Mindzle

Archive for December, 2008

Now that you’ve decided to remodel your home, you’ll need to make sure that you’re choosing the right contractor to do the job. If you’re having difficulty trying to find contractors for your home improvement project. A good place to start is looking on the web where you can find a multitude of helpful websites.

A big first step is to locate, home improvement contractors, who can find out if your house will need improved wiring for heating and air conditioning. This is quite important especially if you are going to be remodeling. Your basement or adding a family room or entertainment room. An inspector from EnergyStar will most likely be able to come to your home to let you know how safe the remodeling you’re considering is, and these home energy raters will also be able to give you a computer analysis of which types of wiring you should avoid. An air leakage test will also be performed to let you know whether or not duct work needs to be done. When these home improvement contractors come to your home, you’ll also be able to request that the contractor will leave a list of possible improvements that you need to have fixed before you begin the renovation process.

You can also check out any number of websitesin order to find home improvement contractors that would do a great job renovating your home. You can simply click on the link that describes the services that you need, so you can have your swimming pool built or remodeled, or get an estimate on landscaping as well as learn which builders are best for renovating bathrooms and kitchens. You can also use the cost estimator tool, which will let you know just how much you’ll need to save before you start having your home improvement work done. You can also research many other articles on this site and find out more information to help you find the best home improvement contractors and use the right questions when looking into their work history.

Another idea may be to find a home improvement contractors at work by implementing eco-friendly techniques that will work in your renovation project, this will allow you to continue living green. Even during the construction period of your home. This could be more expensive in some cases, but if you’re planning out your budget the right way, you should be able to get the renovation and supplies you need. An eco-friendly contractor will also be able to tell you how to save space, electricity and money after looking at your home, so you may end up spending less money than you thought. Good luck!

American made Non-Toxic Toys

One of the greatest times of the year is getting together with family for Christmas morning. Two of my favorite reasons are my niece and nephew. They are fun, happy and are a joy to be around. They are 7 and 4, great ages for Christmas; young enough to still believe in Santa Claus, and old enough to know what is going on and be excited about it.

Children, bright eyed, and full of wonder on Christmas morning is a beautiful sight. In their home surrounded by a mountain of toys, most requiring batteries, with blinking lights, making noises and whirring. Other toys in their toy box because they are broken, the batteries died, or their parents are tired of the noise.

Watching them unwrap their presents I noticed several things. They were only really interested in the process of opening the present and finding the surprise inside. They wanted the toys, but only for a little while. Once they were opened and the surprise was gone, the toys were mostly forgotten. It might be that they only wanted the toys because of tv commercials etc. but it could also be the overwhelming amount of toys they receive on Christmas day and even larger pile that they already own. I really don’t know, but it was clear they wanted to OPEN presents, not really caring about having the contents.

For some time I’ve believed that most toys have taken the imagination and fun out of playing. As a child I loved the original legos, before they started making all the specialty kits. When the niece and nephew come over, they love to get out my old legos and will play for hours. This is something I’ve never seen them do with their pile of battery powered gizmos at home.

I also can’t help but wonder whether all the blinking, talking, whirring, buzzing, lights and sounds of modern toys isn’t somehow associated with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). With so much input, including tv and video games screaming for attention in their lives, kids seem to have trouble sitting down and focusing on one task for any period of time or simply using their imagination.

What we are teaching them by constantly buying them everything they desire and purchasing cheap, foreign made toys?  Children today are surrounded by disposable throw away toys, and items that only fill a want propelled by advertising and “keeping up with the Joneses”. Shouldn’t we be teaching them the benefits of quality over quantity? Shouldn’t we be teaching them to seek the best in themselves and the products they will eventually puchase on their own?

Over the past few years, there has been a great deal of news about toxic pet food,  bad medicine and tainted toys coming into the US market from China. Most recently the press storm has been sparked by the massive recall of Chinese-made Barbie dolls, Polly Pockets and other potentially dangerous toys. Honestly I’m not all that surprised, if you are importing products without restriction or inspection from a country with low safety standards and poor labor laws you should expect cheap, and potentially dangerous products.

