
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It’s official (well in my mind anyway) – our Canadian winter has finally arrived. We have snow. We have cold. Woohoo party time…
I’ve actually been worrying a fair bit about the bin. This morning I was out cleaning the snow off my wife’s car (I’m nice) and it was COLD!!! It felt to me like minus 20 (-4 F), but according to the weather network it was closer to minus 10 (14 F) – which reminds me, I need to get myself a good outdoor thermometer.
I’m actually happy to see the snow, and would like some more. Aside from the fact that I much prefer a winter with lots of snow (nothing worse than super-cold, barren winter wastelands), it will also serve as an excellent insulator for the compost bin.
This morning I piled as much snow as I could round up behind the bin (since this side doesn’t have the same insulation as the other sides. The other day I also added some extra cardboard layers along all the inside walls of the bin so that should help insulate as well (my original cardboard layer has decomposed quite a bit).
I was happy to see that internal temps are still quite cosy, with many zones hovering in the 20-30 C range (68-86 F). Hopefully we can keep things well above zero even once it gets REALLY cold (should be a nice thick layer of snow around the bin by then).
I’m sure my neighbourly-assessment-index is starting to creep from ‘quirky’ to ‘strange’. Perhaps by the end of winter I’ll be lucky enough to have achieved a rank of ‘raging lunatic’. Oh well…hopefully we’ll manage to educate a few folks in the process.
Stay tuned for more updates.
Previous posts in this series:
Composter’s Log: Stardate 60376.9 – RED ALERT!!
Composter’s Log – Stardate 60352.8
Winter Composting Extravaganza
Technorati Tags: winter, composting, compost, compost bin, worm bin, vermicomposting
Note: The Winter Composting Extravaganza has moved to a new home. To catch all the latest winter composting action be sure to check out the Compost Guy
Winter Composting Page.
Written by Bentley on December 5th, 2006 with no comments.
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Interesting article at the International Herald Tribune this morning. A little while back I wrote a post about a George Monbiot article which questioned the sustainability of the biodiesel industry (see Biodiesel – “The Most Carbon-Intensive Fuel On Earth”?) – ok, maybe ‘questioned’ is too tame a word. Regardless, he made some interesting points re: the destructive nature the thriving palm oil industry in the tropics.
Well it sounds as though the Malaysian government is starting to take some action (or at least talking about taking some action) to help ensure that the palm oil industry becomes sustainable.
Here is a blurb:
In the speech, Najib [Deputy Prime Minister] said it is necessary to develop a globally acceptable definition of sustainable palm oil production and use, as well as to implement better management practices.
He noted that development of new plantations has led to cutting down large areas of forests, threatening rich biodiversity in their ecosystems. Also, use of fire to clear land for plantations has contributed to forest fires and haze. The clearing of vast tracts of land has also led to social conflicts between local communities and project proponents, he said.
While Malaysian palm oil is produced using sustainable practices, the “industry is open to collaboration to enhance its high standards,” the speech said.
To underscore its seriousness, Malaysia has launched a Palm Oil Wildlife Conservation Fund with an anticipated outlay of 20 million ringgit (US$5.6 million; €4.2 million), he said.
Interesting that he would say Malaysian palm oil is already produced using sustainable practices, after admitting that that the industry has caused massive deforestation and social conflict. Hmmmm…
Anyway, hopefully the “collaboration” with others will lead to a substantially higher sustainability standards.
Should be interesting to see how this develops.
Technorati Tags: biofuel, biodiesel, palm oil, malaysia, green fuel, alternative energy, sustainability, sustainable
Written by Bentley on December 5th, 2006 with 1 comment.
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