as from Oct.16, 2013
 |
|
|
|
|
| |
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
10 Keys for Happier Living "We all want to be happy. "
| |||
| |||
|
How to Design Our Neighborhoods for Happiness
 | Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. ---Helen Keller- |
How to Design Our Neighborhoods for Happiness
--by Jay Walljasper, syndicated from Yes Magazine, Oct 15, 2013
Biology is destiny, declared Sigmund Freud.
But if Freud were around today, he might say "design is destiny"—especially after taking a stroll through most modern cities.
The way we design our communities plays a huge role in how we experience our lives. Neighborhoods built without sidewalks, for instance, mean that people walk less and therefore enjoy fewer spontaneous encounters, which is what instills a spirit of community to a place. A neighborly sense of the commons is missing.
You don't have to be a therapist to realize that this creates lasting psychological effects. It thwarts the connections between people that encourage us to congregate, cooperate, and work for the common good. We retreat into ever more privatized existences.
Of course, this is no startling revelation. Over the past 40 years, the shrinking sense of community across America has been widely discussed, and many proposals outlined about how to bring us back together.
One of the notable solutions being put into practice to combat this problem is New Urbanism, an architectural movement to build new communities (and revitalize existing ones) by maximizing opportunities for social exchange: public plazas, front porches, corner stores, coffee shops, neighborhood schools, narrow streets, and, yes, sidewalks.
But while New Urbanism is making strides at the level of the neighborhood, we still spend most of our time at home, which today means seeing no one other than our nuclear family. How could we widen that circle just a bit? Cooperative living and cohousing communities are gaining popularity, especially among young people. Yet, millions more people are looking for more informal arrangements with neighbors, where they share more than a property line.
That's an idea Seattle-area architect Ross Chapin has explored for many years, and now showcases in an inspiring book: Pocket Neighborhoods: Creating a Small-Scale Community in a Large-Scale World.
He believes that groupings of four to twelve households make an ideal community "where meaningful 'neighborly' relationships are fostered." But even here, design shapes our destiny. Chapin explains that strong connections between neighbors develop most fully and organically when everyone shares some "common ground."
That can be a semi-public space, as in the pocket neighborhoods Chapin designs in the Seattle area. In the book's bright photographs, they look like grassy patches of paradise, where kids scamper, flowers bloom, and neighbors stop to chat.
But Chapin points out these commons can take many different forms—an apartment building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a shared backyard; a group of neighbors in Oakland who tore down their backyard fences to create a commons; a block in Baltimore that turned their alley into a public commons; or the residential pedestrian streets found in Manhattan Beach, California, and all around Europe.
The benefits of a living in such a community go farther than you might imagine. I lived in one while in graduate school, a rundown 1886 row house with a common courtyard near the University of Minnesota campus. At no other time in my life have I become such close friends with my neighbors. We shared impromptu afternoon conversations at the picnic table and parties that went into the early hours of the morning under Italian lights we strung from the trees.
When the property was sold to a speculator who jacked up the rents to raise capital for the eventual demolition of the building, we organized a rent strike. And we won, which would never have happened if we had not already forged strong bonds with each other. Because the judge ruled that the landlord could not raise our rents until he fixed up the building, he abandoned plans to knock it down. It still stands today, and I still remain in contact with some of the old gang that partied in the courtyard.
Urban Homesteads and Self Reliance
Posts Tagged 'Self-Reliance'
16 Oct
How to Utilize Every Square Inch: Radical Home Economics on 1/12 acre and a 900 Square Foot Home
Posted by laurabruno in Uncategorized. Tagged: Self-Reliance, Urban Gardening, Urban Homesteading. Leave a Comment
Thanks, Ann!
Self-Reliance in L.A.
"Erik Knutzen and Kelly Coyne have been farming their yard in Los Angeles for over a decade. In addition to a mini orchard and extensive veggie garden, they have all the instruments of an urban homestead: chickens, bees, rainwater capture, DIY greywater, solar fruit preserver, humanure toilet, rocket stove, adobe oven. But they don't like to talk about sustainability of self-sufficiency, instead they prefer the term self-reliance.
"'I don't like the goal of self-sufficiency, I think it's a fool's errand to chase that goal,' explains Knutzen. 'I think we live in communities, human beings are meant to live, and trade and work together. I think self-reliance is okay, in other words, knowing how to do things.'
"Knutzen and Coyne share their tinkering, DIY and small scale urban agriculture experiments on their blog Root Simple and in their books 'The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City' and 'Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post Consumer World.' They believe in the value of shop classes and old-school home economics (back when you learned how to make things, not shop for things).
"For the couple, their true goal with all of this self-reliance is freedom to live as they please. By growing their own and canning, pickling, preserving, freezing and baking their own breads and beans, they live frugally. They also only own one car (plus a cargo bike), one cellphone and no tv. 'I think a lot of it has to do with our overdriving ambition to be free,' explains Coyne, 'makes being cheap fun, because it means you can be free.'"
Root Simple: http://www.rootsimple.com/
Original story: http://faircompanies.com/videos/view/…
*Cameraman Johnny Sanphillippo also films for the site Strong Towns: http://www.strongtowns.org/
More about Cucurmin
Study shows curcumin protects against mercury exposure
Posted: 15 Oct 2013 01:52 AM PDT
Mercury pollution is extremely high around the world, with coal-burning power plants and nonferrous metal production being the main sources of toxic emission, accounting for 72 percent of total environmental discharge. The United Nations estimates that nearly 2000 tons of mercury was emitted into the globe's atmosphere in 2010 alone.Mercury is a pervasive toxin lurking in many modern products
Mercury can be found lurking in many vaccinations, which are injected right into people's blood. Mercury is poured into teeth via dental amalagams. Tons of amalagam waste is excreted into the environment each year. Mercury was once the key metal in thermometers. It's harbored in sphygmomanometers, or blood pressure monitoring devices. It's used as an antiseptic in pharmaceuticals, as a reagent in laboratories, and is in some paints. Mercury exists in batteries and in the new fluorescent light bulbs. The metal is pervasive; it gets into the rivers and the soil, eventually flowing into the ocean, where it accumulates in the aquatic food chain. It continues to circulate, over and over, showing little signs of decomposing.