The toys we buy today are typically bright, flashy, disposable and often won’t last as long as New Year’s Eve. For our children, they are distracting, annoying and offer little in the way of imagination. Often, they are made in nations without enforceable product or worker safety laws. Sometimes they are even created by workers in slave like conditions who are paid next to nothing.  None of these are values I want to pass on to my niece and nephew.

Next time you are in the market to purchase toys for your children,  try to find toys made in the United States of America, toys that inspire imagination and toys that are of a quality that they could be passed down through to the next generation. There are too few places to buy safe, green toys for the health of your child and the planet. One such store is Hazelnut Kids. Yes, they may be more expensive than the big box stores, but the quality, workmanship and safety of their toys more than make up for the cost differential.  Consider buying more by actually buying less.

My wife and I made the decision to only buy American-made, safe toys for the children in our lives.  Our niece and nephew loved their presents this year, and we feel good about the purchases we made. We know the toys will last a lifetime, and possibly be passed down through several generations. Next time you need to buy a toy for a child in your life, check out Hazelnut Kids and give a gift with value.

The movie “Race the Sun” staring James Belushi and Halley Berry, has for the first time introduced me to Solar Energy. It was a story about low- income and under achieving Hawaiian students encouraged by their teacher to join the Solar Car race. In the movie, a car shaped like a cockroach and covered with solar panels used the sun’s rays as an alternative energy source to run the car.

Solar energy is the light and the heat from the sun. Solar energy is not only a free source of energy, but its also unlimited in supply. There are no air and water pollution caused about by using solar energy. But there is still some impacts on the environment although indirect.

The use of solar power for homes for daylight systems are also being used to maximize the energy released by the sun. This system helps in replacing the artificial lighting, by providing internal illumination of homes. Daylight systems include sawtooth roofs, light shelf, skylights, and light tube. Daylight systems when they are properly implemented can reduce lighting-related energy consumption by 25 percent.

The conversion of solar energy into solar thermal technologies helps power for the purpose of heating water, space heating, space cooling and process heat generation. Solar energy can also be used to distil water and make saline or brackish water potable or drinkable.

Also sunlight can be converted into electricity using photovoltaics or PV. PV has been mainly used to power small and medium-sized things like a calculator powered by a single solar cell. There are homes powered by photovoltaics. Using solar energy for water and space heating is the most widely use application of solar energy. While ventilation and solar air heating is also growing in popularity.

Although there are lots of benefits for using solar energy, but solar energy efficiency still has some downside. In the absence of sun light, that is at night time this does not work. The benefits of setting up a solar power plant exceeds much more than the initial high cost of setting it up.

Sometimes, bad breath is not caused by problems within the mouth at all.  As a matter of fact, there is a problem that many of us have to deal with on a regular basis that we may not connect with any form of halitosis that we may be dealing with.  What I’m talking about is reflux disease and if you have a difficult time with acid reflux or regular heartburn, you might be surprised to learn that they can also cause bad breath in many individuals.  What can be done in order to see if this is what is causing our bad breath and how can we treat it?

One of the reasons why reflux disease can cause halitosis is because it is constantly bringing acid and other things up from the area of our stomach into the area of our mouth.  This includes partially digested food which can easily decay and cause halitosis.  It may also make it difficult for us to eat the proper foods that may keep halitosis from occurring in the first place.  Whenever people deal with acid reflux, they will typically go to a doctor in order to get the medication that they can take to treat the disease.  Although this can effectively take care of it, there is a natural way that you might want to use in order to treat both your halitosis in the acid reflux that you’re dealing with.

One of the main problems that causes acid reflux, although most people are not aware of it, is a lack of acid in the stomach.  Most people would think that it is the exact opposite but the fact of the matter is, if you’re unable to digest your food because of a lack of stomach acid then that is what is causing your acid reflux. In order to overcome the problem, you should build up the acid in the stomach naturally through eating plenty of green vegetables and some fruit on a limited basis. Blending a fruit smoothie with some leafy green vegetables (known as a green smoothie) is the easiest way for you to take care of this.

