Sunday Rants and Resources: Keeping it Short

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Happy Sunday! Welcome to another addition of Sunday Rants and Resources. Keeping this one short and sweet. Today’s short post features 3 awesome tools that will totally change the way you do life!

1) SimpliSafe

SimpliSafe is simply awesome!  Its a no contract, easy instillation (do-it-yourself) home security system that starts at less than $250.00.  This setup is great for millennials and budget sensitive people living in areas where safety may be a concern! SimpliSafe is going places!

SimpliSafe

2) The Air Umbrella

This bad boy has been on KickStarter for a while now but it comes as no surprise that they have raised over $100,000. I cannot wait to get mine!

3) A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William Irvine
If you are jumping on the stoicism bandwagon (you should), this is a great place to start.  It provides necessary background before jumping straight into hardcore Seneca teachings.  Learn to focus on the now and focus attention to the matters in your life that you can control.

 

 

 

 

As always, thanks for reading!!

Taking Care of the Environment: Esukuko Y. Erupe

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Name: Esukuku Y. Erupe C 21651

Age: 14 Years

Class: 8

Gender: Male

Area of Residence: Turkana East

Date:  September 6th 2014

Taking Care of the Environment 

My name is Esukuku Y. Erupe. I am in class 8.  Thank you for the gift of bags that I can use to pack my clothes.

The Environment is anything that surrounds us.  The environment is made up of the living and non-living things. It is good to take care of the environment because we can live in it. If our environment is good, we can become comfortable in our lives.

Taking care of the environment refers to keeping it clean from waste by recycling and reusing wastes like manilla papers and polyethylene bags. Dirty environment spreads diseases like cholera that can be dangerous in our daily lives.  Pollution of the environment leads to reduction of normal life.  We hope that many children can learn to be friendly to the environment and can enjoy good lives now and in the future.

Yours Faithfully,

Esukuku y Erupe

Letters From kenya: Esukuku Erupe

 

Ways to Save Money on Your Energy Bill During the Holidays

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by Tim Smith

When the weather outside becomes frightful, don’t let your electric bill become shocking, too. Discover the many ways you can reduce your electricity use and save money on your energy bills, even during the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Regardless of the number of lights on your lawn, you can spend less for power during the season. Use the savings for spreading more holiday cheer to your friends and family.Save Money on Your Energy Bill During the Holidays

Use Efficient Decorations

If you are still hanging incandescent Christmas lights, it may be time to upgrade. The next time you shop, select energy-efficient LED lights. Picking these lights could save you on your electric bill over the holidays, especially if you use several strings of lights and have them lit for several hours each day.

Bake More Often

Whether you prefer baking roasts or cookies, if you will be in the kitchen anyway, use the oven’s heat to help you to stay warm. Host a holiday baking party and turn down the thermostat on your heater. With your friends and family in the kitchen, their body heat and the heat of the oven will keep everyone toasty. At many parties, people naturally gravitate towards the kitchen’s warmth, and you will not need to persuade them too heavily to do the same at your next holiday event.

Check for Air Leaks

Hanging Christmas decorations outside is the perfect time to check your home’s doors and windows for drafts. Hold a candle on the inside of a window, and if the flame flickers, then there is a leak that needs to be sealed. Add weather stripping around leaky doors and windows to better insulate your home and keep it more comfortable during the holidays and throughout the year.

Dress Your Windows

During the holidays, seeing cheerily lit windows from the street on a snowy, dark evening may be heartening. But those windows with the curtains pulled back may allow cold to creep into the house. Install heavy curtains on all your windows and keep them open during the day to let in the sun’s warmth, but after sundown, close the curtains tightly to keep cold air from getting into your home. You may also consider putting a heavy blanket on top of your curtain rod to keep cold air from seeping around your curtains and into your home.

Keep an Unused Room

Seal off one or two rooms in your home that rarely get any use and do not heat them. This will make the rest of your home feel warmer and your central heat will not have to work as hard to maintain that comfortable temperature. For the holidays, store your presents in those unheated rooms before you get a chance to wrap them. Since the rooms will be cold, no one will want to venture into them to get a peek at their presents.

