FC2Video

Water Conservation Efforts: - low flush toilets - toilet lid sink - reusing laundry water - limit toilet flushings - limit baths/showers - mulching - handwatering - clay pot irrigation - solar outdoor shower DIY Projects: - solar oven - cob oven - solar outdoor shower - depaved driveway/patio - installed solar panels - roofing - sheds, etc - animal enclosure, etc - this website - urban homesteading - front load washer - food not lawns

To live as simply as possible, to live in harmony with nature. All things are possible to a certain extent. The modern technological world has made its people its subjects; it has made them ignorant and keeps them in ignorance. We are basically ignorant, ignorant of the basics–where does our food come from? Where does our water come from? And importantly, where do our wastes go? We live cut off from ourselves because of this lack-of-touch with the natural things. And our foundation is weakened, and there is no way we can build onto the self in such a state. So I must go back as far as I can. I must find out where to get water to drink. Can I afford to wait any longer to begin this back-track? Should I gather more accessories and build up a secure foothold first in this world? What do I need? I need only land and water–so I can live. Why do other people Want more, and why do other people want me to have more. I want less and less. If I am alive and learning, what more? I need to learn how ...

The Green Microgym in Portland, Oregon will become the first gym in the country to harness human energy from fitness bikes and convert it to electricity. Specially built motors hooked up to spin bikes will convert energy created by people exercising on the “eco bikes” into 200- 600 watts an hour of electricity, which is then stored in a special battery bank. The electricity in the battery bank is then used to power equipment, like the gym's energy efficient treadmills, which use 30 percent less power than standard machines. The Green Microgym's owner, Adam Boesel, expects that the amount of power generated will be modest at first, but hopes that the gym will eventually run fully on the energy it generates for itself. Meanwhile, the gym is going green in other ways, by turning lights and fans over equipment off when they are not in use, installing flooring made from recycled tires in the main gym floor and cork in the yoga room, solar power awnings, low flow toilets, and no showers to cut ...

The iPhone's amazing touchscreen and accelerometer based technology has revolutionized the way we use our phones, and programmers have created some amazing applications that take full advantage of the capabilities of the phone to change our lives in positive ways. Take the GreenMeter app for example... this app is designed to help you adjust your driving habits in order to reduce CO2 emissions and save you money on gas. The app uses the iPhone's accelerometer to measure forward acceleration, compute engine power, fuel economy, fuel cost, carbon footprint, and oil consumption. Just take a look at all the data on the app and see how adjusting your driving style changes the visual graphs for the better and worse. If you use the GreenMeter right, you can become a more environmentally friendly driver and save yourself some big money on gas. Greenmeter costs $5.99 to download, but since that's just a little more than the cost of a gallon of gas, it's well worth the small investment. I'm Elizabeth Chambers. ...

The iPhone's amazing touchscreen and accelerometer based technology has revolutionized the way we use our phones, and programmers have created some amazing applications that take full advantage of the capabilities of the phone to change our lives in positive ways. Take the GreenMeter app for example... this app is designed to help you adjust your driving habits in order to reduce CO2 emissions and save you money on gas. The app uses the iPhone's accelerometer to measure forward acceleration, compute engine power, fuel economy, fuel cost, carbon footprint, and oil consumption. Just take a look at all the data on the app and see how adjusting your driving style changes the visual graphs for the better and worse. If you use the GreenMeter right, you can become a more environmentally friendly driver and save yourself some big money on gas. Greenmeter costs $5.99 to download, but since that's just a little more than the cost of a gallon of gas, it's well worth the small investment. I'm Elizabeth Chambers. ...

Halloween is just around the corner, and you might be starting to panic about what costume you'll wear this year. But before you go out to a big box store and purchase an expensive Pirate costume made from cheap materials, might I suggest a more eco friendly alternative? Costumes made from recycled materials are a great way to help the environment... and express your own creativity. If you look through the materials in your house, I'm sure you can find the perfect elements to create a pirate costume that will rival anything you can buy in one of those Halloween stores that pop up in shut down store fronts every October. And if you still have the costume you wore in previous years, find ways to use to create a totally new costume. You don't have to repeat yourself just because you're recycling, but why spend a lot of money on something you're only going to use for one night that could be manufactured using harmful materials? When you think of it that way, there's nothing more terrifying. I'm Elizabeth ...

