Globally Green Living

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers out there! I have been hanging out at Mother Earth News and they have a fantastic list of DIY projects. I’m so big on DIY projects that sometimes my husband gets upset with me because I often don’t ask him for help.

There are times though that you find things that you have to act immediately on or they will be gone so sometimes I drag home treasures I find on the street. Sometimes I’m just too impatient to wait until he has time.

Make your own paint

I love to paint and adding a little color helps brighten up and personalize your home. When you do it yourself there’s a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment that you don’t get if you hire someone else to do it either.

At Mother Earth News, they show us how we can make our own paint. Bill Steen breaks it down for us with three different recipes for paint using flour, oil or casein (milk). I realize this is not what many of you want to do on Mother’s Day but its still fun to read about and plan. See the article Make Safe Natural Paint for more.

Build your own food dehydrator

My mom and dad did this years ago and mom was on quite the kick and dehydrated just about everything. I love dried fruit though and it does make sense to have some food that you’re not depending on electricity to store. Of course, you could can things as well but canning everything gets kind of old. See Build a Solar Food Dehydrator.

Today the only DIY project I’m working on is my little vegetable garden but I am looking forward to giving the flour paint a go. First I’ll test the paint in my office since it’s a small space and it needs brightened up and cleaned anyway. Then I’m probably going to read one of the many books I have been putting off for no good reason. I have a couple new beautiful coffee cups from the kids that I’m also going to put to good use. Whatever you do this Mother’s Day, enjoy it because you deserve it.

Things are finally warming up here which means I can plant some vegetables soon. So far I have some chives and basil that bounced back from last year.

The basil is particularly tough and I saw the healthy green sprouts trying to burst through the snow several times. Here’s a pic of it growing all sideways.

Herbs and spices can turn almost any bland food into something more exciting and tasty. Shelly has an interesting post up on Earthly Eating about the medicinal properties of some herbs and includes a yummy recipe.

This year I plan to expand my garden but need to recruit a couple guys to dig it up for me since the last time I gave that a go on my own, I almost snapped my back. Last year the tomatoes and zucchinis were successful but some of my jalapeño peppers shriveled up.

The food crisis hasn’t hit us with higher prices but it’s predicted that it will. We can’t grow wheat or rice to supply our family with but potatoes, onions, carrots and cabbage are some things that grow well here. We have raspberries coming but animals kept jumping on my strawberry plants last year. I’m hesitant to try them again because it was discouraging. Does anyone have any hints on keeping critters away from strawberries? If so, do share.

I bought a book on gardening in small spaces and it was a little disappointing because it mostly focused on making it look pretty.

Thankfully we do have the internet and there are plenty of people offering their practical advice, experience and encouragement to help us grow our own harvest.

Anais from Path to Freedom has started a Back to Basics Challenge encouraging us to preserve our harvest by canning, freezing, drying and more.

Back in January Anais started the 100 Foot Diet Challenge. I wasn’t aware of it back then but I’m on it now. The challenge is simply to create a meal at least once a week with homegrown food. It’s a great way to improve your nutrition, become more self sufficient and decrease your carbon foot print.

The featured videos today are Elton John’s Believe and Blessed. They got me thinking about future generations who we will never meet but care enough about to want to protect.

Elton John started the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992 after getting frustrated at the lack of help many people with AIDS were getting. So far, they have helped fund over 100 million dollars towards the fight against AIDS in 55 different countries.

Prevention programs are helping thousands including poor people, drug users, gay men and some who have just been released from prison. Without access to proper health care, condoms, clean needles and safe water, many are left vulnerable and risk passing down AIDS to another generation.

There is still a lot of discrimination and ignorance when it comes to AIDS but when people like Elton John step up to the plate more people might feel better about and/or be able to reach out for help. Anyone can get AIDS including women and children but it’s been so stigmatized some are still ashamed to come forward since they might be ostracized.

