Water

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Water

02-21-08

It’s been several days since I wrote anything, that is because not much has been happening, Bob has been gone during the daytime, I do get some things done, dishes, cleaning, taking care of the humanure toilet. Day to day life is becoming normal here, at least normal for me :) I get up in the morning, I look outside to see how the day looks, I take the dog out, I change out of my pj’s, I take a sponge bath using the water from the stock pot that is still warm from last night’s fire. I put on my clothes, I do any dishes that were left from the night before, if I am hungry, I eat something, usually I make a bowl of oatmeal, if the water in the pot isn’t hot enough, I have a 2 burner propane stove, it doesn’t take long for the water to get hot enough to cook the oatmeal. Sometimes I listen to the radio, we get one station, it’s a NPR radio station out of Marfa, they play a variety of music, I have heard everything from rock, classic rock, country, old country, ancient country (grin!), pop, jazz, classical, Cajun, folk, blues, and some I can’t put a name to, and that’s all in an hour or two! It seems that they don’t want to offend anyone or leave anyone out, so they play this crazy variety of music one after another, you might hear Pink Floyd then right after that they might play Hank Williams Sr, then something classical… it’s like a crazy quilt for music. Anyhoo, at some point during the day (or evening) I go to my neighbor’s house for water and company, once Bob gets home and gets cleaned up (as much as possible), I make dinner, we eat dinner while watching the most beautiful mountains and sunset. Our mule deer show up just before sunset on most days, they have gotten quite used to us, for better or worse, they hang around for an hour or so, depends on how many crackers I toss their way. After dinner, if I haven’t gotten water yet, I will go then, otherwise, we have movie night a few nights a week, IF the weather cooperates. If the wind is gusting, we can’t hear anything but the wind, many movie nights have been canceled because of the wind. But that is OK because we do like to talk to each other, actually we are opposites from most couples, in most other couples, the female talks more and the male talks less, often to the point where the female wished her mate would talk more and the male wishes his mate would hush up! :) In our situation, Bob is the talker, I like to say that he narrates the world, this is a good thing, I appreciate his …

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Home Depot Teaches Green

Home Depot has not only caught onto the green movement but is offering “how to” clinics to show us how to. Their clinics are not only offered in their stores, but for those of us with tight schedules they offer “Green Your Home Inside and Out” as an online choice. The local Home Depot even has a “Do-It-Herself Workshopssm” for “The Smarter, Warmer Eco-Friendly Bathroom” being offered this month. You can check your local ad, store or go online to see when it’s being offered in your area.

Knowing that main stream stores are not only jumping on the band wagon but trying to get to the front is hopefully a sign of how the move to be self-sufficient and efficient in our energy and utility usage is moving toward being a viable option for everyone. Clinics, classes, seminars, etc. have been around for a long time, unfortunately you usually have to travel to different locations and most workshops are only offered a few times a year, if your lucky. Or your other options were to take course at the local colleges and universities (that dealt with theory more then hands on), find someone local who is willing to and able to share, or stock up on how-to manuals and surf the web for information. Seeing this information being put out by a large retail chain does show how popular becoming more responsible in our energy, water and other resources is becoming.

Popularity equals reduced cost as more demand for materials goes up. Also a louder voice in our communities when decisions concerning our environment, energy production, water conservation, etc. are made. Just looking at large companies jumping into the green movement can be a bitter pill to those who had to fight those same companies just a few years ago, but even if their reasons don’t mesh for the why. The fact is that they’re now trying to promote and help mainstream Americans be resource responsible and for that alone we should be willing to give them a chance.…

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Off-Grid 101

Cate Blanchett – off the grid down under

Cate Blanchett
Off-Grid goddess

Cate Blanchett’s hot off the set of “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”, but she won’t be indulging in any wasteful showering. Dailysnack.com reported that the 38-year-old Oscar-nominated thespian had a timer installed in her shower, limiting her shower-action to just four minutes.

“I heard something silly the other day that I’d stopped washing my hair to cut down on using even more water but that’s not true,” she said. “I’m just trying to do my bit. I do live in a desert called Australia you know.”

This environmental concern is nothing out of the ordinary for Cate, who lives in a solar-powered apartment in Sydney. And she recently announced plans to take the Sydney Theatre Company off-grid.…

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Water

Surviving drought the Ozzie way

Living in the driest continent on earth
Kim -living on world’s driest continent

Australia is in the grip of its worst drought on record — the victim of changing weather patterns attributed to global warming, and a government that is only just starting to wake up to the severity of the position.

The federal government is struggling with expensive proposals to desalinate sea water and recycle raw sewage. Meanwhile some locals have decided to meet the crisis head on.

Kim and Paul Roginson of Elimbah in Queensland say if their bore water ran out tomorrow, they would start drinking their recycled sewage water.…

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Water

Flushed with pride

Canada is taking to the composting toilet with a speed umatched in any other advanced industrial nation.…

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Water

Why no bottled water from Africa?

Two contrasting stories conterpoint the developing politics of water – an Africna river that needs work to continue to carry life-giving water to the people, and the new debate in the US about the amount of water we consume.…

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Off-Grid 101

Floods send Brits off-grid ready

Flooded
Live above water level

Up to half a million Brits are poised to go off the grid this morning as floods interrupted water supplies and power stations were closed down by water damage. The flooding crisis underlines the need to think carefully when choosing where to live off-grid, as well as the benefits of living off-grid in times of climate change.

Central England is the most affected by the worst flooding in 70 years, with 50,000 people at one point losing both power and water supplies, and 450,000 losing just water. The battle continues to save Walham power station from flooding. If it is forced to close, a further 500,000 will have their power cut off.…

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Energy

Fuel-free fridge

Using a very old idea – the cooling power of the evaporation of water – a small Indian group has released plans for an inexpensive way to keep food cool and fresh, without any power source.

The bamboo iceless refrigerator is a low cost device that can be used to store food items. This not only preserves the food longer but also keep it cool. This bamboo refrigerator can be used to store vegetables, fruits or even keep your beers cold.

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