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Natural Cleaning Techniques: “But…how did they do it 100 years ago?”

This is a common question that I ask myself and my fellow community members here at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, a striving-to-be-sustainable community. How did they do this or that before electricity? Before mass production? Before everything came in plastic? More often than not we adopt the old way of doing things here: canning or root cellaring our food for preservation, heating our homes with wood, and making butter with a hand cranked, turn-of-the-century churn.

When it comes to cleaning, there are certainly many old fashioned ways of cleaning that one could easily choose to use. From baking soda to lemon juice, there may be simple ways to save yourself from adding too many products to your life. I know at least a few folks who believe that you can clean just about anything with white vinegar and newspaper or an old rag. And while we do employ a number of very simple cleaning techniques here at Dancing Rabbit, even we are not free of mass-produced cleaning products… but we stick to those that meet our standards for sustainability.

That’s why you’ll find a number of Seventh Generation products under our sinks. We’ve been known to use their various spray bottle bathroom cleaners and those squirty-topped dish soaps, because we know this company shares our vision of living more lightly on the Earth. Having replaced toilets with a simple humanure system, we don’t need to use any of their toilet cleaning products (though we do still use Seventh Generation toilet paper).

You will also find a number of citrus-based cleaners used for anything from mopping the floor to washing our clothes. Citric acid can, in almost all cases, be used in the same way as bleach. Mixed with salt, citrus becomes especially powerful. And just think of how much more pleasant the smell of lemon is compared to the smell of bleach!

Personally, I have, at one time or another used Dr Bronner’s Magic Soaps for just about everything. From its inception, Dr. Bronner’s has listed “eighteen-in-one” potential uses for their product on the bottle, and it can really be used for every one of them. Along with body wash and hand soap, Dr Bronner’s also makes great laundry soap, and is even safe to use on your pets!

I have no doubt that some people look at our way of life, and think that we’re trying to return to the 19^th century. With some specific practices, they’re right! But we don’t reject progress… we just want to see it achieved sustainably. These natural cleaning products allow us to enjoy a bit of convenience, while still maintaining our values.

Best of luck combining simplicity, sustainability, and practicality, and happy cleaning!

Mary Beth Bishop is a resident of Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in Northeastern Missouri, and a freelance writers currently under contract with long-running green blog sustainablog, which now features an eco-friendly shopping portal that carries a full range of cleaning brands, including Dr. Bronner’s.

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The flowers that you buy your partner can be very important for her but when it comes to the world they matter for nothing at all. There are many plants out there that would be dead without the help of creatures like bees and these include peaches and apricots.

There are so many plants out there that help out both animals and us and here are just two, that without we would certainly die.

Plankton

We know of over 50,000 species and this is just in the lighter parts of the ocean that we can see and although many humans do not see the immediate benefit, animals do. One boom of plankton can actually sustain billions of sea creatures. These plankton are mostly found quite near the surface of the water so they can allow light in which of course allows for photosynthesis to occur. Many people will perhaps never see the importance of this plant but I will say that half of the world’s oxygen is given to us through these plants. Without this plankton life would not exist, it is as simple as that.

Fungi

Many people really hate fungi simply because it causes thingsl ike athelets foot and a bit of a mess if it gets into the home but we wouldnt exist without it. It is this fungi that allowed the plants to move out of the sea and onto land as they formed a symbiotic relationship with the plants that still actually exist today. It also allows a lot of plants to obtain all of the necessary nutrients and water they need from the soil. These fungi will also work to clean up the remains of dead plants and animals and put the nutrients back into the earth, pretty helpful after all.

It is rather amusing that two of plants that people tend not to care about are just two of the most important in the world.

So the next time you are out buying your wife some flower make sure you remember what made those flowers possible. Birthday flowers via flower delivery are a great way to make someone happy on their one day of the year.

Global warming is mainly caused by green house gases especially carbon oxide. Carbon capture is necessary to reduce this global warming among other efforts. Many 3g technologies are being put forward to tackle the rising carbon dioxide. Some have not helped in sustainable development while others are not just feasible. There hasn’t been an outright discovery to capture carbon till now.  However, we need to sail through the possibility of finding one otherwise our only way forward is south.

Any suggested methods of carbon capture should be ecologically safe. It should be economical and sustainable, which means the captured carbon has to stay that way for a number of years.