Believe Lyrics:

I believe in love, it’s all we got
Love has no boundaries, costs nothing to touch
War makes money, cancer sleeps
Curled up in my father and that means something to me
Churches and dictators, politics and papers
Everything crumbles sooner or later
But love, I believe in love

I believe in love, it’s all we got
Love has no boundaries, no borders to cross
Love is simple, hate breeds
Those who think difference is the child of disease
Father and son make love and guns
Families together kill someone
Without love, I believe in love

Without love I wouldn’t believe
In anything that lives and breathes
Without love I’d have no anger
I wouldn’t believe in the right to stand here
Without love I wouldn’t believe
I couldn’t believe in you
And I wouldn’t believe in me
Without love

I believe in love
I believe in love
I believe in love

Blessed Lyrics:

Hey you, you’re a child in my head
You haven’t walked yet
Your first words have yet to be said
But I swear you’ll be blessed

I know you’re still just a dream
your eyes might be green
Or the bluest that I’ve ever seen
Anyway you’ll be blessed

And you, you’ll be blessed
You’ll have the best
I promise you that
I’ll pick a star from the sky
Pull your name from a hat
I promise you that, promise you that, promise you that
You’ll be blessed

I need you before I’m too old
To have and to hold
To walk with you and watch you grow
And know that you’re blessed

Sarah Ratty designs the earthy, ethical and environmentally conscious line of clothing Ciel. It’s so hip it has been a hit with celebrities such as Cate Blanchett and Sienna Miller.

I love their sexy yet comfy lingerie such as boy shorts and camisole vest combo. They would be perfect for lounging around in on a hot day.

The Natural Collection has some pretty pieces too such as their organic cotton cherub underwear set.

They’re fairly traded as well so you can respect and help people, take better care of the earth and still look good.

The wackiest, yet one of the more innovative bras I came across is this Japanese bra and bag combo by Triumph International Japan.

It’s called the “No shopping bag bra” or the “No reji-jukuro bra”. Triumph has designed quite a few eco-themed bras so check out their website when you get a chance. There are a couple guys on there modeling underwear as well. They look good but not sure how friendly they are.

The excess fabric acts as padding for the bra. It could be tricky undressing and shopping at the same time but it would make for a good back up bag in a pinch anyway.

It’s meant to cut down on plastic bags and is made out of polyester fiber from recycled plastic bottles, which is surprisingly soft.

“Each year, Japanese shoppers receive an estimated 30 billion plastic shopping bags, which, in terms of the oil resources needed to produce them, amounts to two giant tankers full of oil (millions of barrels).” See Eco-friendly bra doubles as shopping bag on Pink Tentacle’s blog for more.

Riots are breaking out because of rising food prices and shortages on common staples such as rice, wheat, soy and corn. Millions are left vulnerable to be plunged further into poverty.

Countries that are dependent on imported food are in a worse position and likely to be hit harder.

“Haiti is the latest country to experience unrest related to soaring food and fuel prices (others include: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Mozambique and Senegal).” (WFP calls for funds to curb more unrest in Haiti)

Experts researched and released a report for the UN calling for major changes in agriculture.

Unesco recommendations included using more organic, local and sustainable farming methods worldwide. See UN Calls for Farming Revolution, BBC News for more information and to see an executive summary of the report.

Although some land has already been stripped, if combinations of plants are grown or more crops are rotated, it will help prevent further environmental damage.

The food crisis has understandably panicked many people but it has also led to restrictions on exporting and hoarding which is making the situation worse.

Other Causes of increased prices and food shortages

• The world’s population growth has led to more people eating meat, which also requires growing more crops to feed these animals.

• There has been a bigger demand for ethanol as well so more corn is being diverted for that purpose. Unfortunately, this has contributed to the food shortage as many predicted it would.

• Climate change and water shortages affect crops as well. When the rain doesn’t come or starts late and ends early, there is less food and/or ruined crops. Too much rain and melting snow leads to flooding which is just as devastating as drought for farmers.

All of this can leave many of us feeling helpless. If you’re looking for a way to help hungry people and haven’t tried the free rice vocabulary game, check it out and learn some new words at the same time. For each word that you get right, 20 grains of rice are donated through the UN World Food Program.