This is a very environmentally friendly fuel, made from natural vegetable oils such as soybean, canola, and animal fat that produces anywhere between 40 and 80 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels. And it generates a whopping 90 percent more energy than it takes to produce it. But there are still problems with the biodiesel industry. Since its produced from food crops, it has caused inflation in agricultural products in a time when all food costs are climbing. And Europe's demand for biodiesel is to blame for a group of Southeast Asian farmers who burned down acres of rainforest and replaced them with palm plantations, which released a huge amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in the name of a biofuel meant to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. And production of biodiesel is still limited... only 250 million gallons were produced in 2006, a number that's not growing quickly. And demand for biodiesel is driving up prices for foods like vegetable oil, which can cause ...

Algae is the fastest growing plant life, and as an organism it converts sunlight into oil, scientists theorize that Algal biofuel can produce a whopping 30 times more energy per acre than any other biofuel option. The US Department of Energy has estimated that if Algal Biofuel replaced all conventional fuel in the country, it would require 15,000 square miles of land to harvest the algae... which is roughly one seventh of the area that is used to harvest corn in the US every year. And a diverse group of byproducts, such as neutraceuticals and feedstocks for producing plastics, can be created in algal biofuel operations, making the production more cost effective. But before we start celebrating the great biofuel solution we've been looking for, there are a few problems... the biomass for producing a significant amount of algal biofuel just doesn't exist yet. The algae has to be grown from scratch and harvesting it is very expensive at this point in time. The potential of Algal Biofuel is staggering... but ...

More than 38 million Americans planned to travel 50 miles or more during three day holiday weekends this this year, 84 percent of them by car. That's a lot of extra carbon emitting into the atmosphere during holiday weekends, so why not give mother nature the same break you're getting from work and stay local? Support local businesses, explore local nature sites near your home, or check out that local restaurant you've always wanted to try. Explore your own town as if you're just visiting for the first time, and your bound to discover something you never knew was there. Staying home will save you money on gas, lodging, food, and admission to all the attractions you'd visit on vacation. But more importantly, it will cut down on unnecessary carbon emissions. Enjoy your long weekend, just do it from home and you'll do a lot to help the environment. Check back here for more tips on how to be friendlier to the environment, right here on LivingGreenChannel.Com.

Japanese car manufacturer Nissan has taken a lead in the emission free car arms race when they unveiled their brand new electric vehicle and hybrid models this week. The new Electric vehicle, nicknamed the EV-02, has a 660 pound lithium ion battery that is twice as powerful as the conventional hybrid battery. The boxy EV-02 zipped around Nissan's test course, accelerating faster than comparable gas powered cars... quieting electric car critics. Nissan also unveiled a new hybrid model, to compete with Toyota's popular Prius and Honda's Civic models. The dramatic unveiling of the electric vehicle made it clear that battery powered cars are at the center of Nissan's green strategy. The real winner in the no emissions arms race is the consumer, who will be paying less for gas, and the environment, as less emissions are released into the atmosphere. Nissan's new electric car and hybrid set to be released in the US and Japan in 2010, and the rest of the world in 2012. Now it's Toyota and Honda's turn to ...

Lots of things in your home and office use batteries. Your remote control, video game controllers, calculator, and more are all powered by batteries which have a finite lifespan. Used batteries are one of the most dangerous and harmful common items once they begin to degrade at a landfill, as they are filled with battery acid and take a long time to break down. One great way to cut down on the negative impact caused by batteries is to buy the rechargeable variety. You can reuse rechargeable batteries as much as you want, and all you have to do when they run out of charge is to plug them in to a recharger for a few hours. This way, you are not throwing away dangerous batteries every time your remote control runs out of juice. And you'll always have batteries around the house instead of needing to constantly buy more from the store. Just think how much money you will save if you never had to buy a battery again! Check back here for more tips on how to be friendlier to the environment, right here on ...

Car enthusiasts and environmentalists everywhere have been buzzing about GM's upcoming Chevy Volt, and the company finally unveiled the production model in a spectacular way. The Volt is a mostly electric powered car that can drive 40 miles on a charged battery before it uses any gas. And even when the gas kicks in, it's to generate electricity to keep the car driving an additional 300 miles. The Volt's gasoline engine is never used to drive the car... only electric power drives the Volt. Even more shocking the Volt performs like any other vehicle in its class... it has the performance of a 150 horsepower engine, a top speed of 100 MPH, and can go from 0-60 in under nine seconds. Volt owners can charge the battery pack that runs through the length of the car by plugging into a port near the driver's side mirror. If your worried about the price of electricity, GM assures buyers that it will cost less than purchasing a cup of your favorite coffee” to recharge the car. Furthermore it costs just 2 ...

