Green Wall for Summer Shade

I am building a green wall, aka "summer shading wall" about 30 inches from the house on the south end. Eventually the deciduous trees I'm planting nearby will grow up to shade that end of the house, but that will take a few years. In the meantime, I am putting up a trellis with 2 horizontal cattle panels, one on top of the other. Cattle panels are 16 feet long and 50" wide, which will cover most of that area. I plan to grow some flowering vines on it, but also some hardy (smaller, smooth-skinned edible) kiwi vines, and pole beans. I may consider putting some grape vines on it next year.

The south end of our house is narrow (the house was originally a single-wide trailer, with more house built around it). That end has no windows except one to the long front porch, but it absorbs a LOT of heat during the summer. I suspect there is scant insulation in the walls, and since it is the master bathroom, I'm not about to tear out everything (including all the plumbing and fixtures) down to the studs to fur out the walls and add adequate insulation. The foam insulation they can pipe into walls doesn't work very well if there is already minimal fiberglass insulation and/or fire-stops in the walls.

After having some sod removed for an adjacent food forest area and the post holes drilled, I started on the shade trellis. Photo above is the posts just stuck in the holes, awaiting some help to hold them plumb while I backfill. (The temporary opening in the skirting is for access where the plumber is replacing all the water pipes.)

Finally the posts are set, the area between the house and trellis has been covered with weedcloth and a heavy layer of wood chips on top, but only one horizontal cattle panel has been attached until I can get 2 people to hold it up while I hammer in some fence staples. That will happen before any vines grow that tall.


I ended up planting Japanese morning glories, 1 moonvine, Kentucky Wonder pole beans, Mexican sour gherkins and my 2 hardy kiwis along the base of the cattle panels. I cut a bunch of comfrey and sorrel leaves for a "chop and drop" fertilizing mulch, covered with some wood chips. 

The cattle panels don't cover the whole end wall... about 3 feet on each end will be exposed after it all grows and leafs out. I think I'll plant giant sunflowers along the ends for the summer, and transplant some Jerusalem Artichokes on the ends this fall.

I'll post another photo in a few weeks when stuff has grown up the trellis enough to see it.

The Ultimate Rocket Stove!

Yup, the Ultimate Rocket Stove... it cooks, AND it can charge your cell phone at the same time!

This stove is among the 18 Semi-Finalists in the 2012 Buckminster Fuller Challenge. 

BioLite is a biomass cookstove that converts waste heat into electricity, reduces smoke emissions by 95% for improved health. It also provides mobile phone and LED light charging capability.

Those are the HomeStove versions, above.

This is the CampStove version. 

These stoves power all USB-chargeable devices including smartphones, GPS, and LED lights. They light quickly and easily, burn sticks, pine cones and other biomass. The CampStove folds for portability and weighs just over 2 pounds.


How it Works

Open wood fires are inefficient, wasting potential energy and creating toxic smoke due to incomplete combustion. Carefully designed stoves that use fans to blow air into the fire can dramatically improve combustion. However, such stoves require small amounts of electricity to power their fans and most people who cook on wood are without grid or battery access. BioLite stoves solve this problem by converting a fraction of the fire’s thermal energy into electricity to power our combustion improvement system. Excess electricity is made available to users for charging small electronic devices such as mobile phones, LED lights, GPS and many others.

Dreams, Demons, and Feeling Adrift

If you have been following this blog for a while, you may know I have ongoing (lifelong) problems with my younger (by 9 years) half-sister, who co-owns this house, and was recently fired from her job. She has almost zero possibilities for another one between her age, and the local economy which is even worse than the national average. My concern is the effect this will have on the rest of my life.

My half-sister has problems that span most of her adult life and several marriages, but I thought she had finally grown up. We interacted very infrequently over the last 40+ years and we certainly are not friends, so choosing 5-6 years ago to pool our scant resources and share a house may have been a big mistake.

Another thought is that I finally realize I do not like it here very much, even though I share half the responsibility for the choice. Oh, don't get me wrong, I absolutely love these mountains... but I find myself living on the outside of a tight-knit (closed) community (just my local county, the town 30 miles away is quite different) with whom I seem to have very little in common. The other thing I dislike is any adequate shopping is 100+ miles away... including shopping for organic foods (beyond what my farmer's market has available during the season, which is no different than what I grow in my own garden).

Does that mean a move elsewhere? Frankly, m'dears... I haven't a clue, and I certainly have no money to do so! The demons are the "imagined" responsibilities for my sister and this house, my long-range plans / progression for the garden including my efforts over the last 5 years, and how I feel about the unwelcoming area where I live.