The video featured today is Live Let Live performed by Brian Wilson with gorgeous clips of Arctic animals from the movie Arctic Tale. Narrated by Queen Latifah, it includes the characters Nanu the polar bear, Seela the walrus and the struggle to survive in their melting world.

The walrus is an endangered mammal that can live up to 40 years old and weigh up to 1.5 tons (1.4 metric tons). They’re built to live in the cold and their blubber helps insulate them, while their tusks help them either latch onto or break the ice. (National Geographic’s Walrus Profile)

Polar bears are mammals that are insulated with a layer of fat that helps them withstand extremely cold weather.

Their webbed feet help make them strong swimmers. They can live up to 30 years old and weigh up to 1,600 lbs (720 kg). See National Geographic’s polar bear profile for more.

Ice disappearing is a definite problem for both of these animals. Polar bears can’t hunt seals or rest if there’s no ice. The walrus and seal have nowhere to rest or eat so their survival is at stake. Whether the polar bear would be able to adapt on land is not clear but they have already clashed with humans when in close proximity so coming to land more will only increase conflicts.

Live Let Live Lyrics

Are the we enemy living the memory
Grandly gambling
With our hand on the lifeline
Ghost of coastlines
You are hanging on time

Every last breath that you have left
Touched by the hand of the man
Brave riding the wave
Those we can save

Live let live
Not die

You think our tears are the only ones here
And its plain you see through
All my self expectation
Most like Moses when he parted the sea

There is a roar coming from shore
Cracking a glacier no more
When there was life
They would implore

Live let live
Not die

My heart beats so fast
(Heart beat, heart beat, heart beat)
My heart beats so fast
(Heart beat, heart beat, heart beat)
Makes one wonder all right
Breaking of ice at such a price
Time for some kindly advice

Polarization the talk of the nation
Explain to me why
Hearts are turning to warming
Painful games with thunder raining a warning

There is a roar coming from shore
Fussing and fighting and war
We have so much peace we should explore

Live let live let
Love is what living is for

Your heart beats with mine
(Heart beat, heart beat, heart beat)
Our hearts beat in time
(Heart beat, heart beat, heart beat)
Be true creatures of grace
Need over ice their paradise
Let them survive our embrace
(Brian Wilson Tracks)

I have been on a craft kick and made some raspberry votive soy candles today. Soy wax is better for the environment, much easier to clean and is virtually soot free. Another bonus is that you don’t get a sink hole so don’t have to bother with a second pour of wax.

In celebration of Earth Day Michelle Kaufman offers us these instructional earth friendly DIY projects. This one shows how to make eco-candles with beeswax or soy wax with great ideas on reusing containers for them.

Here’s another DIY project on how to make a bird house or feeder out of disposable chopsticks with this instructional video. Great idea and very attractive too. You seem to need a lot of chopsticks but I guess if you use them you would have them around. I would have better luck doing the same sort of thing with Popsicle sticks collected during the summer. I want to reuse what I have when I can and not consume more but I still think it’s a great project that can be adapted.

Thanks to Peggy from Junk Creation I came across a post about making art from recycled items such as this colorful gecko from old magazines. We have been celebrating Earth day since the weekend and our yard is going to be very clean but if we put all the stuff in the trash, it’s not helping the environment much.

At Bead For Life women in Uganda make beautiful beads from recycled paper. This not only helps the earth but also enables people to get out of poverty by giving them a fair wage for their work. I bought a few bracelets at Xmas and they’re only five dollars so you could collect all the colors for a very pretty effect. I would like to learn how to make the beads myself because we have pile ups of magazines around here.

At Ten Thousand Villages there are many creations made out of recycled paper and magazines. These coasters are made by women in a co-op from the Philippines and this coiled bowl is made from recycled paper by Vietnamese artisans.

DIY magazine project instructions and ideas

• Henrietta’s Handbags offers free instructions on how to make a purse out of recycled magazines.

• At Craftzine, learn how to make these recycled magazine boxes. They’re very cheerful looking and could be used to store pictures, buttons, crafts, crayons and more.