These bins, which generally come in green, are marked "yard waste only," but what exactly does that mean? A lot more than fallen leaves and lawn trimmings from your back yard can be taken away in the eco-friendly bin. The yard waste bin is actually for anything that is organic and biodegradable, materials that account for about 23 percent of US waste. The contents of the bin will not be taken to a landfill... instead they will be composted in an eco-friendly manner. So what can you throw into your yard waste bin? Most of your discarded food can be tossed into the bin, including fruit and vegetable trimmings, egg shells, and nut shells. Additionally, coffee grounds , coffee filters, tea bags, and food soiled paper plates and paper towels can be thrown in there as well. Just make sure wax or plastic coated papers don't end up in the bin... they are not biodegradable. Find out about your local yard waste collection policies... some counties only collect the bins twice a month, and they discourage you from ...

Hey everyone, I'm Elizabeth Chambers and you're watching LivingGreenChannel.Com, your source for living an eco-friendly lifestyle. Prices at the gas pumps are still frustratingly high, and many car makers are looking for the next design break through that will deliver the most miles per gallon. French Car engineering firm MDI may have just found the solution that trumps hybrids, electric vehicles, and even bio fuel... cars fuled by air! MDI's system, designed by a former race car engineer, uses compressed air the same way that a locomotive uses steam to power the pistons in an engine. Unbelievably, the company claims their car can get an outrageous 106 miles per gallon using the technology. American car maker Zero Pollution Motors is the first US company to make a deal with MDI to produce the cars, and they have promised to put out a model by 2010 that will have a sticker price of less than 18,000 dollars. The planned American model would seat six, have a maximum speed of 90 miles per hour, and could ...

The Chinese government promised and delivered a rain free opening ceremony to the delight of thousands in attendance and millions watching around the world. During the rainy season how did they do this? Simple, they seeding storm clouds with iodide before they blew into the capital city causing the rain to fall long before they reached Bejing. Sound extreme? When it comes to technology triumphing over climate this is just the tip of the iceberg. Welcome to the 21st century and welcome to one of the hottest environmental debates about the planet right now, geoengineering. Geoengineering is defined as the deliberate modification of Earth's environment on a large scale "to suit human needs and promote habitability" Many geoengineering ideas sound like plots straight from 60’s sci-fi films such as launching mirrors into orbit to reflect the suns rays away from earth to seeding the ocean with iron oxide to to decrease greenhouse gases. Now that a vast majority of the scientific community ...

Billionaire oil baron, T. Boone Pickens is abandoning the black gold that made him rich and looking to tap another, greener recourse to help power the nation... wind. Pickens made his fortune in oil, and currently assesses our energy needs as one “we can't drill our way out of.” He is a staunch critic of America's reliance on foreign oil and recently unveiled a radical new plan that could reduce American reliance on foreign oil by as much as a third and finally tip domestic energy production towards renewable natural resources. “The Pickens Plan” calls for the harnessing of wind power to generate more than 20 percent of the country's energy needs. Studies have shown that tthe “wind corridor” along the Great Plains states holds the greatest potential for wind energy anywhere in the world, making the USA the “Saudi Arabia of wind power.” According to the Plan, if private industry built enough wind turbines along the wind corridor, which stretches from ...

Both Australia and Canada have future bans on incandescent lights in favor of CFL’s. We all know the positive side of CFL’s such as long life (up to 16 times longer than incandescent) and the potential to save between $30-$50 per bulb vs. incandescent on energy alone. While the positives are staggering there one major Drawback to CFL’s that many consumers are unaware of. CFL’s like most fluorescent lamps contain mercury which is a nuero toxin and exposure is hazardous to your health if breakage occurs. Additionally, broken CFL’s are harmful to the environment as the mercury can be released into lakes or oceans and build up in fish which is the most common pathway to human exposure of mercury. CFL’s must be disposed of properly at a toxic waste depot. You can find out more on how and where to dispose of your used CFL’s at www.energystar.gov If a CFL breaks in your house since it does contain on average 5 milligrams of mercury precautions do have to be ...

Hey everyone, I'm Elizabeth Chambers and you're watching LivingGreenChannel.Com, your online guide to a greener and more healthy life. 5 California cities, including Malibu, Manhattan beach, and San Francisco, have adopted some sort of ban on plastic bags and just in time! As anyone who has googled plastic bags and ocean has discovered that plastic accounts for 60%-80% of the floating debris in the water. In some places accounts for over 95% of debris creating a swirling continent size waste between San Francisco and Hawaii that is seriously endangering marine life. Animals either get entangled in the plastic and suffocate, or swallow the plastic which fills their stomachs and they starve to death. A GreenPeace report states that over 267 species of animals have been affected by plastic debris floating in the ocean. It would cost billions to clean up this garbage patch which makes it unlikely that any single country will step up and take responsibility for the mess which puts the responsibility on ...