I long to be in a community where there are at least a few others who can the see the possibilities of what we can do towards sustainability... and healing our lovely blue planet.

Segue:
Several years ago during a meditation, I had a "vision" of a house for me. Not at all what I would have imagined, either. I have designed many houses for myself over the years, and actually built a few of them. THIS house was extraordinary... lots of curb appeal although funky, very organic, with a small ecological footprint, passive solar and other energy efficiencies, and based on the Fibonacci Spiral found in Nature.

Over years since then, I have relegated this house design to "only a dream" without knowing exactly why I did that. However, I DID buy some balsa modeling components 2 years ago, intending to build a scale model. Those pieces were still behind the seat in my truck last week. I really don't know why I haven't followed through (until now) with this project, but it was more than just an "I can't afford it" attitude. Must have been some lessons I still needed to learn. (Do the Lessons ever stop?)

At any rate, I have now cleared a space on my coffee table to finally start building a scale model... and wondering about what area would be a great location for building it. I'm thinking probably the NC mountains. My plan is an interdisciplinary plan that involves eye-candy, sustainable development, alternative energy (passive solar, green-building, solar cooling, solar chimneys, radiant floor heating), small, affordable houses, yada, yada... and on the outside, food forest farming (polyculture perennials) with the vegetation integral to how the house functions.

When this dream house first came to me, I contacted the Colorado engineer, Steve Kornher, who started Flying Concrete in Mexico, thinking that would be a perfect medium for this house. I was certain I could put together a summer project for engineering and architectural students, and get a grant to build it. Then Steve assured me that not only was he too busy, but his "flying concrete" would never pass US building codes. Sigh.

In my current frame of mind, I don't see myself living where I am now for more than another year or two, because I am excited about the possibilities of this dream house (even though I see no way to accomplish it). Of course, nothing is etched in stone, either.  I hate feeling adrift, like a ship without a rudder...

But finally, I am really excited that despite all the obstacles, there WILL be a way to build this house... I just have to believe!

Hot Potatoes under the Bedcovers

Photo from jcmedinas photostream

I'm sure we all have heard the stories of putting hot potatoes, a hot water bottle, or even heated bricks under the covers at the foot of the bed to warm our feet when going to bed in a cold room that was far, far away from the wood stove. Brrrrrrr!

I want to take that 'technology' a bit farther here and apply it to cooking. What happens with a solid heated object like potatoes or a brick (technically both are a heat source) wrapped in blankets is that the heat radiates out for a long time, heating whatever is nearby... in this case, feet. To the extent that it works is dependent on a couple of factors. 

One factor is the mass of the heated object: the greater the mass, the more heat it holds, at least initially. So, if you have 4 hot potatoes and your sister only has one... who will have warmer tootsies? Another factor is the insulation around the hot potato. If the covering blankets are just a layer or two of thin cotton, they will not insulate very well, nor for very long. Pretty soon your tootsies will be just as cold as the room. However, if the cover is a thick down comforter, the heat may last for hours, continuing to warm your tootsies the whole time.

Now, consider a pot of stew cooking on the stove... actually boiling. If you have kitchen duty, you would probably turn the heat down to a simmer, add a lid, and let the stew cook under very low heat for a few hours. In earlier days, you would need to add a bit of firewood from time to time to keep the heat going. Today we just pay for some additional BTU's to keep the pot warm, and those are being calculated (and rung up) by the meter outside, unseen for the most part but a cost nonetheless.

However, if you took that same boiling pot and put it under the down bed covers, it would continue to cook... for free! It might take longer to finish cooking, depending on how well insulated the bed covers are... but you get the idea.

Now take that concept of the hot pot under the bed covers just a step farther... Construct some sort of a box (cardboard will do as a start) with a lid and place it in the kitchen, but rather than using the bed covers, line the box and lid with some really good, thick insulating material... and then when the pot boils, place it in the immediately in the box. Turn off the stove, cover the pot with the insulated lid, and go about your business. Your stew will continue to cook!

In the early 1900's, merchants sold what they called "Fireless Cookers" with great monetary success... and those were nothing more than a well-insulated box of either wood or more often, pretty painted metal to hold a hot pot (or two side-by-side) for further cooking at low temperatures, without any additional source of heat.

