Electric bug zappers can be seen in many yards; these devices attract insects with an ultraviolet light and then “zap” them with electrical current. Numerous research studies have now shown that bug zappers primarily kill moths and other harmless or beneficial insects, waste electricity, and do virtually nothing positive. More recent to the market are propane powered mosquito traps, which use up a lot of resources and actually attract more mosquitoes into your yard from the neighbor’s!

What to do? Lowering the overall mosquito population in your yard may be as simple as draining small pools of standing water. Remove or overturn any container that catches and holds rainwater, and change the water in birdbaths and animal drinking bowls daily. Natural oils can be very effective repellents – oils of citronella, cinnamon, rosemary, and geranium have all been shown to be effective if regularly applied to the skin, or you can use reed diffusers to spread these wonderful smelling oils in the air.  Citronella candles are an environmentally healthy alternative to a propane mosquito trap. For future insect control, put up a bat house. (You can find more information at www.batconservation.org)

Summer also brings flies, ants, fleas, and other six legged visitors into the home. Repairing window screens is the best first line of defense; natural repellent oils can be misted onto screens to add an extra layer of deterrence for tiny insects. Keeping foods covered and put away makes your home less attractive to insects. You can wash cats and dogs with dish soap or human shampoo to remove fleas without resorting to toxins.

Once of the best indoor insect fighters is borax. It’s inexpensive, nontoxic, and can be found in the laundry section of most supermarkets. A sprinkle of borax along their path of entry will eliminate ants within a few days; if there are a lot of ants, a line of borax on the ground around the foundation may be in order. Sprinkle borax over a floor, carpet, or upholstered furniture and let it sit overnight before vacuuming to eliminate fleas and flea larvae. Afterward, place a few shallow dishes of dry borax on the floor beneath furniture to deter future insect visits.

And don’t concentrate on fighting insects so hard that you forget to appreciate their wonders! Catch a firefly, admire a ladybug, or plant some flowers to attract butterflies to your garden.

Community-supported agriculture (or CSA) provides an environmentally-friendly alternative to the above scenario, and although a CSA farm won’t provide strawberries in December, it will provide you with fresh-picked (and usually organic) produce during your local growing season.  The CSA concept originated in Europe in the 1960’s as people began to recognize that current food production methods were compromising food safety and that the land available for cultivation was shrinking as urban areas expended.  Now these types of farms are forming rapidly all over the world as the demand for locally-grown organic produce rises.

Most CSA farms operate as follows: members pay an annual fee and pick up an allotment of fresh produce on a weekly basis.   An average share costs $350-550 per season (roughly June to October) with enough produce for two adults.  Weekly choices normally include seasonal vegetables, herbs, and fruit that grow well in the local climate.  Some farms offer winter shares (focusing on root vegetables or other crops that thrive in cold weather) or meat shares, and many offer markets that sell locally-made products such as cheese and bread.

The choices vary with the seasons, with the most variety and quantity offered at the height of summer, but one thing remains consistent: the crops are distributed within a day of harvest, and are much fresher than anything you can buy in a traditional store.  Because most farms don’t use traditional pesticides and herbicides, the harvest might not look as pretty as what you’ll find in a grocery store – but most people agree that they taste better and last longer because they are so fresh.

When the farm over-produces, the members share in the bounty, but there are often weeks when there is just too much for the members to use.  In those cases the excess is usually donated to a local food bank.  Conversely, however, when disease strikes the farm weekly shares are smaller.  But most farms plant such a variety of crops that there is always plenty of something to go around.

Members are usually required to spend a small amount of time working on the farm, and many farms provide educational services.  Common offerings include classes on food preservation, cooking techniques for current crops and methods for creating and maintaining a home garden.  The result of these activities is a well-connected community focused on good healthy food and responsible use of the planet’s resources.

If you are interested in learning more about community supported agriculture, check out Local Harvest to find a CSA farm near you!

One plant to be used for all of this? I must be kidding, but I’m not. Go ahead, share your guess.. Bamboo? Good guess,as it can do half of those things, but no. Cotton? When was the last time you tried to eat cotton? Algae? Another good guess and an amazing plant family, but no; we can’t built houses underwater- yet. I bet you have many preconcieved notions about the real answer. Hopefully the following will change them.

The magical, mysterious plant to which I’ve alluded is… drumroll please… HEMP!

