Browsing: sustainability

Green Living panaromic view of uran sprawl of big city
Urban Sprawl and the Danger of the Loss of Wild Spaces

As ever larger portions of our world’s population move into cities, the growth of these cities and the resources they demand create more and more strains on local ecosystems. While urban spaces certainly do to offer a number of opportunities for many people, they don’t come without their costs. Very rarely have we collectively stopped […]

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Gardening & Farming loseup of chicken with others in background
Chicken Tractors and Sustainable Poultry Pasture

Chickens have long been some of the most widely raised “farm” animals. While chickens have been valued for providing an easily obtainable source of protein, when put out to “pasture”, chickens can also help to improve the land and landscape. Your grandmother may very well have complained to you about chickens eating her garden greens […]

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Gardening & Farming tender seedling growing out of top soil
Lasagna Gardening: Build Soil And Get Rid Of Weeds

Healthy top soil, or humus, is necessary for growing healthy plants. However, top soil takes dozens of years to naturally accumulate through the slow decomposition of leaves and other organic material. For people who don’t have the budget to buy those overpriced bags of garden soil sold at hardware stores, lasagna gardening is a quick […]

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Gardening & Farming farmer harvesting crops using industrial agricultural methods
Food Forests For Abundant And Ecological Production

One of the biggest challenges we collectively face as a species is how to grow sufficient food for our growing population. Large scale farming dependent on fossil fuel inputs, dangerous chemicals and genetically modified organisms has only increased our vulnerability. Food forests offer us an opportunity to revolutionize the way we grow our food, offering […]

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Green Living image of igloo for alternative ways to air condition home
Earth Tubes: A Natural Way To Air Condition Your Home

There is nothing nicer than coming inside on a hot, muggy summer day to feel the freshness of an air-conditioned home. Traditional air conditioners, however, are one of the most energy intensive appliances in our homes. Only a couple feet underneath where you are standing, however, the air is always a comfortable 55 degrees Fahrenheit. […]

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Green Living cross section of fresh water
Compost Water Heater: Hot Water Without Electricity

Everyone loves hot water in the home, but the ecological cost of long, hot showers powered by fossil fueled water heaters add some guilt to those long hours in the bathroom. What if you could have a huge supply of hot water heated by the compost pile in your garden? Instead of greenhouses gasses, the […]

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Food & Nutrition fresh vegetables from local garden
The Local Food Movement As A Catalyst For Community

In the last couple of decades, the local food movement has gone from a fringe movement to a major player in the national food industry. Almost every major urban center around the country has several farmers markets, community supported agricultural programs and other innovative ways to bring farmers and consumers closer together. The local food […]

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Green Living close up of straw with straw bale in the background
Straw Bale Homes And Passive Solar Design

Is it possible to stay warm during winter without a fossil fuel powered central heating system? Straw bales are one of the most common left over products from farms in the United States. In many places, excess straw bales are burned leading to huge amounts of contamination. Straw bales, however, are some of the most […]

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Gardening & Farming small pond storing water on a property in the fall
Storing Water In Landscapes: A Swales And Ponds Primer

Rain is often seen to be one of the leading causes of soil erosion. The problem isn’t with rain itself, but rather with bad land management practices and farming practices that aren’t designed to take advantage of the rain. The best place to store water is in the landscape itself, and through the process of […]

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Green Living aerial view of urban streets in Las Vegas
Nurturing Relationship to Place: Our Most Urgent Task

We live in a world completely divorced from place. Our industrialized and consumer driven lives have effectively separated producers from consumers and consumers from the waste of their consumption. Most of us simply have no idea how natural processes actually work or how very real ecological limits interact with our livelihoods. We are encouraged to […]

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