As the owner of a web-based company, small, medium or large, your website uses the same rules of engagement that brick-and-mortar companies use to woo their prospective clients — at least in the beginning. But as a web-based business owner, in order to grow your business and build your brand, you must make smarter decisions that lead to your web-based business and your brand — soaring to the next level. These decisions include not only traditional marketing, but also the inclusion of web-based marketing, search engine optimization, social media marketing, and brand marketing. One of the most important steps of the courtship of prospective clients is the realization that green technology is no longer a stereotype for hippies, but it is more mainstream and even expected of companies as a responsible decision.

Following some simple “rules of engagement”, to make visitors to your web site fall in love with you, your brand needs to show that it is is responsible, caring, and trustworthy. What worked in the early days of the world-wide-web do not necessarily work today. Customers are smarter and expect more from a brand, and that includes environmentally-friendly practices. Or as a computer-savvy tech guru said, “Here’s how to pitch woo to the world wide web.”

Top Ten Tips for Using Green Technology to Build a Brand:

1. Green web hosting— Reduce your carbon footprint and demonstrate your company’s responsibility by choosing a green web hosting provider.
2. Environmentally friendly packaging — Whether you are shopping for a new computer for your office or home, by choosing a vendor that utilizes green, environmentally-friendly products you are displaying a level of responsibility and commitment to the environment. Dell Computer, for example, recently announced that it will ship two of its net books in packaging made from processed bamboo, a renewable source of material. Dell’s bamboo packaging campaign has created quite a stir. Bamboo is an attractive source for packaging because it is strong and sturdy, even when it is still small and undeveloped. As the bamboo plant grows larger, it becomes an amazing material source that can withstand incredibly high tolerances and abuse – making it totally perfect for just about any kind packaging application. If your company is considering placing an order with Dell, be sure that your product will be shipped in their Bamboo packaging, because some of their computers are not.
3. Toxic-free products — Apple computer announced in its environmental report update that it is stepping up efforts to reduce toxic materials in its computers and consumer electronic devices. A company-wide goal is to lower emissions and a whole lot of other key elements to green products, eliminating toxic materials. Apple’s aluminum-clad MacBook, for example, boasts an energy efficiency between 86.6% and 87.5%. Passionate and valid points exist for both PC or Mac purchases, but it ultimately boils down to your personal tastes, business needs, and budget. Both vendors are working feverishly to pitch their green efforts.
4. Turn off equipment when not in use — This sounds simple, but many companies do not turn off their equipment when they are not in use. It is a easy way to reduce energy consumption by 25%. And by also turning off equipment at the end of the business day, an additional 50% of energy consumption can be saved.
5. Use paper with maximum recycled content — When shopping for office paper for printers or even printing cards for a mail out advertising campaign, choose paper that has maximum recycled content. Encourage communications by email, and read email messages onscreen to determine whether it’s necessary to print them. By cutting down on printing, and if printing is absolutely necessary – choosing recycled paper is not only good for the environment but good for your business’s bottom line because conserving resources and cutting down on waste saves money.
6. Telecommuting to reduce greenhouse gases — VOIP phone providers offer smart tools that allow employees to telecommute, which saves employees money and provides businesses with happier, more efficient employees. Telecommuting and the use of virtual offices are evolving into a popular environmentally friendly option for companies.
7. Fuel efficient cars — Many businesses are opting for electric cars or hybrids when making purchases for company vehicles.
8. Green products and services in the local community — The further supplies or service providers have to travel, the more energy will be used to get them to you. By shopping locally, companies can not only save on shipping expenses, but they are able to support the local economy.
9. Compact fluorescent lights — ENERGY STAR qualified CFL’s are the most energy efficient. They undergo a rigorous certification process to ensure that they are high-quality, energy-efficient products.
10. Spread the “green” word. After a solid commitment by your company, spread the word. Boast to your clients and potential customers. Share your eco-friendly achievements with friends, families and neighbors. Encourage them to share your accomplishments with others. The trend toward green, environmentally-friendly business practices has increased, and for good reasons. Consumers appreciate a company’s green efforts and take notice.

One thing to note first off, however, is that “green” can mean a variety of things, and it’s common to find “green” elements in many offices today. The final standard of green goes all the way down to the corporate mission. A truly green company is green from the inside out.

By David Boyt, posted on Mother Earth News

Salvaging dead or dying trees, and milling the logs into lumber is a great experience. It is part of the powerful connection I feel with the land, and I am always delighted to share it with my friends and customers. If you have it in mind to hire a sawyer with a portable sawmill to cut lumber for a chicken coop, front porch, or a full-sized home, there are some things you can do before, during, and after the milling to make it go more smoothly. Finding a good sawyer can be challenging. Woodweb and Forestry Forum are common hangouts for sawyers with internet connections. I’m frequently on Norwood’s Town Hall forum, where I pick up (and occasionally offer) ideas, advice, and opinions. Some custom sawyers even have their own web sites. Of course, if you know a sawyer, or someone who has had a good experience with one, you’ve got a real head start.