Don’t let the cold weather of the holidays make you fear a higher energy bill. You can still save on your electricity spending during the winter while having a jolly holiday with your friends and family.

For more energy ideas to help you save money  I recommend visiting the EPA.gov and Modernize.

 

Organic CSA in Gambrills is a ‘farm-ily’ affair

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Credit: Jake Linger

Credit: Jake Linger

 

Virginia Gambrell graduated from Salisbury University on Maryland’s Eastern Shore in 2010, assuming she would end up with a career related to her major in Spanish. Translating documents between English and the romance language of Spanish would have been acceptable for Gambrell, but she was hardly excited at the prospect of becoming a 9-to-5 desk jockey.

“That made me really uncomfortable,” she said.

Read More →

Mother’s Day– Last Minute But Awesome Gift Ideas

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English: Mother's Day card

English: Mother’s Day card (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you are reading this, you probably still are trying to decide on a really awesome Mother’s Day gift for your mom,wife grandmother or significant other.  Maybe you are not thrilled with the commercial selections– just tired of cut flowers that die in a few days (plus they often are toxic), chocolate (that Mom really does not need) or the mundane blouse, scarf, etc.

We have a few ideas here at LGBG.  Consider taking Mother’s Day to a new level.  So many people are aware of the “green movement” and “sustainability,” but they either do not know how to get started or simply have not had the time to get involved.  This is your opportunity to introduce Mom to a healthier and happier lifestyle that can be fun for the whole family.  Here are a few suggestions: Read More →

Celebrate Earth Day– Do One Thing

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Earth Day 2014

Earth Day 2014

 

Happy Earth Day– let’s celebrate!   This year we here at LGBG applaud the annual global recognition of and celebration of Earth Day, but we hope that you will commit to do one thing to celebrate and protect the Earth everyday.  After all, it is the everyday little things that make a difference.  Of course, most of us are well aware of the usual things we can do– recycle, reduce and reuse.  It is important to keep doing those things.  However, there are many other ways to celebrate and protect the environment. Read More →

Green Roofs and Walls: Natural Beauty in Urban Spaces

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Nature seems to take our breath away. Whether it is the sight of the Adirondack Mountains from the summit of Dix or the sunset over the Chesapeake Bay from Thomas Point, the beauty of nature takes our breath away. Even New York City native urbanites take pride and find pleasure from the nature in Central Park. Yet in our fast-paced, technology infused, world, we find it difficult to secure time away from the 9-5 to explore and admire the natural world around us. If only there was a way to combine the beauty of nature with the constant callings of our rushed city lives…

In a city, such as NYC or DC, there are many “dead” spaces, such as concrete roofs and walls of buildings, that provide nothing but support for the building. Here, we present to you a symbiotic relationship between city and nature. Green roofs and green walls are becoming more and more popular with environmental activists and businesses looking to reduce long-term costs and improve the environment around them.

What are green roofs and walls?

Green roof on Chicago City Hall

Green wall in Paris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a nutshell they are the product of taking inanimate flat surfaces and turning them into living, breathing, pieces of art that benefit the environment and society. They are soil based structures that can contain many different species of plants, depending on what your ultimate goal is. Most green roofs are made up of very resistant plants that do no require much attention. These plants are most often Sedum, which are small, brightly colored flowers that attract butterflies and and honey bees (oh how important!!)  as well as being drought resistant and low maintenance [1]. But don’t let that hold you back. Depending on the resources you have at your disposal, there are intensive green roofs that can contain a high variety of plants even including medium to large trees!

Not only are green roofs and walls aesthetically pleasing, but they contain many environmental, economic, and social benefits. The below list of benefits is paraphrased from page 2 of the Green Roof Toolkit put together by the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS).