“The most cultivatable, optimum dry biomass plant species on earth, uniquely and immediately capable of the economical replacement of all mankind’s use of high-pollutant costly fuels and uranium, for energy, petrochemical products, gasoline and plastics” -FCDA Europe

Hemp? You ask. Why yes, for hemp, Cannabis Sativa, is an incredibly fruitful, thriving and bountious crop which, if humans are resourceful enough to trample our authoritarian egos, will prove crucial to the continuance of life as we know it on this planet. In the environmentally’minded community, we often talk about reducing and cutting back on wastes, emmisions and poduction. This deal hasn’t sold to well to the general public, especially to the countries en route to development, where they want their own turn to climb atop the earth and use it as their economic soapbox. Thus, my ecologically-concerned readers, I popose not a cutting-back of sorts, but rather a building up, a continuation of the availability of the modern products and tools facilitating our life today and essentially characterizing us as a species, yet not in the same destructive way we have thus far. I cannot think of one product made from petroleum that canot be made from hemp. As a complete protein and one of the best nutrition sources found coindensed in one place, hemp cannot only feed our lifestyles, but can feed us and our domestic animal dependents as well.

Alright alright, I’ll talk to the white elephant standing in the corner. He’s no hookah-smoking catepillar, because he knows the grave difference between hemp the cropand marijuana, canabis sativas’ flower, which contains a powerful, mind-expanding chemical compound used for recreation as well as medicinally and sarcramentally. Industrial hemp contains less than 1 percent of THC, the psychoactive sunstance in marijuana. “Trying to get high on industrial hemp is akin to trying to get drunk on non alcohol beer” (hemporganic). Industrial hemp is bred to contain such a low level of THC that it cannot reasonably be considered a drug. “It is easily distinguished in fields from marijuana: marijuana plants are short and bushy, with many leaves and is harvested for its flowers and leaves; industrial hemp, tall and straight, with leaves at the top of the stalk, is harvested for its stalks before flowering occurs. There is virtually no possibility of marijuana being illicitly grown in the middle of a field of industrial hemp, because the cross-breeding between the two plants quickly eliminates the THC content in marijuana seeds. Despite these facts, and noting the genuine concern among many law enforcement agents about the effect of industrial hemp legalization on marijuana use and growing, the petitioners for industrial hemp legalization suggest a heavily regulated licensing scheme for industrial hemp seeds and growing permits that should satisfy residual law enforcement fears” (Lightparty). Once we can look past recreational drug use and put aside any judgements we have about it (positive or negative), we can come to see what an astounding plant this really is, and we can start to make some policy changes to reflect this (chemical-free) altered mindset.

Here are some of the uses and benefits of hemp in detail:

Hemp as rotation crop & soil rejuvenator

Hemp is an ideal rotation crop for farmers worldwide. It puts down a taproot twelve inches long in only thirty days, preventing topsoil erosion. Its water requirements are negligible, so it doesn’t require much irrigation and will grow in arid regions. It matures from seed in only 120 days, so it doesn’t need a long growing season. Hemp’s soil nutrients concentrate in the plant’s roots and leaves. After harvest, the roots remain and the leaves are returned to the fields. In this way, soil nutrients are preserved.

Hemp is also a beneficial crop for the Earth itself. It is very easy on the land. It doesn’t need many nutrients, so it doesn’t require chemical fertilizers. Hemp out-competes other weeds, so it doesn’t need herbicides to thrive. Even hemp strains that are 100% THC-free produce their own resins that make the crop naturally pest-free, so it doesn’t require toxic chemical pesticides. Hemp actually leaves the soil in better condition than before it was planted.

The environmental advantages of hemp

Hemp is an extremely fast growing crop, producing more fibre yield per acre than any other source. Hemp can produce 250% more fibre than cotton and 600% more fibre than flax using the same amount of land.

Hemp grows best in warm tropical zones or in moderately cool, temperate climates. Hemp leaves the soil in excellent condition for any succeeding crop, especially when weeds may otherwise be troublesome. Hemp’s strong roots descend for three feet or more. The roots anchor and protect the soil from runoff, building and preserving topsoil and subsoil structures similar to those of forests. Moreover, Hemp does not exhaust the soil. Hemp plants shed their leaves all through the growing season; adding rich organic matter to the topsoil and helping it retain moisture. Farmers have reported excellent Hemp growth on land that had been cultivated steadily for nearly 100 years.

Concern about deforestation and the impact of pollution from industry continues, the time has come when we can no longer afford to ignore the plant that from early human history until only this century was a mainstay of existence.
Hemp S.S.Boyce

The Hemp plant is the most simple and the most widely adapted to cultivation in all climates, the most susceptible to the manipulations of chemical and mechanical processes.