If a portable mill is coming to your place, a certain amount of preparation will save you time and money, and will yield more usable lumber. The mill needs to be fairly level (straight is more important than level), and there needs to be plenty of room to work around it. I’ve had my Norwood mill in some pretty tight places, but a 30’ square area should give you and the sawyer enough elbow room to work.  Also think about how you’ll get the mill to the site. Could you get a 20’ trailer to it? More than once I had to cut down trees to widen a trail so I could get the mill to the “level” cutting site. You’ll also need a level place to stack the boards that isn’t too far from the mill—or a nearby place to park a trailer if you’re going to stack the boards for drying somewhere else.

The logs need to be stacked in such a way that they can easily be loaded onto the mill. If possible, move the logs to the mill site on a wagon or carry them with a front end loader. At least lift one end of the log off the ground when pulling it. Dragging logs behind a tractor will leave you with ruts, and the logs with grit embedded in the bark. Sawyers don’t like grit in the bark—it dulls the blade, and you may find yourself facing an additional charge if they are too dirty. Don’t cut any of the logs shorter than 8’ long, unless you’ve checked with the sawyer! A lot of mills have trouble clamping down shorter logs.  Anything less than 8” diameter is generally best left for firewood. They take too long to clamp down, and you just don’t get much lumber out of them.

Be realistic in your expectations. A good sawyer can do a remarkable job converting rough logs into straight lumber. But if you ask a sawyer to cut 1” by 8” lumber out of a log that is 6” diameter, prepare to be disappointed. I have actually had that happen. If you are supplying your own logs, the sawyer has very little control over the finished product. Small and crooked logs take longer to cut per board foot, because they are harder to clamp down. A sawyer who charges by the board foot may balk at cutting logs under 10” in diameter, or charge more per board foot, simply because it will take more time.

Plan ahead of time how you will handle the lumber. Stack some of the poorer logs at the front of the pile. These will be cut into blocking to hold the rest of the lumber up off the ground. They just need to be big enough to 6” by 6” cants, and don’t need to be pretty. Plan to have enough of it to cut 4’ long and lay about 20” apart to hold your longest boards. For example, if your logs are 12’ long, you’ll need nine square 4’ long blocks to hold up your stack of boards for drying. You could make them out of four 8’ logs or three 12’ logs.

You’ll save time and board handling if you arrange the stack to start out milling the longest logs, and work your way down to the shorter ones. I advise my customers to arrange the stack so that the best logs get sawn first. As we work the pile down toward the smaller and more crooked logs, we  may reach the point where it is too much work for too little lumber. The remaining logs go for firewood.

If you know what you want ahead of time, you will be much more satisfied with the outcome. One of my best customers wanted to build a large chicken coop. The logs were neatly stacked and ready to cut, and she had a cut list. This gave me the chance to get the most out of each log. The posts, beams, and siding all went onto a trailer which she pulled over to the construction site with a tractor. While I was milling the lumber, she was busy building the coop!

Listen to the sawyer’s voice of experience. For example, if you ask for lumber cut 2” thick, that’s what you get. But if you ask the sawyer for lumber for a 2” thick table top, he (or she) will probably recommend cutting the boards 2-3/8” thick so that after they are dry and surfaced smooth, you’ll have your 2” thick table top. It also helps the sawyer cut more efficiently. I take the time to look for interesting grain patterns and keep a sharper blade on the mill when cutting furniture wood. For trailer flooring, I cut for speed and efficiency without worrying about appearance. I don’t want to get too long-winded, so I’ll continue this blog a little later with comments about paying the sawyer, how to help during the cutting process, and taking care of the finished pile of lumber.

Follow this step-by-step advice to find the woodstove of your dreams. By John Gulland

Why not heat with wood? It’s a green heating option that also makes you more self-reliant.

Have you considered heating with wood? In many parts of North America, firewood is cheap and plentiful, so wood heat could potentially save you money. Not only does a woodstove give you a re­liable source of heat even when the power goes out, it’s also a green option, because wood is a renewable resource when har­vested sustainably.

Deciding which woodstove to buy can be tough, however, even if you’ve been heating with wood for years and are simply looking for a replacement stove. You’ll find a huge range of options in sizes, shapes, materials and technologies. Also, there are few recognized woodstove experts and no reliable ratings that use consistent criteria to fairly judge all the options. So how do you choose the best woodstove for you?

