Is there any better pairing for your Essentia mattress than a sustainable wood bed frame? We don’t think so. Here are a few that we found for you:
Asian Style Handcrafted Bed Frame
http://www.downbound.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ANH-HCF-C333ASIAN-QUN-MAP
Piano 3 Bed Frame
http://www.naturalhome-products.com/beds/wooden-bed-frames/piano-3-bed-frame/
Furnature
http://www.furnature.com/bed-frames.html
Sound too good to be true? Dutch engineer Joost Veerman believes it is possible. Not only does the environment remain untouched with his method, busy river shipping remains unobstructed as well. He calls his process “Blue Energy”. Using it, Veerman and his team can use the estuary between the Rhine and the North Sea as a power supply for 650,000 homes.
The process, also dubbed “salinity power”, takes advantage of the chemical differences and interactions between salt water and fresh water to produce a new kind of battery, one powered by nature alone. Veerman and team have done tests on a salinity power generator in a lab and are now preparing to scale it up with a team of engineers. To read more about it head on over to New Scientist.
We dream all day of snuggling into a nice downy cocoon of warmth at night. Bleach, dyes and other textile treatment chemicals can turn that cocoon into a toxic stew that will have an impact on allergy and asthma sufferers. In addition, cotton that isn’t grown organically is partially responsible for “dead zones” in the Gulf of Mexico. A number of manufacturers make blankets and sheets for the eco-minded; here are just a few of them.
Coyuchi
http://www.thecleanbedroom.com/Natural_Bedding/Organic_Blankets/Coyuchi_Organic_Cotton.htm
Rawganique
http://www.rawganique.com/Bed/organic-cotton-wool-blankets.htm
WWF Eco-Fleece
https://wwfstore.donorportal.ca/p-85-eco-fleece-blanket.aspx
NASA has been without a Space Solar Power program since 2002. Proponents of the technology believe that there is a way to beam solar power from satellites in space to receivers on the ground, in much the same way that we currently receive communication signals. Disappointed by a decision in December to not fund a $55 million program, those involved are now looking to the alternative energy initiatives of the current Obama administration for funding for development of the technology. More on how it is supposed to work in the video below:
This product increases the temperature in a room where you want to turn up the heat without turning up your house’s thermostat. You install it in the place of existing vents, plug it in to the nearest outlet and simply set the temperature where you want it to be.
The Airflow Breeze then kicks on a fan whenever the temperature is too low and sucks additional heat through your ducts to that particular room. Very useful for high use rooms like a home office or living room.
The Airflow Breeze slides into existing vent openings in your home without any extra installation required. Retail price is around $60.00.
While we usually try to find more than one similar product for you to purchase, this was the only one in its category that we could find online. Here is a great video on the installation and use of the device:
Mother Nature will be putting on a show for anyone with a clear sky and a good pair of binoculars tonight. Comet Lulin has a regular tail and a rare fake “anti-tail” that is actually just an optical effect. The comet is green in colour and should be very bright in the evening sky tonight.
The comet comes in on a parabolic orbit, which means it comes in from the furthest reaches of the solar system and then goes right back. The position of the comet means it will be visible all night from either hemisphere of the Earth.
With all of the chemicals leached into our water daily, those even living in cities may want to consider getting a water filtration system installed. Those who live in older homes that may have been constructed prior to the 1990’s may have lead pipes in their homes which can contaminate even the best city water.
Such systems are usually available simply by contacting your local water purification store that you can find in your phone book or online in your local directory of choice. A typical system to “get the lead out” of city water will not break the bank. You can get into a higher cost system when you are trying to filter and purify well water. Either way, it is worth talking to someone about. While most water filtration systems can’t get trace chemicals out of the water, they definitely help. Contact your local store today for more.
Some Online Sources:
Equinox Products
http://www.equinox-products.com/WaterFiltration.htm
Nordic Living Water Systems
http://www.alivewater.net/index.htm
With all the talk about the economy and the stimulus package, some fairly significant moves from the Obama administration have gone off the radar of the traditional news media.
1. Funding Pulled from Anti-Gay Groups
Under the faith-based initiative, the previous administration was funding groups that provided or advocated conversion therapy for homosexuals. This funding has been pulled and the faith-based initiative will be overhauled.
2. Drug Czar who Advocates Medical Marijuana
Seattle police chief Gil Kerlikowske has been known to turn a blind eye to Seattle’s medical marijuana programs even though they are at odds with federal law. Under him America can hope that drug policy will begin to relax a little when it comes to the medical uses of the drug.
3. Arms Control
A campaign pledge was made by Obama to reduce the world’s largest nuclear stockpiles. Before his inauguration, Obama sent Henry Kissinger to Moscow to negotiate a deal with the Russians to reduce each country’s stockpile to 1000 weapons each. The administration will deny funding for new nuclear weapons and reduce spending on missile defense.
4. High-Speed Rail
Anyone who has been to Japan can appreciate the efficiency and environmentally friendly nature of high speed rail. Through his recent stimulus package Obama injected $9.3 billion into the arm of the rail system of America for upgrades to high speed. They will also seek an additional $1 billion per year.
5. Broadband For All
While $7 Billion isn’t enough to bring the US up to the standards of other developed countries where high-speed internet access is concerned, it is a good start.
For more check out the original piece at Alternet.
When we first saw this application we were a little taken aback. Offset carbon by surfing the internet? Seriously? Apparently it works. With the new FireFox browser extension, Green, you can do exactly that.
The way it works will turn off privacy purists – it acts as an ad replacer, replacing ads on the sites you visit with ads that come from its own advertisers instead based on your interests. The ad revenue from those ads is then used to buy and retire carbon credits. It is a way to offset carbon at no charge to you.
You can also share your Green results on your Facebook profile with a little widget that shows just how much carbon you’ve offset compared to the total of the rest of your friends. High-frequency web users like internet professionals may just end up offsetting quite a bit of carbon.
You can download and install the extension here.
Canadians and Americans both are glued to their computers and TV sets this morning to see Barack Obama’s first official state visit. The oilsands are an important component of the discussions that may take place today between Obama and Canadian leaders. Prime Minister Stephen Harper happens to be from Alberta where oilsands oil production is a driving force in the Canadian economy. The US gets 13% of its oil from the Albertan oilsands. The process by which the oilsands are mined are environmentally problematic.
In an interview Tuesday with the Canadian national news service, CBC, Obama stated: “What we know is that oil sands creates a big carbon footprint. So the dilemma that Canada faces, the United States faces, and China and the entire world faces is how do we obtain the energy that we need to grow our economies in a way that is not rapidly accelerating climate change.”
The environmental cost of extracting oil from the Albertan tar sands is three times as high as extracting a “regular” barrel of oil. The oilsands operations were not even economically viable due to this costly extraction process until oil prices started holding steady at higher prices in the 1990’s. Alberta’s forests and rivers are not just threatened by oilsands extraction, but are suffering right now. What Harper is hoping is that the political cost of purchasing oil from the Middle East outweighs the environmental cost of extracting the oil. Hopefully Obama’s visit will result in tighter environmental controls on the oilsands operations.
The following video is a comprehensive look at Albertan oilsand operations.