Naturally, plants capture carbon. However, once they die they release the carbon back into the atmosphere. Also with the accelerated emission of carbon doubled with cropping problems and deforestation, the remaining plants aren’t able to take in more carbon. They have become saturated. A team of American scientists seem to have found a way though for capturing carbon through plants. If crop residues are buried in the bottoms of the deep oceans it will make sure the carbon remain captured. This is similar to putting back the carbon as sediments in deep water which enabled the formation of fossil fuels millions of years ago. It is estimated this process can mitigate 15 percent of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The team suggested that these crop residues could be baled and carried to ocean sites and then stabilize it with stones and sunk. They say this technology is feasible because of the oxygen deficient deep ocean waters ensuring the residues do not degrade.

We have heard of soil sequestration many times in recent past. This method ensures soils store up to 2 petagram (Pg) of carbon every year. (1 Pg=1 trillion kilogram) What it does is once crops are harvested the residues are ploughed back into the soil. It enables the carbon to stay underground that way for a few years.  In about 20 years almost more than 90 percent are lost in the soil due to decay and degradation.

There are other methods also for capturing carbon. However, they are not as efficient as the ones I have mentioned above. For instance, Forest capture is another form of capturing carbon. It captures 0.1-3 Pg of carbon annually. But with time the ability to capture reduces drastically. Forest fires and deforestation doesn’t help either releasing much of the captured carbon into the atmosphere.

Another method which hasn’t fully grown is ocean fertilization. Here iron dust is sprayed across the ocean to create an algal boom. 1-2 Pg of carbon can be removed annually with this. However the problem is algal die after a point of time and 60-80% of the captured carbon is emitted back after their deaths.

With the lack of efficiency in capturing carbon with some of the methods, the sinking crop residual method, the first one we discussed, sounds like the most effective one among all existing technologies. It is cheap as the residual comes naturally in the process of crop cultivation. The scientist group, however, warn against complete removal of crop residue as this will negatively affect the carbon flow in the soil. Also there could be unwanted changes underneath the ocean floor.

To conclude, scientists have been trying hard for ways to counter the dangerous carbon level in the atmosphere. They’ve been able to come up with few interesting ideas but all of them are running short in some way or the other. There needs to be an absolute sharing of knowledge and technology among scientists of the developed nations. The sooner, the lesser the destruction will be for us.

Usually the time we get as leisure is spent on recreation. It has an important function in our lives. Amidst the stress and strain of modern life, recouping and energizing the body and mind is vital. There are many ways that this can be done. Some of them are bungee jumping, skiing, hang gliding, snowboarding, rock climbing, sky diving, backpacking, canyoning, motor sport, adventure tourism and ecotourism. Ecotourism is where one visits the natural habitats to enjoy nature. However, there are two kinds of ecotourism in vogue. The first is what has come to be called responsible ecotourism. This is when the visitor is sensitive and respectful to nature and feels socially responsible to protect it. The focus here is on learning from nature and reflecting on the adverse human impact on nature. Central to it is the profound appreciation of nature. The second category is where nature becomes incidental to profits. Primarily a commercial enterprise, nature becomes a commodity for business. Tragic enough, this type of ecotourism continues to dominate.

Ecotourism is promoted indiscriminately without concern either to ecology or local culture. Ecotourism is made a mere marketing tool. Resorts, lodges and luxury hotels are located in rich natural locations and often in ecologically sensitive areas. These facilities offer modern luxury with all the wasteful lifestyle. Ecology becomes a commodity to be exploited rather than respected and conserved. Building tourism infrastructure in the name of promoting ecotourism leads to deterioration of the habitat and deforestation. The more the facilities the more are the waste generated. A large number of visitors also mean more garbage and pollution. Many of these ecotourists have no understanding of the ecological consequences of their visits and how their lifestyles in these tourist facilities impact on nature.

Responsible ecotourism on the other hand is in stark contrast to this destructive ecotourism. Typically the visitors come unobtrusively in small groups. They invariably carry their survival needs in their backpacks. These include flashlight, first aid kit, personal care products, utensils and map amongst others. Sleeping bag and the camping tent are the most important for their minimal comforts. There are many camping tent manufacturers such as Black Diamond, Sierra, Kelty, Eureka and MSR who manufacture tents. Camping tents are designed for different seasons and capacity. The features that come along with it can be previewed from each of the reviews of these tents for instance searching the Internet for MSR Hubba Hubba reviews.

Camping is usually associated with responsible tourism because the negative aspects of tourism are minimal. There is much attention given to energy efficiency, recycling, water conservation and economic benefits to local communities.