I recommend finding a good dealer first, then selecting from that store’s stock. Working for more than 30 years in the wood heating business has taught me that no one can tell you exactly what stove to buy, because all kinds of personal prefer­ences influence the final choice. However, a good dealer can be a great resource. Look for one who has been in the business for a number of years, heats his or her home with wood, and has burning models in the showroom. Keep in mind that only people who burn wood regularly can give you reli­able advice about woodstoves.

Next, pay attention to woodstove brands. In my opinion, the ideal stove is built by a company with at least 20 years’ experience in wood heating because it’s more likely to honor the warranty and continue to carry replacement parts.

For example, the stove in my house is a Super 27 built by Pacific Energy. The model has been on the market more than 20 years, and its combustion system has been revised at least twice during that pe­riod, mostly to make it more durable. I’ve rebuilt three older versions of the Super 27, one of my own and two for friends who own them. The current parts found in new stoves fit perfectly in older stoves that were originally sold with quite differ­ent internal parts. You can certainly find other stove manufacturers that follow the same thoughtful approach when they up­grade their products.

In fact, a sizable group of North American stove manufacturers has been around long enough to learn what makes people happy with their products. These are the makers of mid-priced steel stoves, a category that dominates the market. Over the years, I’ve watched these com­panies and been impressed with their corporate stability and product consis­tency. These brands include Quadrafire, Lopi and Avalon (both made by Travis Industries), Regency, Pacific Energy, and some regionally popular brands including Buck, Harman and Blaze King. In addi­tion to this group of mainly steel stove manufacturers, the Jøtul brand of cast-iron stoves merits a mention because this company’s products seem to consistently satisfy people’s needs.

Of course, this is just a sample of the many good brands you can choose from, and even among these brands there may be stoves that do not meet expectations. The brands I am most familiar with have all, at one time or another, produced a dud stove that didn’t perform well or that had features people didn’t like. I have also heard users complain about stoves that I think are among the best, which just goes to show that tastes differ widely.

To choose a woodstove you’ll be truly happy with, you should also review some com­mon features of woodstoves and consider how they will affect you during your day-to-day use of the stove.

Materials. Most woodstoves are made from either welded steel or cast iron, and with today’s stoves, there’s no difference between the two in performance or du­rability. The choice is strictly one of per­sonal preference.

Soapstone stoves are a special case. The stone on the stove absorbs heat and re­leases it slowly, thereby evening out the normal fluctuations in woodstove output. While this has some advantages, it also tends to mean that soapstone stoves are slow to respond when heat is needed. If you’ll be running your woodstove con­stantly all winter, and will rarely need to start it cold, a soapstone stove may be a good fit for you — or maybe you just love the look of a soapstone stove. In any case, you’ll want to be aware of its particular characteristics before buying one.

Combustion System. Some stoves use a catalyst to clean up smoky exhaust, and others use special firebox features to do the same job. The basic trade-off is that catalytic stoves can burn cleaner on aver­age than “non-cats” and can be more ef­ficient under some conditions, but “cats” are also more complicated to operate and their maintenance costs can be higher.

An experienced dealer of catalytic stoves once said that cats work well for techni­cal types — the kind of people who tinker with antique sports cars. But for users with little mechanical aptitude, a non-cat may be a better choice. Non-cats normally have only one operational control, and they’re more tolerant of various firing techniques.

Heating Capacity. Selecting the right size of woodstove for the heating load is a challenge, because manufacturers’ perfor­mance specifications are not standardized and can be misleading. For example, one common measurement is the maximum heat output rating, but knowing this number is about as meaningless as know­ing the top speed of a car — you should never use it. Heating capacity in dwelling square footage can also be misleading, be­cause regional differences in climate and home construction make for a wide range of heating loads per square foot. This is where an experienced dealer can be a big help. Dealers learn how each stove be­haves and know how satisfied customers have been with various models.

Log Length. Some manufactur­ers’ specification sheets imply a firebox that takes long pieces is an advantage, but you’re unlikely to need this feature. Commercial firewood dealers usually cut wood to a standard length of 16 inch­es — with good reason. Most people find pieces longer than 16 inches too awk­ward and heavy to handle comfortably.

Handling Coals and Ash. Look for a stove in which the firebox floor is at least 3 inches below the doorsill. This drop will help keep live coals inside the fire­box — and off your floor — while you’re doing normal fire management.

Ash pans are a common optional fea­ture, but many stove shoppers demand an ash pan on the assumption that it will make ash removal easier and neater. This may be true in some cases, but many of the ash pans I’ve seen and used are worse than not having one. Some are so shallow they can’t hold more than a day or two of ash production. Some involve removing a plug from the firebox floor, which can be a fussy, time-consuming job. Others are designed so poorly that when they’re removed for emptying, ashes are likely to spill all over the hearth. Compared with dealing with badly designed internal ash pans, the regular use of a small bucket and shovel isn’t so bad — I haven’t used an internal ash pan for many years and am a happier woodburner for it.