Environmental:

– Creation of wildlife habitat
– Reduction of storm water runoff into watershed areas
– Reduction of urban temperatures in hot weather
– Improvement of the air quality

Social:

– Creation of desirable green space
– Provide an aesthetic appeal to urban landscapes
– Provide more space for growing food
– Educational space to teach young children about the environment

Economic:

– Provides sound insulation for the building
– Monetary credits for storm water impact
– Increase of property values
– Decrease in energy costs
– Reduction of waste and landfill usage
– Increases the life of the roof

Wow! Such benefits! Would you believe me if I told you that not only do you and your city get to reap all of these benefits, but some cities such as DC are offering subsidies to help with the costs of green roof construction! The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) is currently offering a green roof rebate program that will pay $7-10 per square foot to

Green wall on PNC headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA

incentivize people to invest in green roofs [3]. Even better is that the Anacostia Watershed Society is working in tandem with the DDOE to increase the subsidy to $15-20 per square foot!

If you live in the district and you have an interest in remodeling your roof, contact the AWS. They will work with you to find a contractor and a price that fits your resources.

Green walls are not only for the individual household. They can also be great ways to advertise and market your company or product! As you can see on the right, PNC headquarters in Pittsburgh has taken the concept to a beautiful level with the green wall on their building. This green wall, the largest in North America, is 2,380 square feet with over 14,000 living plants! [4]

Nature is a beautiful thing LGBG followers. So, with the mounds of benefits and the lovely aesthetics of nature in our concrete jungles, let’s work as one to push for green roofing and walls throughout our country!

 

Resources for this article:

[1] http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/perennial/sedum/

[2] http://green.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ddoe/publication/attachments/GR%20Toolkit%2012.22.11.pdf 

[3] http://green.dc.gov/greenroofs 

[4] http://www.jetsongreen.com/2009/09/the-largest-green-wall-in-north-america.html 

 

Slow Food in a Fast Paced World

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Will you shake the hand that feeds you?

Food is essential for our survival as a species. Regardless of your dieting choices, omnivore, vegetarian, vegan, etc., as a living and breathing individual you must replenish your energy by consuming food. So isn’t it best to satisfy your appetite with the essential vitamins and nutrients grown naturally? What about going one-step further and shaking the hand that feeds you?

The news is in, and has been for a while now. Conventional farming methods that utilize GMOs, chemical fertilizers, and practice monoculture are terribly unhealthy and counteractive to improving the environment.

From: http://bif.rs/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/monokultura.jpg

Founded in economics, the monoculture model is a theoretical breakthrough. Business wise it makes complete economic sense. The economy of scale theory states that as you produce more of the same good, it becomes marginally cheaper to produce a single item. Lets say a farmer grows a 100-foot row of broccoli and it costs him/her 10 cents per broccoli plant. If he decided to produce 500 feet of broccoli instead, then they can cut the cost of one plant from 10 cents to, lets just say, 5 cents. Selling the broccoli for the same price as before will yield a higher profit for the farmer. But at what expense?  The expenses are for you and I to bear! To meet their bottom lines, these gigantic agriculture firms reduce the nutrition contained in the plants with fertilizers and pesticides, as well as wasting drums upon drums of oil in simply transporting food across the country, let alone oil use in tractors and other large machinery. This leaves our health and environment in question.

From: http://sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i/keep-calm-there-is-always-a-solution.png

YES! There is a solution! It’s surprisingly simple and right in front of us: eat local; eat food.  Smaller local farms are inherently better for our health and the environment.

Here is why. Smaller farms practice biodiversity, which works to strengthen the healthiness of the plants on the farm so there is little to no need for chemical fertilizers. Buying fruits, veggies, and meat from local farmers also works to boost the local economies and promote small businesses in your area.

But LGBG, say I want to change my food purchasing habits, how do I find local farms to buy groceries??  Well environmental enthusiasts, try starting with Slow Food USA! Slow Food is a global organization that advocates for small local farmers and works to combat harmful farming practices used by large conventional farms. From the website you can easily maneuver around to find Slow Food organizations in your area. There are many links to local chapters where you can find a farm right for you! Not only will they help provide you with farmers to meet but they sponsor many volunteer events that are a whole lot of fun. So I ask one more time, for the improvement of your own health and that of the environment, will you shake the hand that feeds you?From: https://secure3.convio.net/sfusa/images/content/pagebuilder/sfusa_gardensign.p

From: https://secure3.convio.net/sfusa/images/content/pagebuilder/sfusa_gardensign.p