If you can successfully get rid of the acid reflux, you can get rid of the halitosis that often goes along with it. That makes a win-win situation for you, one that helps you with your health, and helps you with your breath.

Many times, herbal vitamins or supplements said to fight hair loss simply slow it down, or, at the most, stop it. To fight against balding, Provillus is a very effective agent to combat thinning hair. This product is made from natural ingredients and actively helps the growth of healthy new hair.

The ingredients are listed in most reviews on Provillus and it shows packed in a caplet all the natural vitamins and supplements hair needs to grow healthy.Provillus also contains Saw Palmetto and Nettle ingredients, two traditional but effective remedies against hair loss, and recommended by specialists.

Watching carefully what you eat can help prevent hair loss in many ways.Hair loss can also be greatly affected by what we ingest into our systems. Vitamins and supplements that are proven effective against hair loss, when included in the everyday diet, can significantly reduce the risk of balding.

A good head of hair generally means the body is likewise healthy, and that good diet reduces hair loss. So to increase the probability of regrowing hair, change your diet into a well-balanced one and also take the supplements.

So eating mostly whole breads, fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meat, fish and chicken will greatly help regrow hair.And eschew processed food, coffee, tea and smoking.

Additional benefits can be had from avoiding these unhealthy foods beyond having healthy hair. Studies have shown that alcohol and tobacco can stop your body from using the nutrients it needs. If your body can’t use the nutrition it needs to maintain healthy hair, it may increase hair loss.

To effectively restore hair naturally, add vitamins to your diet while getting hair loss treatments. Herbal supplements like saw palmetto, gingko bilboa, and ginseng can prevent hair loss.

Green tea, a widely-known anti-oxidant, can also boost the growth of hair by neutralizing enzymes that induce hair fall.Green tea likewise reduces stress, which also influences hair loss in some ways.

There are also traditional Chinese hair loss herbal remedies like dong quai and gingko balboa. Any compound that promotes blood circulation will improve a healthy scalp which should lead to a reduction in hair loss.The thinning of hair and growth of new ones are also helped by Vitamin B, some amino acids, and the trace minerals magnesium and zinc.

By making a few simple lifestyle changes and modifying diet to a healthy lifestyle, and the addition of a hair loss herbal treatment a healthy head of shiny thick hair is possible.Provillus, a herbal hair loss tretment, can make hair grow again, and give you a younger-looking appearance.

I happen to love forests, so much so, that I live in the woods on 5 acres, and own another five in Portland. In the last month a herd of about 40 elk took up temporary residence here, we have had a black beer, deer, and just about every bird, mammal and amphibian that calls this part of the world home, in our little woods.

Some people see loving the forest and having a hobby of woodcraft as some sort of irony or hypocrisy . For me it just makes it more imperative that we use the resource wisely. Protect areas that need it, harvest wisely, and use every last bit for the highest use. Waste nothing. And when the product  is no longer of use, recycle it to the next highest use.

There are thousands of species and infinite varieties of wood. All of it beautiful finished or raw, live as a tree or dead as lumber. It gives us warmth and shelter. We create art and furniture as well as document thoughts and history with it.

The trees, living and dead offer so much to our society and our future that to me, it is imperative that we use our resources wisely. Use sustainable forestry practices so that tomorrows generations will have the jobs, and products that we have today, as well as the forests and woodlands to enjoy.

One of the amazing things about wood, is the many ways it can be re-used, and recycled. A friend of mine started a company, Greenstar International that specializes in helping ports manage their waste-stream. One of the particular “products” of waste, that ports produce in fairly large volumes, is wood. Here on the west coast, most of the wood is in the form of 4″x4″x8′ spacers placed between sheets of steel and other break-bulk items. And most of that wood is exotic. We have found Ebony, Canary wood, and many other rare and interesting types. For decades, the ports simply threw away the wood, as it cost too much and took too long to sort.