Urban Haybox Photo from Eithin's Photostream; (Note heat reflection but lack of insulation)

Long before the 1900's, folks with limited cooking fuel used the same principle, lining boxes with hay they had on hand for insulation, and so they became known as a "Haybox". Hay is not the best insulation material we have available now, but it will still do in a pinch. Here's a page with more information on fireless cooking.

This same principle applies today in solar cookers; they work best with an insulating barrier to the air outside the container and box, which would otherwise wick away the heat. Counteracting that heat loss is usually accomplished by enclosing the air space around the cooker with insulation in the walls. The better the insulation, the less heat loss.

Photo from thoth on Flickr

You can use that same principle to cook a breakfast cereal grain overnight in a good vacuum thermos. Measure a portion of a cereal grain (I like steel-cut oats) into a wide mouth thermos bottle. Bring the appropriate amount of water and a pinch of salt to a hard boil and pour into the thermos just before bedtime. Screw the lid tight, shake a couple of times to mix the water and grain together well, and set aside until morning. It will be perfectly cooked when you awaken!

Note: Thermos vacuum bottles vary in how well they are insulated. The small stainless steel briefcase-size one I use to keep my coffee hot after making coffee in my glass Chemex drip coffee maker only keeps my coffee fairly hot for an hour or two. The Nissan Travel mug I carry in the car will keep my coffee steaming for several hours, or an iced drink cold (and often with ice intact) overnight.

If your vacuum thermos has thinner insulation like my briefcase thermos, you could wrap it in an insulating blanket (or even a thick towel) to keep more heat contained for overnight cooking. You'll just have to fiddle with what works best with what you have.

Photo from fr:Utilisateur:Nataraja

The oriental bento box, and the stackable food delivery boxes such as the one shown above and used by many cultures could accomplish much the same thing if they were insulated.

I can see endless opportunities to reduce my electric consumption by using fireless cooking. Something as simple as some dehydrated soup ingredients and boiling water placed in my thermos at breakfast time for my lunch...a pot of rice started at noon and placed in the haybox/fireless cooker (which I WILL I build soon) for my evening meal? A meat and vegetable stew?

It may take some trial and error to see what cooks best, and what design and insulation of a fireless cooker works best, and I think this might be a fun and challenging thing to do.

Earthing: Health Benefits of Going Barefoot

Photo Courtesy Dave Goodman's photostream

Science proves benefit of going barefoot! I know I always feel better when I've been barefoot out in the garden, but I didn't know there is some scientific validity to it.

I love being barefoot outside, working in the garden or the yard. I love the feel of the soil and grass beneath my feet. I love sticking my feet into the tumbling waters of my creek, and when I was a kid I loved splashing in the ocean. I suppose subconsciously I feel 'connected' when I do that, but frankly, I just never gave much conscious thought to it. I suppose you don't either.

Photo Courtesy ecnadniar's photostream

Then I came across "Earthing"... the interaction of the life-energy of the earth and the human system, and it all began to make sense. 

We all know about grounding electrical devices so they don't shock us, and most of us have experienced the shock of walking across a carpet on a low-humidity day and then touching something metal like the doorknob, and getting a shock... or getting zapped in winter just by touching the car door as we exit the car. But even when no sparks are jumping, there is still a high voltage between our bodies and the ground, and our body is surrounded with an invisible electric field.

If you think about it, we are surrounded by electricity in many forms. Electromagnetic fields are all around us... microwaves, radio waves, portable phones, cell phones, computers, fluorescent lights, even the crackling during an electrical storm scatters electricity. We are constantly bombarded by voltage-induced inflammatory stress our grandfathers would never have imagined.

 

Our houses are grounded by a bare copper wire from every electrical outlet that runs back through the electric panel which is connected to a long metal conducting rod driven into the earth to discharge (ground) that build-up of electrical current (free radicals). Technically, that ground rod discharges the positively-charged, electron-seeking free radicals into the earth where they are neutralized by negatively-charged electrons. Free radicals (+) are constantly seeking electrons (-) to which they can attach themselves. Everything strives to be in balance!

When we touch the earth with our bare feet, the same thing happens... we discharge the electrical current that has built up in our bodies. Even though we are not visibly 'plugged-in' to any electrical source, our bodies run largely off of bio-electricity, and we have organs dedicated to sensing electromagnetic impulses, both inside and outside the body. The pineal and pituitary glands are both directly tied to the body's ability to sense and actively experience electromagnetic phenomenon.

Our nervous system is based entirely on the ability to transmit electric pulses. Every cell within the human body pumps ions in and out of the cell for energy purposes (this is called the Sodium-Potassium pump, and can be found in all animal life).