Woodstove Shape and Door Features. Manufacturers like to offer stoves that are wider than they are deep. These stoves project less into the room compared with other shapes, and they offer a wide ex­panse of glass for a panoramic view of the fire. Both of these advantages may seem attractive in the showroom, but they can have unfortunate consequences when you start using the stove. For example, a wide loading door can be awkward be­cause you have to move back from the stove to allow it to swing open.

Also, the wide but shallow firebox gives a so-called east-west firebox ori­entation, meaning that when looking through the glass door, you see the sides of the logs. East-west loading limits the amount of wood per load because logs can fall against the glass if you fill the stove more than about half full. North-south loading, in contrast, tends to be best for full-time winter heating because more wood can be loaded for the coldest nights, and there is no risk of logs roll­ing against the glass. The best of both worlds is a firebox with a roughly square floor so you can choose which way to load logs.

Top Loading. This can seem like a great feature when inspecting stoves on the showroom floor, but top loaders can be messy to maintain. Also, the chim­ney must produce strong draft to keep smoke from rising out of the open top. If you have an outside chimney or must have elbows in the flue pipe, a top load­er could contribute to poor indoor air quality by spilling exhaust whenever it is loaded. Finally, top loading does not allow for precise log placement, which can lead to serious frustration when try­ing to load firewood.

Final Thoughts for Choosing the Best Woodstove

Here’s a three-step process to go through when determining how to choose a woodstove that is right for you. These steps virtually guarantee your new stove will meet your needs.

1. Go through the discussion of fea­tures in this article and rule out the woodstoves that don’t make sense for you and your family.
2. Of those left, match the stove’s heat output and features to your needs based on your climate zone, house size and house configuration (using advice from a trusted dealer).
3. Of all the stoves that meet the first two criteria, choose the one most attractive to you.

Follow these steps, and you can’t go wrong.

Read more: To get more advice from John Gulland, check out some of his previous MOTHER EARTH NEWS articles on energy efficiency and safety.

John Gulland is a wood heat consultant and educator who has been working with woodstoves since 1974. Visit Wood Heat, John’s online organization, to learn more.

Various furniture designers across the globe have proved that recycling is very interesting and is not reserved just to stuff cans, cardboard, and bottles in the containers. A ‘shopping cart chair’ and ‘bathtub couch’ are definitely some out of the box ideas. You never know you might just get inspired and create some new stuff using the older stuff lying around the house.

So read further to check the seven stunning home decor items made using recycled materials.

1. Shopping Cart Chair: This creative Shopping Cart Chair is definitely not designed considering the body ergonomics. However, this adaption of a shopping cart into a comfortable chair is worth a look. It is a well detailed chair, which sports a structurally-sound seat. You can bend the chair slightly. The soft cushion on the back and the arm rest is surely useful. It also adds plush appeal to the overall look of the chair. You can use these attractive and funky chairs during your BBQ parties.

2. Crushed-Can Chair: These crushed can furniture pieces are simple and vibrant. Of course they won’t blend with all interior design schemes, but are robust. You can use them as outdoor furniture, they will go well with the rugged environment. Don’t worry no one will really notice the rust on the chairs!

3. Old Sports Equipment Chair: Are you a sports freak, or anyone else in your family loves sports? Then it’s certain that you might have a collection of some old sports equipment. Here is a simple way to use old sports equipment. You can cleverly reuse them and create funky furniture. It may not suit your current furniture style, however you can also design one and gift it to one of your friends who is a sports fan. He or she will indeed love this sporty yet personally recycled furniture present!

4. Dishwasher Drum Table: Have you ever considered a dishwasher drum to be reused as a furniture piece? Take a look at this recycled dishwasher drum table. It works well as a side table. Once transformed, the odd object suits its new roll. It works well as the base of a cylindrical table. You can also add some interesting lighting patters with it. In addition the hollow center makes the table a light and versatile furniture.

5. Old Bathtub Couch: If you are planning to remodel your bathroom and are wondering what to do with that huge and awkward old bathtub, check this out! You can transform your big bathtub into a useful couch. With some simple modifications, you can design a romantic love seat or a kitsch creation. There are numerous options, so think of one that suits you.

6. Old CD Chair: With the developments in the IT industry, everything related to computers and laptops is getting smaller and fewer. People used to use lots of CD’s. Some of the simple reuses for CD’s are coasters and decorations. Why not use the old CD’s in designing a creative chair? Of course it is a pretty efficient way for reusing loads of CD’s all at once. However, you have to wonder whether the CD chair is going to be comfortable!

