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Re-Thinking Suburbia- Time for a Retrofit

Seamus Ford — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:08:36 +0000

Ellen Dunham-Jones speaks at a Ted Conference on re-thinking suburbia in a post fosil fuel world. This is a facinating and optimistic look into a possible future. While some would argue that the suburban model of development is a dead end and a future wasteland, Dunham proposes a possible future an urban lifestyle in the burbs.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Mike Nowak Show: Confidant to the Nascent Gardener, Organic Ambassador to the World

Seamus Ford — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:21:24 +0000

Last year, I made a commitment to gradually eliminate my lawn and found a patch of ground that didn’t seem to like grass much anyway. A friend of mine came across some discarded stone from a building that was torn down and said I could have it if I was willing to come and pick it up. So in two trips with my homemade trailer I collected several tons of free limestone.

I had some unused cement from a previous project and at about noon on Easter Sunday I couldn’t wait any longer and got to work in my back yard creating a raised bed for vegetables. I was flipping through the radio channels and came across the Mike Nowak Show. To my delight I called in just as they were giving out the call in number and I got to ask my questions on the show. I was thrilled by how knowledgeable Mike Nowak is and I even got to even share about Low Carbon Home on the radio. Listen here.

Mike is a wonderful host with an infectious enthusiasm. On this particular show he was interviewing master gardener Scott Thalman. My question was about what vegetables are best to grow in my side yard (see related video). I was even more excited to know that his show is on for two hours every Sunday from noon until 2pm. In the Chicago area you can tune into AM 820 and FM 92.5 (west) FM 92.7 (north) FM 99.9 (south). Mike Nowak has been on the radio for more than a decade sharing his passion for gardening and all things horticultural is a vast resource for anyone who wants to learn how to garden. More of us need to!

I will be tuning in on Sundays from now on!

Turning Your Dog Into a Good Environmental Citizen

Seamus Ford — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:45:34 +0000

Our dogs and cats are our companions and we naturally want to take care of them. If you are a pet owner you probably give a lot of thought to what you feed your pet. What you probably don’t think about is what happens to the waste they generate once you dispose of it. Most people put dog waste into a plastic bag that is then thrown into the garbage. When it is all added up more than 10 million tons of animal waste goes into landfills each year. Since most of it is wrapped in plastic, it never really biodegrades. This video is about a possible alternative to sending your pet waste to the landfill: A dog waste composter.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Plastic? Hah! We don’t need your stinking plastic

Seamus Ford — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:46:20 +0000

The next time you make a purchase and the clerk blindly puts your 2 item purchase in a bag…….REFUSE. More over educate them. Tell them that you do not want to take a bag that is going get caught in a breeze and wind up decorating an inner city tree this winter. Tell them that you don’t want to choke a seagull. Tell them that you don’t want to clog the sewer at the end of you street and cause a flood.

Tell them that you don’t want a bag because it is simply not required, especially when the milk jug you just purchased already has a handle.

Come on! How asleep are we that we accept a bag for a small single purchase that already comes shrouded in plastic.

While you are at it, there in line make a scene. Take a minute and educate all the other people in line with you and invite them not to take a bag if they don’t need one.

There is a pelican in the Gulf of Mexico somewhere who will owe you one.

Click here to view the embedded video.

When you put something in the trash, what are you really throwing away?

Seamus Ford — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:12:21 +0000

It is often said that forests are renewable resources. While this is technically true, it is not unconditional.

The massive efficiencies that we have been able to create in developing our modern society are truly amazing. But meeting the demands of an ever increasing population is putting a burden on the natural environment (on which we are completely dependent) that is unprecedented. This video is not about the big-bad companies that exploit the natural environment, it is about you and me and our role in that exploitation. I recently went to cut firewood with author and naturalist Jeff Hinich and got a very strong reminder of this.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The convenience of modern life comes at a cost and there are many things you can do to change it.

Why are people talking about Rain Barrels?

Seamus Ford — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:00:56 +0000

I live in the Great Lakes region and for the millions of us who do, water is abundant, rain is regular and plentiful, so why would a non-profit organization in Madison, Wisconsin be advocating the use of rain barrels?

A rain barrel acts as cistern that captures rain water from your downspout and and makes it available for use in your garden or perhaps in an emergency situation, even a supply of water that you could purify and use for drinking.