Do you remember how wonderful it feels outside after a big storm has passed by? That's because of all the negative ions in the air (which help discharge our build-up of positively-charged free radical ions). Unfortunately, it doesn't last very long. Sigh.

"Recent scientific innovations have discovered that the [rubber] shoe sole completely blocks all the free electrons that shield and nourish the entire earth. When you step outside barefoot, especially when you step onto stone, you are encompassed at the speed of light with free electrons that the earth just gives you – all day, every day – all night, every night – forever. As soon as we put this (the shoe) on, it’s gone – totally gone. We are insulated. 

Recent scientific advances have discovered the following…that circadian rhythm problems, hormonal disorders, cortisol disorders, heart rate variability problems are all related to wearing shoes. That’s right – meaning the arthritis, the inflammation, the herpes, the hepatitis, the autoimmune conditions are intimately related to wearing shoes. This may be the most destructive device ever created by humankind.”  (source)

There's a great photo by Dr. Stephen Sinatra the 'source' link just above, showing blood cells before and after Earthing. Before, the cells show massive clumping and irregularity... and 40 minutes later they show relatively uniform and symmetrical cell disbursement. I highly recommend reading the whole article, where the health benefits I haven't mentioned here are fully discussed.

There's far more to Earthing than "just" the exchange of ions when we go barefoot. The Earth is a living organism, capable of healing us, and itself. All our 'medicines' come from the Earth in some form... originally from plants (including medicinal herbs) and more currently, from chemicals. But those chemicals didn't come on a shuttle from outer space. Nothing we ever touch came from outside the Earth, except maybe a meteor fragment.

We have isolated ourselves, our foods and our medicines, from the source. Real Food Heals. The Earth Heals. Time to go barefoot again and re-connect with all that healing energy and keep eating Real Food!

Iron and Energy

Liver and Onions Photo by Jannie-Jan's photostream, used by permission

Energy. Ahhhh, wouldn't we all like to have more energy and feel better? Iron increases our energy levels by helping the red blood cells carry more oxygen to our muscles. Iron has some other benefits, too. It is anti cancer; it helps reduce insomnia and improve restful sleep, and it helps our immune system.

We all know we need iron in the body, and we hear everywhere that we get enough iron in our foods and don't need to take iron supplements unless a doctor prescribes iron for anemia.

Yes, that's more or less true. However, absorbing the iron in our foods is another matter, making it sometimes difficult to actually get enough iron. Iron is the central atom the heme group, a metal complex that binds molecular oxygen (O2) in the lungs and carries it to all of the other cells in the body (like the muscles) that need oxygen to perform their activities.

Good sources of easily absorbed iron are oysters, mussels, sardines, salmon, tuna, lean red meats, organ meats and eggs (especially the yolks). The more difficult to absorb iron (non-heme iron) is found in whole grains, legumes, and green vegetables like broccoli, spinach and collards, all still a good source of dietary iron.

Some things decrease iron absorption. Commercial black and pekoe teas contain substances that bind to iron so that we cannot absorb it. Coffee has a similar effect.

On the other hand, foods high in Vitamin C in a meal help us absorb iron. Include some in your meals. Also, if you mix some lean meat, fish or poultry with vegetable sources (beans and/or dark green leafy vegetables) at a meal, you can increase the absorption of iron from the vegetable sources by as much as three times!

I grew up loving liver and onions. The last time I ate liver and onions was a few years ago, while having lunch with a cousin at a Shoney's. He said, "I make it a point not to eat filters." His point was well taken considering today's massive containment feedlots and liver's function as a filter, so I no longer eat commercial liver.

Some Renewable Energy Projects Funded, finally!

Installing Solar Panels at Wayne National Forest, photo by US Forest Service

The U.S. government has awarded $550 million in grants for renewable energy projects, which will double the amount of stimulus money heading toward green energy over the next few years. The move signals an encouraging commitment to a clean energy future, which will help to combat climate change and create greatly needed green jobs.

The grants will be given in cash to companies, instead of tax credits in order to provide an reimbursement to solar, wind, biomass and other renewable energy production facilities.

Projects already underway include the Wayne National Forest installation, which was given $400,000 to add 250 additional solar panels to a facility that already had 50 previously installed. The Solar Expansion Project is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

Selling an Idea

Sometime back in my career days, I was in a workshop and this example about selling an idea came up. The tale (back in the days of the Cold War) goes like this:

The Russians and the Americans met at a bargaining table. The Russians put their demands on the table, and the Americans became indignant saying, "No Way"... and walked out.