7. Cycle Spokes Table: Don’t throw away that smashed and bended bike wheel. You might be wondering what to do with it, so here is a cool solution. You can put together the broken pieces into various useful and attractive furniture pieces. As shown in the picture you can design some eye-catching center tables and side tables.

London (CNN) — What if buildings had lungs that could absorb carbon emissions from the city and convert them into something useful? What if they had skin that could control their temperature without the need for radiators or air-conditioning? What if buildings could come “alive?”

Science fiction? “Not as such,” claims Dr Rachel Armstrong, senior TED fellow and co-director of Avatar, a research group exploring the potential of advanced technologies in architecture. “Over the next 40 years, ‘living’ buildings — biologically programmed to extract carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere — could fill our cities.”

Armstrong works on the cutting edge of “synthetic biology,” a relatively new science devoted to the manufacture of life-like matter from synthesized chemicals, and is something of an evangelist for the discipline. The chemicals Armstrong works with, concocted in the lab, are engineered to behave like organic microorganisms — with the added benefit that they can be manipulated to do things nature can’t. Armstrong refers to them as “protocells.” “For instance, a protocell could be mixed with wall paint and programmed to produce limestone when exposed to carbon (dioxide) on the surface of a building,” she said. “Then you’ve got a paint that can actually eat carbon and change it into a shell-like substance.”

So, just as iron rusts when it comes into contact with oxygen and water, protocells can produce simple chemical reactions when they come into contact with carbon dioxide (CO2) molecules, turning the CO2 into calcium carbonate, or limestone, which stops the greenhouse gas from rising up into the ozone layer. In effect, we are living in (buildings’) waste like we were living in the effluent of animals during the Agrarian revolution,

As a by-product of this process, the British scientist says that limestone produced by protocells could naturally “heal” micro-fractures in walls, channeling through tiny breaks, helping to extend the life of any structure it was painted on to. “And not only that,” added Armstrong. “The thickness of the limestone will grow over time, creating insulation and allowing your building to retain more heat or indeed sheltering it from heating up underneath the sun.” The layer of limestone could take anywhere between a year and a decade to form depending on the concentration of carbon dioxide in the surrounding air. However Armstrong says that “eventually we will see protocell technology become self-repleting (able to replenish itself) and (it) will be considered alive.”

Dick Kitney is professor of bio-engineering at Imperial College London and co-director of the Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation. He says that, while the concept is sound, moving it into industrial production is a different story. “It’s a question of scalability,” he said. “Getting the process to work in the lab is one thing, but after that you need to work very closely with major industrial manufacturers to understand if it is at all possible to produce on a mass scale. Sometimes it’s just not possible.”

Kitney says that nobody has yet managed to get any synthetic biological product to the manufacturing stage: “The science is being taken very seriously — particularly in the UK and U.S. … but it’s still early days.” While Armstrong says the science has been proven in the lab, she too acknowledges that commercial applications are still some years down the road. “This is bulk chemical manufacturing we’re talking about, so the process is slow,” she said. “If it were pharmaceuticals it would be much quicker.”

But Armstrong’s work is gaining interest from the industrial sector. “There’s a traditional paint manufacturer here in the UK that is looking into it, but we’re all under non-disclosure agreements,” she said. Armstrong admits that, at present, the paint would be capable of absorbing only a tiny fraction of the carbon dioxide emitted in a city like London, which spewed out around 42 million tons in 2009, according to government figures. “The primitive paints we are developing are not very efficient yet, ” she added. The idea is that carbon is absorbed by a building to create light. Can you imagine a whole city lit by the walls of its own buildings? Armstrong doesn’t think the paint will be ready for market much before 2014 and, at this stage, she cannot comment on how much it will cost to produce commercially. Despite this, she says a major Australian property developer has already placed a future order for it.

Award-winning British architect Richard Hyams, who worked for 12 years under internationally renowned architect Norman Foster before setting up his own practice, is also an advocate of self-regulating building materials. But, he says, attitudes will have to change before this technology makes it into the mainstream. “As with any significant step-change, it’s slow to take off,” said Hyams. “From developers, to agents, to buyers themselves, people generally don’t want to be the first to risk investment in a relatively untested industry when the costs are high.”

In addition, says Hyams, legislation is slow, “slicing off the worst building practices from the bottom, rather than advancing the best ideas at the top.” However, Armstrong and Hyams agree that, as the burden on cities to reduce their vast carbon footprints intensifies, the market will look to more radical solutions. “We’re also currently experimenting with the process of bioluminescence,” said Hyams. “The idea is that carbon is absorbed by a building to create light. Can you imagine a whole city lit by the walls of its own buildings?”