I was greatly inspired when I interviewed Jessie Lerner of Sustain Dane at the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair about the difference that having a rain barrel can make.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sustain Dane is a not-for-profit organization based in Dane County Wisconsin, which is dedicated to creating communities that deeply enjoy, care for and are sustained by their unique environment.

For less than $90 you can equip your house with one of these unique rain barrels. Sustain Dane also offers discussion courses that allow you to educate yourself in creating a more sustainable lifestyle and local community along with fellow global citizens.

Learn more at www.sustaindane.org. RainReserve™ focuses on raising community awareness of water related issues. For additional information rain barrels and indoor water conservation kites for kitchen and bath, visit www.rainfordane.org.

Re-thinking what you consider to be junk: re-use and re-purpose

Seamus Ford — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 04:38:33 +0000

The world is filling up with stuff.

Modern industrial society has lost touch with the real value of what it produces. Our wasteful consumption and our disposable attitude toward so much of what we produce and use is going to hurt our children. In spite of the fact that most parents would never eat first and feed their kids what is left over, when it comes to our use of natural resources we are doing just that. As the planet’s population grows and we reach the peak of our oil production capacity along with many other minerals and materials we are robbing our children. We have eaten the best parts of the chicken and we are leaving them with the bone.

Click here to view the embedded video.

When you stop and really think about it, it is unsettling. This video invites you to re-think what you consider to be junk. It invites you to let go of the “What will the neighbors think” mindset and re-look at what you use and see if you can give it a second life.

Refuse Or At Least Reuse Plastic Utensils

Seamus Ford — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 02:11:04 +0000

How many times have you been given plastic utensils when you have take out food?

How often does that plastic ware end up going into the garbage without even being used?

A plastic coffee lid is use for about an hour and then thrown away. Plastic bags are used for the trip home from the grocery store and then maybe reused once if you have a dog. People who work in fast food restaurants habitually hand over plastic forks, knives and spoons, by the millions each day. Mostly no thought is given to the cumulative effect of this. Each day thousands of tons of waste plastic floats down sewers and into rivers around the world.

Most of that ends up in the oceans. In fact the Pacific Ocean has a vortex of circulating plastic that has been caught in a current called the North Pacific Gyre. (Click here to see an animated map created by Green Peace). The combination of plastic garbage and ocean currents have resulted in a literal carpet of garbage the size of Texas in the middle of the Pacific ocean.

Most people in North America eat at least 4 meals outside their home each week. If you are like most of these people you have many opportunities to refuse this plastic. A simple thing you can do is to keep one set of these utensils and re-use them. Plastic knives and forks can be cleaned just as easily as metal ones and will last nearly as long.

The other opportunity is to educate others to do the same. When you refuse the plastic utensils or, coffee lid or plastic bag, make sure that you let the person behind the counter know why you are refusing it. Saving and re-using plastic is the ethical thing to do.

When someone gives you plastic that you don’t need- think of the oceans and think of your kids.

Plant a tree in honor of someone in your life.

TraceyWik — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 22:38:58 +0000

Each year around the holidays you spend time shopping for a gift for the people in your life. Here is an idea. Instead of buying your loved one a gift that they won’t remember by next years holidays, buy a tree in honor of a loved one.

Trees are truly an investment in the future. Each year as they grow, the sequester tons and more carbon and replace it with oxygen. It is great activity to involve your family in.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Broad leaf trees are especially good when planted between your house and the mid0day sun. In the summer, they provide shade thus cooling your house while in the winter, they let light through to allow the sun to warm your house.

Stem the tide of Junk Mail into your House

Seamus Ford — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 04:39:04 +0000

If you shop with a credit card, you likely get a tide of junk mail coming in to your house. According to Cleanair.org Americans receive more than 4 million tons of junk mail each year. That is roughly 70 lbs per household per year. Never mind the fact that the deluge of of junk mail probably makes you crazy. It wastes an enormous number of trees and a huge amount of water.

In the spirit of the recent National Do Not Call list, Green Dimes has started a petition to create a national do not mail list. If your profession is marketing, you already know that the average response rate to a direct mail campaign has gone down significantly in the last 15 years. The rise of the internet and email has in effect made direct mail campaigns an increasing gamble and an entirely unnecessary environmental insult.

If you would like to end your frustration and do something positive for the environment at the same time, visit http://www.greendimes.com.. For $15 you can get a kit that will allow you to stem the flood of unwanted junk mail.