Recycled crafting etc

The news today reported on Lights Out...a movement to turn out lights in big cities for a half hour or an hour at night. Lights that really are not necessary like office buildings that are empty, large lit signage for advertising. Basically its a black out to raise awareness for energy consumption reduction. Useless gesture? I don't think so...like any campaign, a hook is needed to catch the attention of the general public. Rome and now London have given it their shots, what about other urban centers? And how much energy is saved by these blackouts? For sure it is not a negligible amount! We are now in the summer season where we may not be heating a building but cooling it so energy demands are still high and often cause stress on electrical supplies. A large reduction in unecessary lighting and the light pollution it causes could be a very good thing. A walk beneath STARS in the central city anyone?
Crafting with recycled stuffs: I am interested in this from a knitting standpoint and have 3 or 4 sweaters waiting for "frogging" meaning waiting to be ripped apart for their yarn yardage. This is an idea that is gaining interest among earth and frugal minded knitters and sometimes you can score a luxury fiber for a pittance at a thrift shop or clearance sale. I would like to do more of this but in using my spare time actually knitting I haven't yet gotten around to the recycling. I guess I will have two stashes: one of new yarns and one of sweaters waiting to be recycled for their yarns. ;oD Could be worse right? http://www.neauveau.com/recycledyarn.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/recycledyarn/?yguid=196305498
http://www.az.com/~andrade/knit/thrifty.html
Here are 3 links to get ya started on recycling yarn for your handy works. Never forget you can recycle old clothes for their fabric to save money on your sewing habit too.

Dishwasher Powder

(Gratuitous boat shot: Look windpowered travel!!!)

I have been using a homemade version of dishwasher powder for awhile made from a 1:1 ratio of baking soda to Borax. I am unimpressed. I tried adding salt. Still not happy. My glasses are cloudy coated (can scratch it with my fingernail so its not etching) and some dishes just do not come out clean.

I am unhappy with this recipe and so far all the homemade recipes I can find are pretty close to this with perhaps citric acid added.

Thus, the great dishwasher powder experiment of May 2007 came to and ignomious end...with me buying some chlorine free stuff at Zellers on a major sale discount (Amilya's Soapworks). Sweet.

Mother Earth News

There are folks out there that are thinking along the same lines as I. Imagine my surprise.


Apparently the people at Mother Earth News think that chickens are worth an article to extol their virtues. Quite timely. You can read it in the April/May 2007 issue.

Further to yesterday's entry, one will also find a short article on "The long-term Effect of tillage", among other informative topics.

I really like this magazine. The only draw back? The advertisements featuring tractors, trucks, tiller, and lawnmowers. Not so earth friendly. Surely they could make a greater effort to find more earth friendly, "green" advertisers.

The Right Tool

When you need to get down to the roots of all evil, namely those of dandelions (among other less than favourite weeds), this weeder is the PERFECT tool for the job. Forget the tiller. The price tag alone might send some for the smelling salts. And it will just sit there if you don't feed it some nasty gasoline. Although it may not need much, did you happened to notice the gas prices lately?? Not only will it pollute worse than a 1980's V8 Cadillac, it'll only cut those nasty roots at their knees, leaving enough to make your life miserable in the future. Did I mention it disturbs, if not outright kills, the garden helpers, such as worms and centipedes to name just a couple? Sure a tiller makes fast work of fluffing up the soil, but does it really? Those nice air pockets the earthworms worked so fervently to make for your plants? Gone. The delicate balance of organic matter that your plants will long for during their life span? Pushed underground where it's out of their reach. (That's probably why so many people still run to stores for chemical fertilizers!)

Alrighty then. Off the soapbox I go. To grab my weeder (which, by the way, cost a lot less than a week's worth of coffee) and put my muscles to work.

You didn't know that weeding burned calories, did you?!

Oh MY!

I didn't pass the test. Not even close.

Now go take the test yourself. Don't be shocked by the results. At least you'll be sitting down.

My ecological footprint is too big for this planet. Much too HUGE! I would have never thought it. Maybe if the test had been a bit more specific in some areas, such as food... Don't mind me. I am still recovering from the shock of it all. I didn't think the test would judge me so harshly for eating meat and dairy on a regular basis. After all, my husband and oldest son provided most of the meat for the freezer last year: deer and bear. No importing, processing, packaging required. In the summer I grow a decent sized garden, and supplement with locally grown produce where possible. More often than not I bake bread for our family, milk comes from our cow and eggs from our chickens.

I don't fly anywhere anymore, don't ride a motorcycle, and make only one trip per week to town, not quite 30km away. Sometimes, if I am organised, I don't visit town even every other week. Especially if I remember the mobile library schedule that comes to our community.

I will try to lessen my footprint. How about you?

Green Pest Control!

Doesn't get much greener than this. And not only do you get pest control but fertilizer too! And the bonus eggs... Did I mention the entertainment? Free! The dude in the middle is "Romeo", a polish rooster. Although I have bigger roosters, he's the boss! Just look at him watching over his workers... Hee hee

Anyone can raise a chicken or three in their backyard. They don't need a huge amount of space. Just make sure your yard is fenced or your neighbour (and possibly his dog) will be enjoying a free Sunday dinner (if they're so inclined). And of course check the by-laws governing your property.

Gazette Article Link

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/saturdayextra/story.html?id=4f5d50c9-003d-46ee-931e-bb3d984e5c36
From this article in Saturday's Gazette, I found out that dishwasher products, unlike laundry and dish liquid for hand washing, are a source of phosphate pollution in our water ways in this country. Blue Green toxic algae anyone?????