Whatever the future has in store, our relationship with cities’ megastructures and the carbon they produce will likely change. Armstrong concludes with a sobering thought: “At present, buildings are big machines that take our resources and turn them into poison. In effect, we are living in their waste like we were living in the effluent of animals during the Agrarian revolution.”

Ring in the New Year with gratitude for what this year has given us, and excitement for what the next year holds. Here Sierra Club Green Home writer Roland Oehme shares the top 12 things he is grateful for going into 2012.

12 Green Things I Am Thankful For:

1) My family and friends are the most important things in my life. I am grateful for the time I’ve been able to spend with them this year.

2) My local nature park that I enjoy daily walks in. The simple act of exercising in nature rejuvenates my body and spirit. I think everyone should be able to take walks in forests, meadows, hills, valleys, streams, wetlands, and other natural ecosystems.

3) I enjoy relatively clean air, water, and soil. However, I see this as the minimum of what is acceptable. Much more can be done to clean up my local environment, especially the Chesapeake Bay (the largest estuary in the United States).

4) All of my fellow human beings who are actively engaged in protecting the earth’s animals, environment, and people in order to create a healthier future for all.

5) More and more people are aware of the major impact we have on the global environment be it climate change, radiation leaks, trash, air pollution, soil pollution, or loss of animal and plant diversity. More importantly, more and more people realize that we can turn this around.

6) Many governments are taking concrete action to ensure a cleaner environment. For instance, Denmark, Germany, and Spain are committed to changing their energy supply from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

7) More people are advocating for the regenerative design model, as described by John T. Lyle in Regenerative Design for Sustainable Development and by William McDonough in Cradle to Cradle. Regenerative design allows all life to not just exist but to grow and flourish in a healthy state.

Nature’s beauty inspires and motivates me every day.

9) Many people are learning about and adopting vegan and raw food diets. Adopting a vegan diet has enabled many people, including former President Bill Clinton, to lead a healthier life.

10) Animals’ welfare and protection is important to many people.

11) By choosing a healthy living food diet and lifestyle, I feel healthy and full of energy.

12) That the planet earth is my home.

Roland Oehme is a green and healthy living reporter. Read his blog at www.we-love-rawfood.blogspot.com.

© 2011 SCGH, LLC. All rights reserved.

Here’s an informative article from Mother Nature Network.

Composting can be intimidating, even though it’s really very simple. If you’re resisting the trend because it seems messy and gross, let us clear the air.

Now is the perfect time to start a compost pile. You can do it fancy or simple. Compost is the most important thing you can use in your garden to improve your land’s fertility (lawn, garden, and landscape), get rid of kitchen and yard waste efficiently, and save time and money. The only science involved is the science of decomposition — when things decompose, they turn into the most potent, valuable fertilizer on the market. Why buy it in the store when you can make it at home for free?

Step 1: Figure out where to put it, and if you need to put it in something.

If you are lucky to live on a nice patch of land, you can simply make a compost pile in a back corner somewhere. You don’t really need a container to make compost. However, if you live on a smaller patch of land, you might want to get a container to keep things looking tidy. We keep our compost containers right in the veggie patch, since that’s where most weeds and veggie leftovers go in, and where the good black gold comes out. If you live in the city, you probably will want a container. If you have an old trash can lying about, you can just cut off the bottom, and voilà! You have a composter.  Click to see Envirocycle Composter Video.

Step 2: Start collecting stuff to put on your pile.

From outside the house, you can put weeds (but not poison ivy please), leaves, old dying plant material, and garden waste. From inside the house, you can get a fancy compost bucket for your kitchen sink if you like, or you can just use a bucket or old container to collect kitchen waste.

Click to buy these pails.

Things to avoid putting on the compost pile include anything toxic, meat, bones, processed foods, dairy, and pet poop. But any other kitchen waste from vegetables or fruits, egg shells, coffee or tea grounds and even the shells of things like clams and crab are good, really good. Take this stuff out to your pile daily, otherwise it starts to decompose inside the house instead of outside the house, and might start to smell. Keep your waste container clean between loads, and you will have a clean-smelling, efficient composting operation set up in your household.

Step 3: Wait. Some people, compost connoisseurs, may have all sorts of elaborate rituals and techniques for speeding up the composting process. But it never fails if you just wait. Keep on adding to the top, and in a few months, at the bottom, you will have rich, dark, fertile compost to spread around. (That’s why a lot of composters have little doors at the bottom — no, it’s not for the composting gnomes to get in to do their job! … Or is it?)