Along came Greenstar. Now most of that wood is sent off to be made into flooring, siding, decking, and other finished goods. Any wood that cannot be used for these High uses, is used to make palettes. And if it is so badly damaged as to be unusable for anything else, it is sold as firewood or ground up to use as hog fuel. Great idea right? Taking waste, and turning it into a valuable resource. Starting with the highest value, highest use, and working the way down so that in the end no waste remains.

For me it has been a cheap resource for finding rare, exotic woods to use in my own projects. Maybe just turning a piece of wood for the sake of it, making sculpture, or to make our new front door. Sometimes we make furniture. And soon a project we will begin is the construction of my authentic all wood tea-house/studio. To say that they have been a great resource is an understatement.

Another fantastic resource, I have come to rely on is
Rockler Woodworking and Hardware. Whenever I need a tool, they have it, in stock. They also have wood kits, project designs and I have found they are a great resource to send new woodworkers to. They are one of the oldest, and most trusted resellers of woodworking, hardware and tools online.

Roxy, one of my "kids"

In my case the kids refers to 2 dogs and 2 cats with a taste for house plants. The cats in particular are fond of anything green trying to survive indoors. But not to be outdone Roxy our precocious 3 year old Blue Heeler mix has a thing for my small grove of citrus trees. I find her munching on the leaves regularly. So when I noticed several of the citrus trees infested with spider mites… well lets just say I thought I was faced with a choice of the trees or the kids. And some times that is a tough choice to make.
 
I have grown the little trees from seeds. The seeds all came from the old fashioned method of saving seeds from fruit rather than tossing them out. Everyone told me “They will never grow” or “They will never produce fruit”. The common assumption being fruit is irradiated to kill bugs and such, so the seeds would not be viable.

I have withstood much ribbing and teasing by my spouse and friends, regarding their viability. Much to their chagrin, the seeds did sprout. In fact nearly all of the seeds sprouted and several of the little trees have flourished. These I have protected and pruned. they have become more than the little experiment that I started on.  They are still little more than tiny saplings, and consequently none have flowered, yet. Regardless they have become a symbol, of something bigger. That I was right, and they were wrong.

 Even more than the validation of my idea, they make me feel anything is possible. Very few citrus plants can grown in my region. So these little guys surviving is a symbol of hope, and survival.

The orange Grove winter home

 Attributing so much to these 7 little trees, is a bit much, and setting yourself up for heartbreak, I know. But here I am with all this hope, anticipation and everything.

 Now imagine my horror when I noticed something attacking one of the little trees. It seemed to be sucking the life out of it. Once I noticed, the infestation was quite advanced. Several of the trees were affected, and one was in dire shape indeed.

 I started the way I always do, pruning away the most affected areas. This had a minimal effect.

 So now there I was, my hope infected with mites. Could I disregard my deep sense of dislike for chemicals, to save the “orchard”? Or was there another, better way?

 I always want to use organic methods. Up until that point, I had no real nasty bugs to eliminate. So it had been easy, and I was clueless.

 I didn’t want to make the kids sick. I want to use organic methods, if possible. I want to save the little trees. So, what to do?

 The internet is an amazing tool. After a few minutes of research I found a whole host of solutions, and in that search I located a site that has become a lifeline, Arbico Organics.

 For the past 30 years Arbico Organics has been producing and marketing natural products for organic homes, businesses, lawns, gardens, farms and pets. They had several products that work for the problem I was faced with.

 Since purchasing the  spray for my little trees, I have not noticed any recurrence of spider mites. The trees again look healthy. And none of the kids seems to have had the slightest ill effects. I am hopeful that after 2 or 3 more growing seasons they will finally flower, but if they just survive that long I will be proud. For now they are a nice little edition to our deck in summer, and our guestroom in winter.

