Category Archives for "Eco-Products"

0 Minimalism and Sustainability

Kind of Obvious

I have been a committed minimalist for many years, not the bare wall type minimalist but one that battels to eliminate clutter. I’m currently doing a huge purge of my home and I keep thinking about all the connections between sustainability and minimalism.

The relationship between the two is kind of obvious but envisioning it, thinking about it, and discussing it, can encourage us to adopt a simpler more elegant lifestyle.

Interconnected

Minimalism and sustainability are two concepts that, at first glance, may not seem directly related. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that these two lifestyles are deeply interconnected and that embracing one can greatly enhance the benefits of the other.

Sustainable living, also known as green living, is the practice of living in a way that is friendly to the environment and reduces one’s ecological footprint. This can take many forms, such as reducing power and water consumption, reducing waste, and choosing environmentally friendly products. Minimalism, on the other hand, is the practice of simplifying one’s life by getting rid of unnecessary possessions and focusing on what truly matters.

0 Vertical Farming Systems: The Future of Agriculture

Vertical Farming Systems

Grow Up

In the next 30 to 40 years, 10 billion humans will have to feed themselves on less water, less land and expensive distribution systems. The challenges of feeding our world requires more efficient ways of growing healthy food. Fortunately, although farming is an old industry its a an innovative one. Get ready for the next generation of farming, vertical farming.

Historical Precursors to the Modern Indoor Vertical Farm

Although vertical farming is something that sounds new, technically its not. Babylon is one of the early pioneers of agricultural technologies. The hanging garden was built almost 3,000 years ago…

0 How to Install a Bidet Attachment – Its Easy and Affordable

Most likely if you are reading this post you are already familiar with the advantages of using a bidet but in case you are new to the world of bidets, I want to quickly cover the benefits of bidets.

Bidets use less water and almost eliminate the need for toilet paper.
According to the website, Treehugger.com producing one roll of toilet paper requires 1.5 pounds of wood, 37 gallons of water, and 1.3 kWh of electricity. By eliminating toilet paper, a bidet attachment pays for itself in very short order.

Bidets are more hygienic than toilet paper. It has been found that the use of a bidet decreases the level of microbes…

0 Environmental Hypocrisy: Are We Doomed?

Hypocrisy 101

In a local paper, the Willamette Week, I first came across the idea of environmental hypocrisy back in 2019 in one of their columns by Mr. Know.

The article is short but puts forth some observations that require thoughtful consideration and meaningful action
In the article, a reader asks Mr. Know:
“The Port of Portland is expanding PDX’s flight capacity with nary a whisper about the pollution those extra flights will generate. Shouldn’t we worry less about bike lanes and more about willy-nilly jetting around the globe?”

Mr. Know responds by saying that the reader has indeed identified why we are “all doomed.”

Environmental hypocrisy: “People will follow their environmental conscience unless it requires giving up something they really want.” ~Mr. Know

Suppose I offer you a round trip two-week vacation to a faraway exotic location, and you know that the plane trip will dump excessive emissions into the environment thus affecting climate change. Would you turn down my offer? It’s highly probable you…

0 19 Tips on How to Stay Warm in Winter Without Spending a Fortune, While Also Saving Our Planet.

A friend told me he thought my 70°F home heating setpoint was “way too high, and that all of us should be more like the rest of the world and turn our thermostats down”, in order to be more responsible to our pocketbooks. Claiming his home was more eco friendly than mine.

I shared with him we drop the temperature down to 62°F at night during the winter on a programmable schedule, but he would cut me no lack on my 70°F daytime setpoint.

Let alone that our homes are empty much of the time between work/school schedules so even room temperatures like 68°F are too high most of the time.

Yes, your electric bill and gas utility bill will be much lower when you lower your winter setpoint.