Step 4: Use it.
If you don’t use it, you won’t lose it … it just waits for you. And even if you never use it, you’ve already done great work by keeping waste out of the public waste stream. However, compost loves to be used. You can spread it lightly on your lawn to make it greener. You can put it on your veggie patch to make it grow bigger, healthier, stronger veggies. You can put it on your flower beds to make your flowers more luscious and pest-resistant. You can sprinkle it around your houseplants or container plants. You can package it nicely and give it to friends and neighbors.

Compost is an organic gardener’s most powerful tool for raising healthy, pest-free, and beautiful gardens. Now there is nothing stopping you from getting started!

This article was reprinted with permission. For more from Maria Rodale, go to www.mariasfarmcountrykitchen.com.

by Jennifer Berry
Published on January 17th, 2011

Literary purists be warned: We are about to destroy a few books in the name of home decor. Woe unto us! But it’s all for the greater good, and we’ve got some projects that will knock your spectacles off.

You have to admit that, no matter how much reading is a part of your life, there are probably a few titles sitting in the closet that haven’t seen the light of day in eons.

While book donation is always an excellent option for letting those old tomes find a new home (there’s probably a local charity, library, shelter or school that could use them), the cold winter months might give you an itch to craft while you’re stuck inside.

Sit back, grab a cup of tea and check out our top-five favorite ideas for reusing both hardcover and paperback books.

Vintage Paper Vases

These smart vases add a cool twist on a traditional piece of home decor. Photo: CountryLiving.com

“A picture may be worth a thousand words, but words can create a pretty picture, too,” writes Bethany Lyttle for Country Living, where we find our first project. “That’s what stylist Paul Lowe set out to celebrate when he determined to make artful use of books and letters that, too often, end up in the trash.”

Well, you can’t put water or flowers in these vases, but they’re lovely enough to hold their own. This simple craft by Country Living requires a book, a pencil, scissors, cardboard, hot glue and some mad skills with a craft knife.

By essentially creating an outline of a typical vase shape and cutting it into a book whose covers have been removed, an “accordion” of paper forms the rounded shape.  It’s a simple, four-step process that might even have this novice crafter getting out the hot glue gun.

Following Country Living‘s example, try varying the size and shape of the vases you create for interesting arrangements and versatility.

Whimsical Wreath

These wreaths require only a few simple items and some time to create a. Photo: LivingWithLindsay.com

Don’t panic: Yes, the holidays are over, and no, this wreath isn’t wintry in the slightest.

This beautiful project comes from the creative pages of the DIY home decor blog, Living with Lindsay. She was inspired to make her own, thrifty wreath design after seeing similar wreaths priced at $40 a pop at a city-wide garage sale.

“The vendor told me that she made them sitting in front of the television,” she writes. “That’s my kind of crafting.” That’s our kind of crafting, too!

For a change on the project, Lindsay recommends trying magazines or sheet music as well, which would look equally enchanting. Like the project above, simple items like a glue gun, foam wreath ring and a bit of a craft paint make this project a snap.

Check out Lindsay’s tutorial, which has both written and a video tutorial.

Pretty Purse

While these little purses may not work for the everyday grind, we love the idea of taking them out for a strol…once the weather warms, of course. Photo: CountryLiving.com

As many of the projects in this story deal with the actual pages of a book, we thought it best to toss in an idea about how to reuse the covers as well. Brought to us again by the creative minds of Country Living, this purse tutorial is one of the best out there.

Ranking at more of an intermediate level, this craft will help you create a cute clutch in 11 steps or less (or more, if you’re this writer…), according to writer Barbara McNamara, whose easy guide will have you with a new bag in hand in no time.

We recommend having a book in mind before you go out to buy the handle kit and liner fabric, as you will want these items to coordinate through patterns or colors. Don’t forget to have your iron handy as well, to help the fabric lay straight as you cut and measure.

Also, larger, hardcover books will work better to provide space for all the various and sundries you’re bound to toss into this particular purse.

Literary Table Legs

Take your craft skills to the next level and revamp your sitting room table. Try finding old encyclopedias for an easy way to collect more uniform books.Photo: Instructables/Jessyratfink

Before you even have to ask: Yes, you will need a tabletop for these legs as well. That comes separately.

But, before you dismiss the project, just take a look at how cool (read: cultured and enlightened) you will look having a table built, literally, out of pure knowledge.

This project brings in the heavy machinery: drills, goggles and steel rods are a few of the items you will need to build the foundations of your new table.

Instructables pro Jessyratfink writes that the number of hardcover books you need will be determined by how tall you want the table, and it’s best to have similar sizes throughout.

“Once you know how tall you want them to be, try to get an average thickness on the books you’re considering and buy just a few more books than you’ll need,” she says. “Once they’re compressed you might find you need an extra book to help them line up!”