A year later they met again, and the Russians put the same demands on the table. The Americans refused them, and left.

Six months later, they met yet again. The Russians put the same demands on the table, and after some consultations, the Americans agreed to think about it.

The point? When we first hear something that seems unacceptable, we dismiss it. When we keep hearing it over and over, we become more used to the idea. Eventually we come to believe it.

Keep that thought in mind as you hear glowing reports on the news; carefully re-check the reality around you for comparison. Are houses selling in your neighborhood? Are folks finding jobs again? Are your banks lending?

Shell Game?

I awakened this morning wondering about my ability to understand English even though it is my native tongue and I am fairly well educated. I read, and/or listen to the news at least daily, and usually more than once a day. And I wonder what they are really saying... and not saying.

Remember the old shell game? We all knew it looked easy, and we all believed surely anyone and everyone could pay attention and figure it out to 'win'. No one ever did, except the 'shill' who was part of the set-up. The 'mark' got suckered every time.

I'm beginning to feel that way about the news, whether it's bank bailouts, automotive industry bailouts, pros and cons of health care reform, insurance and pharmacuetical government influence/manipulation/control, true figures on the unemployed, multi-million dollar bonuses, ponzi schemes, global warming, peak oil...

I'm sure there is a shell game going on, and even with the English I understand, I can't seem to figure it out.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly...

The Good: Nissan unveils its electric car, the Leaf

The Bad: US Marshals seize sanitizer for bacteria problems

"The FDA is committed to taking enforcement action against firms that do not manufacture drugs in accordance with our current good manufacturing practice requirements," said Deborah M. Autor, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Office of Compliance.

My question is whether this seizure was the FDA showing the control it gained by last week's legislation, or were there really some health problems caused by the products?

The Ugly: There were 2 news items about the US Economy online yesterday (Sunday) afternoon… each contradicting the other. It gets really ugly to my mind when we can no longer trust the media, or when officials on the same team don’t speak the same truth…

One headline says, "Obama Officials: End of Recession is Near" (FOXNews) “The word in Washington Sunday is that the economic train is emerging from the tunnel of recession…”

The other headline says, “Obama officials eye more jobless aid, weigh taxes” WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top US officials said on Sunday more steps may be needed to firm up economic recovery -- including extended jobless benefits -- and declined to rule out future tax increases to tame massive budget deficits.

Raleigh turns to flower power, solar power

CreativeCommons License by susteph

The Public Utilities Department of Raleigh, N.C., has planted about 50 acres of sunflowers to harvest the seeds for oil. The oil will be processed to produce biodiesel. Department officials hope the biodiesel could then be used to operate the city’s farm equipment.

Photo by the U.S. Forest Service

The city is also leasing 10 acres of land near the treatment plant to Southern Energy Management and NxGen Power to install solar panels that will generate the equivalent amount of electricity used by 200 homes a year, reports The News Observer. (Hey, it's a start!!)

NC is my home state, and I'm always pleased to see positive moves towards sustainable energy practices! This announcement comes with great timing too, just after my post about algae producing biofuels.

Incandescent Bulb Dies at Age 129

OBITUARY: Born to Thomas Edison in 1880, Incandescent Bulb was killed in its sleep May 1st, 2009 by its godfather, General Electric. Incandescent leaves an illuminating legacy through his two children: CFL and LED. After over a century of inefficiency, and shamed by the cost-savings of his children, he was no longer welcome in most American homes or even in a Wal-Mart.

GE finally pulled the plug on all development of incandescent bulbs. They will focus all research on light emitting diode (LED) bulbs and the organic light emitting diode (OLED), which use a small fraction of the energy of an old-school incandescent.

OLEDs typically emit less light per area than inorganic solid-state based LEDs which are usually designed for use as point-light sources.

A significant benefit of OLED displays over traditional liquid crystal displays (LCDs) is that OLEDs do not require a backlight to function. Thus they draw far less power and, when powered from a battery, can operate longer on the same charge. Because there is no need for a backlight, an OLED display can be much thinner than an LCD panel. Rapid degradation of OLED materials has limited their use so far.

In 129 years the incandescent bulb hadn’t changed much. Recently, many began referring to them as “heaters” rather than “light bulbs” since 95% of the their energy consumption was converted to heat and only 5% remained for light.

Thanks to Matt @ http://www.greenovation.tv/ for most of this information, presented here for educational purposes.