That’s right folks! With very little skill you can build a system in your yard that will help purify streams and lakes. It will prevent many toxins from entering the waterways and improve water tables. But that’s not all! It will help freshen the air and provide shelter for some of God’s creatures. It can [...]
Category Archives: Green
Rain Barrel Workshop
Last Saturday I went to a rain barrel workshop at Edge of the Woods Nursery put on by the Saucon Creek Watershed Committee. For $35, they provided the tools, the materials and help to build a 55 gallon rain barrel. Rain barrels help slow down the flow of water off of roofs. Suburban sprawl with [...]
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Going Native
I made my first trip of the season to Edge of the Woods Native Plant Nursery in Orefield, PA, with my daughter, April, and her three boys. What a wonderful place! They have over 300 species of trees, bushes, plants, flowers and ground covers, all native to this area. Louise and Susan, who own and [...]
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Positive, Greener Alternatives to Mowing Lawns
The greenest, positive alternative to mowing a lawn is to do away with it by letting more green grow. I am not suggesting that you just stop mowing and let whatever is there just grow up, as if your place were abandoned. Land needs maintenance. Man is part of the ecosystem. Our responsibility since Creation [...]
“How Green Was My Valley”?
About 40.5 million acres of land are used for lawns in the United Sates. About 300 million acres of land are used for harvested crops each year in the United States. American homeowners spent about $2.1 billion in 2001 for over 30,000 tons of herbicides (i.e., Roundup), insecticides, fungicides, etc., for their lawns. Lawn care [...]
Are Lawns Green?
From the time I was six until I was twenty, we lived in Golden Valley, Minnesota. Golden Valley is a suburb of Minneapolis. In the 1960′s and 1970′s, it was home to General Mills, Honeywell’s MIRV control plant (making it the #16 strategic nuclear target for the Russians), Carl Sandburg Junior High (right across the [...]
Installed my first Window Sash Replacement Kit
The sash kit came in two boxes. I had failed to specify low-E, argon glass, and I didn’t order it exterior primed, but it came with all of those options. I am not complaining. The instructions were thorough, with the exception of trimming the excess off the foam strips. I had to move both the [...]
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The Transfiguration of Christ
August 6th Troparion (Tone 7) When Thou wast transfigured on the mountain, O Christ our God, Thou didst show Thy glory to Thy disciples as far as they could bear it. Let Thy everlasting light illumine also us sinners through the intercessions of the Mother of God. Giver of Light, glory to Thee. Like at His [...]
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Automatic Dishwasher (and Car) Detergent
The recipe for a cheap, environmentally safe, effective automatic dishwashing soap is really simple. Mix equal measures of Borax (Twenty Mule Team or not) and Washing Soda (most likely Arm and Hammer) together. Label your container. It is environmentally friendly. That doesn’t mean that you want to eat it. Use two tablespoons per load in [...]
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10 Reasons to Celebrate Expensive Fuel
While most of America is groaning under the weight of their gas bill, Time magazine (and eco-minded folks) are rejoicing at the much-needed, long-overdue change $4 per gallon prices are catalyzing.
The good news, reported by Time:
…it’s true that Americans are finding options where there seemed to be none. They’re ready to change — and waiting for their infrastructure to catch up. They are driving to commuter-rail lines only to find there are no parking spots left. They are running fewer errands and dumping their SUVs. Public-transit use is at a 50-year high. Gas purchases are down 2% to 3%. And all those changes bring secondary, hard-earned benefits. Here are Time.com’s 10 things, with my thoughts added.
Their list of “10 Good Things About $4 Gas” celebrates the positive effects of expensive fuel. So, quit yer bitchin’, ride your bike, take the commuter train, and climb aboard the bandwagon.
Here are 10 reasons to get psyched, according to Time, neatly summarized by EcoStreet:
1. Globalised jobs return home – Yes, it seems that the high fuel price will mean that local will once again be the most sensible option. Without cheap oil, the world is getting bigger again.
2. Sprawl stalls – It’s too expensive to schlep all the way from the country into the cities for work these days. People are moving back into the cities and taking the bus. Time to stop the plans for building all over our greenbelt land.
3. Four-day workweeks – These shortened work weeks are becoming popular in some part of the US, but I doubt whether the British boss would be able to stand it despite the benefits of energy saving and fewer employees off sick, they’re far too mean for all that.
4. Less pollution – Goes without saying.
5. More frugality – Truckers and the like are joining the ranks of the .
6. Fewer traffic deaths – Fewer cars on the road mean fewer accidents.
7. Cheaper insurance – Not sure whether this one would apply to UK insurers. Perhaps one of our readers could shed some light?
8. Less traffic – Yup!
9. More cops on the beat – A very American benefit that probably wouldn’t happen in the UK.
10. Less obesity – Walking is cheaper than driving, and with food prices on the up, less is more!
Source: Time, EcoStreet; Photos via flickr by ParaScubaSailor and caseyhelbling
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