• At A Little Hut, Patricia shows us step by step how she made her bowl from old magazines and glue.

• At PattyWack.com there’s a craft project called fun magazine roll ups that shows us how to decorate containers with rolled up magazines.

• To learn how to make your own beautiful beads, see Paper Bead Crafts, Paper University’s paper beads tutorial, and the easy shiny paper beads from Kaboose.

Happy Earth day all! We kept busy puttering around cleaning our neighborhood in the afternoon.

In the morning a friend and I hit a used bookstore and got a whole box of books for five dollars! I grabbed a bit of everything including an Indian cookbook, climate change, crafts, personal development, organic gardening and gardening in small spaces. A few fiction novels for fun too of course.

My mom was telling me today about this hardy grass seed she bought called Eco-Lawn and she is really excited about it. It’s low maintenance and does not require frequent watering or pesticides. It’s comprised of seven different grasses but the percentage formula is a secret. You can only buy it in 5 or 50lb bags, which seems a bit of a jump. It sounds like it will be much easier on my mother anyway so hope it works out.

• Saturday’s earth song video is Imagine by John Lennon with photos from National Geographic, thanks to Stone9kung from Youtube.

Imagine there’s no Heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

How about making a pledge on Earth Day? Here are some ideas to start with so we can take better care of the earth long term.

• Turn the water off when not needed such as in between brushing your teeth or shaving. Take shorter showers.

• Turn your lights and computers off when not in use to conserve energy.

• Recycle your cans, plastic and paper and teach your family how to do the same.

• Walk, bike, ride the bus or carpool when possible.

Here are some Earth Day events from around the world.

• In Thailand, an earth day celebration called 100,000 Monks is taking place. It will include mass meditation, ceremonies and fireworks.

In Houston Texas, celebrate Earth day at the Houston Zoo on Saturday April 19^th . Their party for the planet will include plenty of fun conservation activities. Jamba Juice is offering discounts to the zoo for Earth day.

• In Fort Lauderdale Florida, learn how to go green with educational activities at Earth Day in the Park.

In Toronto, Ontario Earth Day celebrations are on at DowsviewPark where they will be planting 2,000 trees and demonstrating how to reuse and recycle, making birdhouses, creating crafts and more. Admission is free.

• At KW Now you can find out what’s going on in the Kitchener Waterloo area on Earth Day.

For further listings around the world, see EnviroLink’s Earth Day 2008 Calendar.

Earth Day at Home

If you’re looking for fun activities to do with your children, check out Kaboose and their fun Earth Day Crafts. Kaboose also has free fun online Earth Day games the whole family can play.

Want some more help or ideas for Earth day?

See PlanetPalsPages for resources and here are 10 Community Conservation Ideas for organizing neighborhood events.

What’s going on in your area? Have any ideas or events you would like to add?

Here are some beautiful pictures of wild animals I found to share with you. I hope you’re all enjoying your Sunday and getting some down time. Music is by Steppenwolf and the tune is “Born to be Wild“. The video was made by candlelitdreamz on YouTube.

Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Lookin’ for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Yeah Good I gonna make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space

I like smoke and lightning
Heavy metal thunder
Racin’ with the wind
And the feelin’ that I’m under
Yeah God I gonna make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space

Like a true nature’s child
We were born, born to be wild
We can climb so high
I never wanna die

Born to be wild
Born to be wild

Green roofs are beneficial to the environment in several ways.

They save on energy because they provide insulation keeping it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. You can save up to 75% from cooling costs and 25% from heating.

Some think that green roofs would leak but they are less likely to because they filter rainwater. Because of the added insulation, they also protect the roof much longer and can last over 50 years as opposed to traditional roofs that need replaced much more frequently. Other benefits of green roofs are that they help filter pollution and reduce noise.

• Supplying a green space on your roof also creates more oxygen for people and supplies an urban oasis for birds, bees and butterflies.