Hemp as Food: Hemp Seed is the most nutritious and easily digestible food on the planet, the only complete source of all the following: protein, essential amino acids (all 20, including the 9 the body cannot produce) and essential fatty acids. Hemp is the only food which supplies all man’s dietary needs in one source – the only food which can sustain human life without any other source of nutrition. Hemp foods contain 35% carbohydrates, 30% fat, 35% Fibre, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, C, D and in particular vitamin E and only 8% saturated fat, or less. Hemp Seed Oil is being called “Nature’s most perfectly balanced oil.” It is truly a nutritional wonder.

Hemp for Body Care: Hemp seed oil is perfectly suited for hair and skin care. Its nutritional value, combined with its moisturizing and replenishing EFA’s, make it one of the best vegetable body care foundations.

Hemp as Clothing: The bark of the hemp stalk contains bast fibres which are among the Earth’s longest natural soft fibres and are also rich in cellulose. Hemp fibre is longer, stronger, more absorbent and more insulative than cotton fibre. The possibilities for Hemp fabrics are immense. It is likely that they will eventually supersede cotton, linen, and polyester in numerous areas. With so many uses and the potential to be produced cheaply, Hemp textiles are the wave of the future! Hemp may be known for its durability, but its comfort and style are second to none. The more Hemp is used, the softer it gets. Hemp doesn’t wear out, it wears in. Hemp is also naturally resistant to mould and ultraviolet light.

Hemp as Fuel: Eco-Friendly Hemp as a biomass fuel producer requires the least specialized growing and processing procedures of all hemp products. The hydrocarbons in hemp can be processed into a wide range of biomass energy sources, from fuel pellets to liquid fuels and gas.

Hemp as Paper: Hemp produces more pulp per acre than timber on a sustainable basis, and can be used for every quality of paper. Hemp paper manufacturing can reduce wastewater contamination. Hemp’s low lignin content reduces the need for acids used in pulping, and its creamy colour lends itself to environmentally friendly bleaching instead of harsh chlorine compounds. Less bleaching results in less dioxin and fewer chemical by-products. Hemp paper more than 1,500 years old has been found. It can also be recycled more times.

Hemp as Paint & Plastic: Hemp oil extract can also be used as an ingredient in non-toxic, biodegradable inks, paints, and varnishes. It is an ideal raw material for plant-based plastics such as cellophane as well as more recently developed cellulose-based plastics. Henry Ford himself manufactured the body of an automobile from hemp-based plastic in 1941. The plastic was much lighter than steel and could withstand ten times the impact without denting. The car was even fuelled by clean-burning hemp-based ethanol fuel.

Concrete from Hemp: Hemp hurds mixed with limestone and water causes the hemp to harden into a substance stronger than cement and only one sixth the weight. More flexible than concrete, it has a major advantage over conventional building materials, especially in areas throughout the world that are prone to earthquakes.”

I hope this article has provided a safe place in which you can take the time to think for yourself and come to see that regardless of government-driven propaganda parades and preconcieved notions, that the hemp plant is necessary for maintence of industrailized standards of living, and it will be a crucial way to bridge a comprimise between those who truly rally for a better human presence on earth and those who are indifferent to the current path we’re on as a species.

For more information and to put this new perspective into action, please see www.votehemp.org, https://supportyourlocalhempfarmer.com/Home_Page.html, or http://www.legalization.net/ for more information and policy advocation.

For now, try to get out and support a local hemp clothing store or look into other versitile plants (like bamboo) to take advantage of their many abilities! The problem is us. Nature is the answer.

Sources:

http://www.hempcompany.ie/node/187

http://hemporganic.com/whyhemp.html

http://www.lightparty.com/Energy/Hemp6.html

Inserted by Admin Source: Flickr

Light… hard to work without it (at least for the majority of homo sapiens. Those fortunate enough to view their environs in the IR and UV spectrums may move along, now). It used to be, back in a much simpler time, that one’s labors occurred between the hours of sunup and sundown (so cleverly manipulated by us via my personal least [and most, respectively] favorite holiday, Daylight Savings Time). Obvious exceptions were performed by the glow of the hearth or, for those able to afford one, a candle.

We might count our blessings that we now live in a more complex world (or not). When an object of a major motion picture is something so utterly vain as someone trying to so light their dwelling (at Christmas time) that it is actually visible from orbit, I feel the urge to speak a word or two!

So, we can thank Mr Edison (or whomever he “borrowed” the idea from… don’t even get me started on that one!) for paving a new way, for better or worse. The incandescent light bulb, however, releases 90% of its energy in the form of heat; not all that practical (except, perhaps, for those in colder climes!). Flourescent lamps seemed a great step in the right direction; the new compact flourescent lamps (CFLs) using 75% less energy (according to energystar.gov) than their tungsten counterparts.