About the Author: Christian Hammer is a self proclaimed Serial Entrepreneur, inventor and green advocate. His website, www.mindzle.com is a resource for people who are wanting to live a more sustainable life, but don’t necessarily know how to get started, or are worried about how they can afford it. He tries to lead by example, with a wide variety of projects, ideas and how-to’s.

aquaponics is the process of growing food that combines the pros of aquaculture (raising fish in tanks) and hydroponics (growing plants without soil) while eliminating the cons.

Aquaponics is a sustainable food production system:

• Aquaponics has very low water consumption: less than 1% of the water used in traditional farming.
• Aquaponics uses 70% less energy than traditional in-ground farming methods!
• Aquaponics creates eight to ten times more vegetable production than farming in-ground.
• Aquaponics is fully scalable: backyard family systems to full commercial systems.
• Aquaponics is pure, clean, and natural: USDA Certified Organic.
• Aquaponics is easy to learn and operate: anyone can do it!

Aquaponics has been around for a long time, but recently more and more home owners have started to develop home based systems. In part this is due to people wanting to take control of their food security. Additionally in todays wired world the internet is allowing more people to access better information.

There are quite a few good resources online. My particular favorite is: Backyard Aquaponics because of their large community of experienced Aquaponicists. Most started by developing small “learning” systems and have graduated on to larger systems that can keep their family stocked with fresh fish and veggies. In some cases they have developed large commercial scale operations that produce food for sale. You can track their progress through the forums, see detailed designs and most importantly get valuable insight and advice from people who have “been there and done that”.

I will soon begin my own “learning system”. based on my climate, growing season and land availability I have a few tough choices to make. Which type or types of fish to grow? What grow media should I use? Technical details such as valves, pumps general design and layout. Thankfully great resources exist to help me find the answers to these and many more questions.

Aquaponics has the potential to feed a whole lot of people with energy-efficient, sustainable food-production methods. A lot of this will be done by individuals and families with backyard aquaponics systems. As these systems become more economical and efficient, backyard systems will become more common until every neighborhood has one. This will put tremendous power back into the hands of individuals, as they become more and more responsible for their own food security and head toward “food freedom”.

How To Live Longer In 15 Minutes A Day by Reeveso

No matter what kind of life you live, you deal with stress on a daily basis. Maybe you live the city lifestyle in which you are busy all the time, deal with angry people daily, and so on and so forth.

Conversely you might live a lifestyle in which you live in the suburbs, wake up and get the kids ready for school, head to work for 8 hours, come home and get dinner ready, put the kids to bed, and do the same thing all over again.

Either way there are many things in your day that are stressing you out. It doesn’t matter where you live or what you do, you are virtually guaranteed to be living a stressful lifestyle.

If you can’t get away from the stress, you need to learn how to combat it. Therefore in my mind the best choice you can make would be to live what I’ve coined the tea lifestyle.

Simply put, the tea lifestyle means that you live a stress free life by virtue of being aware of the stressors around you and learning how to control them.

It consists of living a lifestyle of drinking tea, meditating, actively using the law of attraction, relaxing, participating in some form of martial art, using aromatherapy, and doing activities in your life that put you in a joyful state.

Of course you don’t need to do all of those things. Do only the things that you enjoy, which is the basis of the entire lifestyle. However, I’d recommend you at least try them to see whether they fit your personality or not.

If you compare the lives of people who use even one of the major factors of living the tea lifestyle, you’ll be impressed by the results.

For example, people who drink tea live longer healthier lives than those who don’t. People who meditate can manage their stress efficiently and therefore live longer than those who don’t. Masters of martial arts have been known to keep practicing up until the last days of their lives. The list goes on and on.

Just take a look at a country who implements this type of lifestyle on a daily basis – Japan. Japan consumes
one of the highest amounts of tea in the world. Tea is also their national drink, and they even celebrate it by having tea ceremonies.

They also have daily rituals of practicing martial arts, drinking tea, meditating, and living the tea lifestyle.

I guess it’s no surprise to say that Japan is among the worlds healthiest and longest living countries.