Green Garage specializes in building green roofs in Toronto, Ontario. Toronto has a Green Roof Incentive Program and provides grants to homeowners who install green roofs. To see an example of a green roof installation, check out this Green Roof Panel Installation Video.

I liked the idea of recycling old aluminum lawn chairs by reweaving them with seatbelts. You can find seatbelts in various colors, make several, and have some colorful practical lawn chairs. See Wastelands of Suburbia for more on the seatbelt lawn chair.

• At Trendhunter there’s an eco-friendly lawn couch that requires you to fill the frame with soil and grow grass on it to shape it out. This would be a lot of fun for the family because they could help maintain it with ongoing watering. It would require some trimming though if you wanted it to maintain it’s shape.

• Eco Street has a post with several DIY lawn chair projects. There’s a video showing you how to make a chair out of an old shopping cart, a tractor seat chair and an octopus chair made from some stuffed old jeans. Although stealing shopping carts is not advised, it’s is a wonderful way to recycle old ones that were heading to the landfill anyway.

How about a hammock? Here’s the Ultimate Hammock from the lifestyle company Gaiam. It’s made out of recycled plastic bottles.

Gaiam also sells these fun wine barrel chairs made out of recycled wine barrels. I love the rustic simple design.

If you want something a little more comfortable, there’s a recycled wrought iron chair with a cushion.

It would go great along with a recycled iron bistro table. These chairs would be easy to fold and store as well. That’s a bonus, especially if you need a bunch of chairs only occasionally.

I watched a few videos with wolves today but this “Dance With Wolves” was my favorite. The clips are beautiful and the wolves look happy and free.

• Wolves have become a symbol of wildlife, nature and the health of an eco-system. Although seen as a threat, wolves are often in fact threatened. To read more see my article Wolves Sign of Healthy Eco-System.

The video featured today was made by PicolloVegeta on YouTube and features the song Mummers Dance by Loreena McKennitt.

When in the springtime of the year
When the trees are crowned with leaves
When the ash and oak, and the birch and yew
Are dressed in ribbons fair

When owls call the breathless moon
In the blue veil of the night
The shadows of the trees appear
Amidst the lantern light

We’ve been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
we bring a garland gay

Who will go down to those shady groves
And summon the shadows there
And tie a ribbon on those sheltering arms
In the springtime of the year

The songs of birds seem to fill the wood
That when the fiddler plays
All their voices can be heard
Long past their woodland days

We’ve been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
we bring a garland gay

And so they linked their hands and danced
Round in circles and in rows
And so the journey of the night descends
When all the shades are gone

A garland gay we bring you here
And at your door we stand
It is a sprout well budded out
The work of Our Lord’s hand

We’ve been rambling all the night
And some time of this day
Now returning back again
we bring a garland gay

After a ban the bulb campaign, Argentina has joined ten other countries in their commitment to increase the use of efficient lighting.

All these little lightbulbs can make a large difference and switching to CFLs helps the environment and saves money.

There are dimmable CFLs out now too, which I was happy to hear since you don’t always want bright light shining in your face and they save even more energy.

While CFLs seem more expensive, they actually end up saving you money because they usually last for several years.

Here is a list of countries that are banning incandescent light bulbs or are working towards that goal.

• Ireland by early 2009

• Australia by 2010

• Argentina by 2010

• Italy by 2010

• France announced by 2010 but no further details

• UK by 2011 via voluntary retailer agreements

• Netherlands by 2011 voluntarily

• Canada by 2012

• US by 2014

• China in 2017

• Cuba providing free CFLs

• Venezuela providing free CFLs

• Brazil subsidizes CFLs

• Russia has begun a marketplace initiative

• Belgium announced a ban but no further details

• Japan considering ban

• New Zealand considering ban

(See GreenPeace Argentina to ban the bulb, March 14, 2008 for more)

Want more ideas on how to save energy and money?

• Consider energy efficient appliances and unplugging things that are not in use. See Vampire Power – Wasted Standby Power in Home Electronics and Appliances at Grinning Planet.

• Watch the video from Money Talks reporter Stacy Johnson who fills us in on energy efficiency and simple energy saving tips.