There is much talk of ecological crisis. It is said that most of these are man made. The ecological crisis that is being talked about consists of a vast array of problems. There are the oil spills that devastate vast areas in the sea and the coast line. The Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 off the coast of Alaska is one such. Global warming, a result of the emission of green house gases because of human activities could flood many islands that dot the Pacific Ocean. The depletion of ozone layer will increase the radiation from the sun reaching the earth. Many species will disappear as a result of deforestation as well as desertification. Large plain areas will be threatened with devastating floods due to the vanishing forests up in the hills. It is estimated that some 17,000 to as many as 100,000 species vanish every year. Over the last five decades, seven million square kilometers of forests have vanished. Only one-fifth of the original forests survive intact.

We do know from science that there is a strong inter-relationship between species, and between species and the non-living things in the environment. The survival of the species depends on the extent to which this inter dependence between species, whether micro-organisms, animals or plants, is possible. Ecosystems, scientists say, cannot be engineered and created by humans. It is only by letting the ecosystem survive that species will survive. That is why the importance of conservation and preservation is considered vital. But human progress through development and growth is threatening the survival of species.

It is hoped that the large scale appreciation of natural reserves will lead to conservation of these reserves. Camping in such reserves for the purpose of recreation and learning is considered to be one way of strengthening conservation. Responsible camping in such reserves also requires a living experience with camping tents. You need to select a tent that is suited to your needs. Kelty Green River 4 person tent accommodates four persons. It is a two season tent which could also be used as a base camp tent. Tents accommodating one to even ten persons with different features are available in the market.

The adherence to the principle of non-interference with nature while you are in such camping trips is an important principle to be followed. Local cultures, usually with strong roots in nature, are to be respected. Understanding the complexity of nature and its diverse role is a critical learning that these experiences seek to offer. The truth that we are part of nature and that nature does not belong to us is important to realize that the relationship between nature and human beings is that of between the mother and her children.

Americas Capability To Sustain And Overcome The Oil Crisis?

The world is in a frenzy, the oil crisis is making economies to cause a downturn that may even be greater than the great misery. The war as they say is the cause. The budget deficit owing to 2008 is now over $400,000,000. This money certainly would have been put to better reason within America itself.

Conspiracy Theory

Most persons will say that the president of the United States waged bloodshed smuggle a middle eastern country due to oil America after all is one of the world’s largest oil consumer. Everything in the US is automated, or electrical. To run machineries you use oil wares, to produce high demands of electricity you barrel and barrels of oil to tear the generators.

It is quite little to assume that the former President whose family business is oil has a vested absorption leadership acquiring a country in consequence well-heeled rule mineral deposits. First of all it will make oil resources available anytime they want without having to bother with diplomacy and pass through another government. Sustain more free lunch thanks to the Bush family, because they have an oil trade if they answerability amuse geriatric fuel at market price then they entrust have massed earnings. The idea makes sense further and could very much be possible.

Sustainable Power Treasure

Political and idiosyncratic factors is not the whole issue. Other faces to this scenario is also possible. Yes, America is one of the world’s largest energy consumer, but America also has the largest preference of energy resources on Earth.

Geothermal, Hydro, Diddly & Other.

The United States of America is unmistakable due to the world’s greatest geothermal scene stimulation.

The Geysers located just north of San Francisco was the planet’s basic further largest wilderness steam occupation. The astonishing object about these power plants ( whereas there are several ) is that sewage waste from surrounding cities are pumped into the geothermal stabilize in order to cater the supply of steam needed owing to energy production. States allied thanks to Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Utah among others own their own geothermal plants.

Accurate the fourth tract with the largest hydropower capacity, the Americas revolutionized hydropower by roof plentiful dams in awfully calculated areas all over the US. Feasibly the largely received is the Hoover Dam. At the time sound was fully operational Hoover Dam was uttered to be the world’s largest electricity generating hydropower plant. Located on the cusp of Nevada and Arizona, the Hoover dam supplies electricity to the states of Nevada, Arizona and most of Southern California.

Rock Port Missouri is a city in North America who is powered by wind farms. Of the 56 states effect America over half have wind farms which help supply their security needs. Some states may have aesthetical issues, but wind farms will definitely pass into indispensable magnetism in the future especially when the impact of dwindling oil supplies from the east is felt.

A Closing Scenario

The States have its own oil resources deserved within its backyard. Texas and just off shore from New Orleans a new sight is emerging. That of drilling areas, but one commodity remains clear. Fossil fuel as an energy source is not viable for human health and the future of our environment. If you’re still asking why the American government is waging war for oil? Perhaps it’s not oil after all. Maybe it’s just a peace crusade with a sword in hand.

There’s a lot to understand about oil. Some of the facts has been shown above, but there is still plenty more to reveal and develop.