The rub? (of course there’s a rub) Each CFL, on average, contains 4mg mercury! Energystar.gov considers this a “very small amount.” When taken into consideration that the U.S. acceptable limit for mercury in fish is 1.0ppm (0.5ppm in Canada), I put 2 and 2 together and figure that I don’t want to be on the losing end of that trend; not for one minute! Ok… so gov’t’s and mfg’s “strongly urge” safe disposal methods. Does this keep the ill-informed (or simply maliciously inclined) from taking joy in the definitive “pop” and “poof” of smashing these bulbs? I must say not.

Enter our (relatively) new friend, the light emitting diode (LED). Initially developed as an alternative to relatively inefficient vacuum tubes in electronics, back in the day, the diode was found to also emit light. As a matter of fact, all diodes do (the “non-light emitting ones” simply have an opague covering… but I digress). At this point, as with most new tech, they are rather expensive.

For comparison, a 50 watt, halogen par30 floodlight (typically used in mini-track or recessed systems) costs around $7.50, lasts for a reported 3000 hours and outputs 590 lumens (the actual light portion of power cunsumed). A 15 watt, LED par30 costs around $50 (about 7x more expensive) but with a reported longevity of 25,000 hours (>8x halogen) and outputting a bit less actual light, at 418 lumens (about 70% of the light but, well, you wouldn’t have to feel as guilty about not installing that dimmer switch, then would you?). Heat output of LEDs is negligible; probably a bit less than that of flourescents. (Oh, and by the way, if you hadn’t noticed, that LED par uses close to 1/3 the energy)

That’s just one tip of one iceberg, as well. Entertainment and other corporate industries have been gradually integrating LED fixtures for a few years, now, to some rather dazzling effect; from intelligent instruments every bit as functional as their predescessors to simple color-washing lamps. Some of this technology has also found its way to the consumer sector in forms from variously hued lamps to garden fixtures which actually provide practical output and duration from a simple solar-panel charged battery.

Is this the best solution? Is it just another genie from a different bottle? I don’t know that I’m fully qualified to answer such questions, at this time but I do tend to notice a better mousetrap when so plainly presented. Until the if/when’s, LED’s don’t seem like a particular unwise idea. And yes, they do come in Christmas flavors.

The next best thing, in my opinion, is the option to purchase locally grown organic produce. The lucky folks have access to a farmers market with lots of organic fare. Usually, I end up at my grocery store looking through the organic section, especially in the winter. I can also find many other products there that are made with organic ingredients. But who decides what goes on the labels? Certainly we couldn’t trust marketing executives to tell us the truth about a farm powered by solar energy credits or vegetables grown sustainably.

Thankfully there is governmental oversight for these claims. The Organic Foods and Production Act (OFPA) along with the National Organic Program (NOP) ensure that marketing claims live up to national standards. Nationally accredited agents must certify that these standards are met.

Labeling of products is based on the percentage of the content comprised of organic ingredients. Products that have “100% Organic” on the label must be made from all organic ingredients, but salt and water are exceptions. How is that 100 percent?

The more common “Organic” label allows for up to five percent of the ingredients to be non-organic, but the five percent must be from ingredients on a national list of exceptions. Both of these designations require that these products be made without use of sewage sludge, ionized radiation or methods excluded by the OFPA or NOP. Foods advertised as “made with organic ingredients” only need to contain 70% organic ingredients. You can look for the USDA seal if you’re in doubt, since its use is prohibited on these products.

For more information on organic food certification, visit this USDA website  at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/Meat_&_Poultry_Labeling_Terms/index.asp

Though the traditional lithium ion batteries are not considered hazardous in the U.S., they do pose great challenges for landfills. The lithium ion batteries contain metals such as cobalt, copper, nickel and iron. So, there is always a risk of water contamination. The “green phone” is based on the concept of using bio battery instead of using the lithium ion battery. The bio battery generates electricity through carbohydrates (mainly sugar), utilizing enzymes as the catalyst.

The bio battery seems to run longer with a single charge. Daizi Zheng claims that “bio battery has the potential to operate three to four times longer on a single charge than conventional lithium batteries”. The bio battery is also easy to dispose. The battery leaves behind only water and oxygen as it dies out. To make is even sweeter, the battery could be fully biodegradable.

Although Nokia decided not to develop the green phone further, other electronic companies are expected to come out with similar bio batteries in next few years.

Meanwhile, Here are some of photos of the futuristic “green phone” powered by the Coke:

Source: daizizheng.com