Super Secret Hideout

You never know when a secret stash of cash or treats will come in handy! Photo: How To Do Stuff/Aud1073cH

Hey, we saved the best for last. No matter if you are 8 or 80, everyone needs a secret place to stash valuables, candy, data, childhood objects and the like.

Hardback books work best in this scenario to provide support for your belongings and a rigid cutting surface.

Also, if you have in mind what you’d like to stash in said hideout, take a moment to select a book that will fairly accommodate these valuables. You won’t cut out all of the pages in the book, so keep that in mind as well.

The How to Do Stuff tutorial gives step-by-step instructions that look relatively easy to follow – just make sure to allot time for various drying cycles throughout the project.

Which one are you going to try?

by Alexis Petru
Published on October 18th, 2011

Jake Harms recycles the iconic original iMac computer into aquariums that he sells online. Photos: Jake Harms

Find your local recycling
solution for computers

Before the sleek and portable MacBook Air, iPhone and iPad, there was the original Apple iMac, released in 1998 and available in an array of vibrant colors or “flavors” like grape and strawberry.

When Jake Harms was faced with disposing of an old iMac at work, he felt there had to be a better use for the iconic colorful computer. Inspired by a photo of a Macquarium – a fish aquarium built into an old Mac computer – he spent several years developing the perfect curved fish tank to replace the iMac’s curved cathode ray tube screen.

Harms now sells his iMacquariums online to Apple fans and fish enthusiasts looking for a unique, “retro” way to house their finned friends.

Harms obtains the dead desktop computers from local recyclers: The recyclers donate working iMacs to schools or families and send the non-working models to Harms. He spends about two hours polishing each iMac with a high-speed buffer to remove any nicks and marks, making the computers look shiny and new.

After the cathode ray tube screens are removed, each iMac case is fitted with a 3.5-gallon tank with a built-in filter and lights.

While the iMacquarium’s tank is too small for typical goldfish, it’s spacious enough to accommodate 1-3 betta fish, fancy guppies, dwarf frogs, red claw crabs or other small tropical fish.

The recycled aquariums are priced at $250, including U.S. shipping, and, of course, are offered in an assortment of fun colors: blue, aqua, white, smoke, red, flower power and blue dalmatian. International shipping is also available.

Have a broken iMac and feeling crafty? Harms now sells a $175 make-your-own-iMacquarium kit, complete with fish tank, hardware and video instructions, to help anyone recycle their old desktop into a distinctive home for your aquatic pets.

However, Harms recommends that DIYer’s have a professional remove and dispose of the cathode ray tube screen, which contains hazardous chemicals and thousands of volts of electricity.

Last year marked a new turning point in which Earth-friendly alternative-fuel and hybrid vehicles obtained major attention as well as an increasing market share. On surface of that, the AAA Great Battery Roundup accumulated more than 20,000 used vehicle electric batteries and disposed of all of them in an environmentally friendly manner.

But you don’t have to have old battery packs lying around or buy a different vehicle to shield the environment. According to AAA spokesperson Michael Calkins, you can make a meaningful contribution simply by adopting two easy-to-implement methods: regular vehicle upkeep and better driving behavior.

The following tips can place you on the road to environmentally friendly car care.

1. Maintain engine running at maximum performance in order to help save fuel. Perform regular automobile maintenance at the times recommended by your car’s manufacturer. Seek timely service if the “check engine” forewarning light remains illuminated on the dash. To locate a trustworthy repair center, ask friends for recommendations or research on www.aaa.com regarding AAA Approved Auto Repair facilities near you.
2. Check the pressure in your vehicle’s tires regularly. Under-inflated tires require your engine to operate harder and use more fuel to maintain a given velocity.
3. Have your vehicle’s air conditioning serviced only by technicians who are certified to properly handle and recycle automotive refrigerants. Older air cooling systems contain ozone-depleting chemical compounds that could be released into the atmosphere.
4. Some older vehicles use switches that contain highly harmful mercury to activate lid, trunk, and glove-box lights. Many organizations, together with a number of AAA clubs across the country, now host mercury “switch out” programs in which these environmentally hazardous parts are removed for recycling and replaced with nontoxic physical switches.
5. Avoid “jack rabbit” starts, sudden acceleration, as well as speeds above the published limits; all of these routines guzzle gas.
6. Properly get rid of engine fluids and battery packs. Call your local federal government waste management firm to find out how. Never ever dispose of fluids on the ground or in any fashion that might allow them to make their way into groundwater, waters, or streams.

Correct vehicle maintenance and also environmentally friendly driving behavior conserve natural resources, reduce exhaust by-products, and reward you with a vehicle which will last longer and be safe to drive. In other words, if you “go green,” planet earth wins, your car is victorious — and you are the biggest safe bet of all!