It shocks me to see that although people know these facts, they still do nothing to change the way they live their lives. Most countries around the world have already figured it out, but America still has a blind eye to the fact that you need to get rid of stress in order to live a long, happy life.

People always ask me how I manage to be in a good mood almost every minute of the day. Well, if stress isn’t taking over your body, there’s no reason not to be in a great mood!

Sure there are times when I get stressed out. After all, running a website, going to school full-time, working part-time, and working on my financial freedom definitely has its toll on my body.

However, by implementing aspects of the tea lifestyle and living it each day, I’m usually stress-free and improving each area of my life everyday.

Living this lifestyle doesn’t have to take much time out of your day. All it takes is a bit of determination, a shift in thinking, and a minimum of 15 minutes per day to see a tremendous increase in the productivity and quality of your life.

Jeremy Reeves is a tea enthusiast and website owner of http://www.crazyfortea.com which educates his visitors about the amazing health benefits of tea.
Go there yourself and see how tea can greatly impact the quality of your health!

Article Source: Sustainable Living Articles

How to Rent a Solar Energy System for Your Home by Daniel Stouffer

A new company is emerging; one that allows American homeowners to produce their own clean, green, renewable energy from the sun and keep the savings created by locking in a monthly rental rate. Homeowners can save thousands of dollars powering their home with solar generated electricity.

It is not just the American Dream any longer. It is possible for U.S. homeowners to save money on their energy bills by renting a residential solar energy system. A homeowner can help to lower their carbon emissions by utilizing renewable energy. A solar equipment manufacturer is planning to offer an affordable, hassle free way for U.S. homes to install solar. Saving money by utilizing solar generated electricity is a bonus.

In their pilot installation phase, this company is working to remove the barriers to wide-scale solar adoption in the United States. Its business model is to rent all of the equipment needed to power a residential home with solar electricity.

There is an energy auditing process and required feasibility study to better determine suitable locations. Homeowners hoping to have a solar electric system installed may not qualify in some cases due to environmental or sunlight hour restrictions.

reThinking a Solar Energy Rental Service — The U.S. people do not have to buy a high-dollar solar energy system. It is offered on a rental basis. The installation is free, with it being part of the rental service, and any permitting or rebate challenges related to the system installation are handled by the company – not the homeowner. The solar manufacturer pays for, installs, owns and operates the solar system installation on behalf of the homeowner. This solar rental service allows the average citizen to self-produce their own renewable energy.

The homeowner pays a rental fee and produces solar generated electricity from the solar system installed on their home. The homeowner doesn’t have to worry about maintaining the equipment or any of the other concerns that come with making a solar system purchase.

This rental service takes care of all the barriers and headaches associated with the installation of residential solar systems. The rental service helps prevent pollution, helps to support national security, and helps promote many green initiatives in local communities across the United States.

The Residential Solar Energy System — This service provides enhanced efficiency and better control of your energy usage. The system will monitor the energy production on a daily basis. The homeowner can also track household energy consumption via online reporting. The integrated solar unit provides a renewable energy source that helps a homeowner self-produce renewable energy.

Solar Generated Electricity Saves Money — Switching to solar energy can also save on long term electricity costs. The homeowner pays a flat monthly rental fee for the solar energy unit. They generate renewable energy from the rented system and this electricity offsets the energy that must be purchased from a utility company. This will cause a reduction in the average paid for electricity going forward.

The rental pays for itself over the life span of the residential solar energy system. The homeowner saves money in the long run because the rental rate for the unit stays flat while the utilities’ rate for electricity continues to increase.

The U.S. homeowner can produce renewable energy, save money on their energy costs, and feel good about lowering their carbon emissions. This solar rental service is truly solar made simple.

Daniel Stouffer plans to make the right Eco-friendly, green solutions available to the American homeowners in a simple, affordable way. Our role involves the leadership, communication, and the education related to renewable energy. We provide homeowners the option to rent a solar electric system and avoid the huge, upfront investment in solar technology. About solar rents: http://www.reThinkingSolar.com

Article Source: Sustainable Living Articles