Mercury toxicity leads to nervous system paralysis The deadly effects of mercury poisoning are often overlooked. One disease, rarely heard of, was coined back in 1956 and is called Minamata disease. The definition of the disease describes the ill effects of mercury poisoning: numbness in the hands and feet, muscle weaknesses, narrowing of vision, speech and hearing damage, insanity, paralysis and death.
The cause of Minamata disease was discovered when residents of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, began eating contaminated fish from Minamata Bay and the Shiranui Sea. The source of the contamination was high levels of methyl mercury, which was being released from industrial waste water from a chemical factory owned by the Chisso Corporation. For 36 consecutive years, the symptoms arose in the populace, bringing death to many. 2,265 victims were eventually identified, including 1,784 who had passed away. The Chisso Corporation ended up paying $86 million in compensation for their company's mercury poisoning of the water and fish.
Read more »
Food you can make from scratch
10 Foods that You Should Make from Scratch
Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-foods-that-you-should-make-from-scratch.html#ixzz2ht5opmJ6
get healthy living updates
Cooking from scratch can be time consuming but it can also be healthier and even save you money. Here are 10 foods that you should make from scratch!
I think that the key to cooking from scratch is knowing which foods are worth the time and effort and which are not. Foods that are worth it for me are ones that save money, are healthier than their store-bought counterparts, or both. If you can find an equivalent at the same price that's just as wholesome, I don't consider that worth the effort of cooking from scratch.
Cooking from Scratch: Tips and Tricks
Go big. Like I mentioned above, the thing that can be intimidating about cooking things from whole ingredients is that it's more time consuming. To make that easier, I suggest making these things in big batches and then – where appropriate – freezing them. For example, if you're going to make beans in your crock pot, why not double, triple, or even quadruple the recipe, then store the extra for a rainy day?
Get social. Turn your from-scratch cooking into an activity! Get your family or some friends together for a leisurely afternoon of cooking from scratch. Multiply the recipes to make big batches of a few different items, then divvy it all up. You'll have more fun when you team up with friends, and you can walk away with a few different items, instead of just one.
Related Reading: Plan a Fall Soup Swap
Plan ahead. Some of these items take a while to complete – from a few hours to a few weeks (don't panic!). Extracts are a good example here. Don't wait until you're out of vanilla extract to start steeping a new batch. When you're three fourths of the way through your jar, start the next one. That way you won't run out.
Ready to get cooking? On the next page, check out items that you should make from scratch instead of buying prepared.
- 1 of 3
Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-foods-that-you-should-make-from-scratch.html#ixzz2ht66bQOe
Beans cooked from scratch are easy, delicious, and save you money!
1. Beans
Canned beans are inexpensive, but dried beans are downright cheap. You can make your own beans for pennies a pound, and it's really not that difficult. Different types of beans require different amounts of preparation and cooking time, so it's best to start with a basic recipe. I really found this page from Whole Foods helpful. It breaks down all sorts of different types of beans and explains how to prepare and cook them.
Pro tip: You can make smaller beans, like lentils and split peas in your rice cooker in under 30 minutes. Check out my recipe for rice cooker lentils vindaloo to see how easy it is!
2. Applesauce
Fall is apple season, and homemade applesauce is a great way to preserve that bounty! You can make applesauce easily in the crock pot with just two ingredients, so there's really no reason to ever buy it pre-made from the store. Toss everything into the crock pot on a lazy morning, and you'll have applesauce by supper time! If you score a big bag of seasonal apples, your homemade applesauce won't just be healthier and fresher than store-bought – it'll be cheaper too.
3. Extracts
Premade extracts for baking are often made with artificial flavors and even artificial colors. Boo on that! You can make your own extracts from organic herbs and spices. All that it takes is a few minutes of prep and a lot of patience. Extracts have to steep for a few weeks to get good and potent, so you can't make vanilla extract on the same day that you're planning to bake cupcakes. The good news is that since they're made from alcohol (all extracts are), they keep for a very long time. I'm still using the vanilla extract that I made 10 months ago!
Check out this recipe for vanilla extract and this one for mint extract. Start today, and your holiday cookies will never be more special. You can also give homemade extracts as gifts to foodie friends!
Related Reading: 5 Easy Vegan Desserts
4. French Fries
Did you know that pre-made french fries that you buy in the freezer section of the store are already deep fried? You might think that when you bake them, you're doing your heart a favor, but since they've been fried already, you're still serving up a fried food. Oven fries are super easy to make, and they're much healthier than the frozen sort. Try making your own sweet potato fries from scratch – you'll never go back to frozen fries!
5. Veggie Burgers
Store-bought veggie burgers often have a lot of filler ingredients and preservatives. They can also be pretty pricey. Remember that big batch of beans you made? Set some aside to make yourself veggie burgers! You can fry them up and freeze them to reheat in the oven for a quick meal. If you need a recipe to get started, try these red lentil veggie burgers.
Next: 5 More Foods that You Should Make from Scratch
- 2 of 3
Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-foods-that-you-should-make-from-scratch.html#ixzz2ht6hft6b
Recommendations from Our Partners
- 3 of 3
- back to page 1
Baby food is easy to make from scratch, and it uses much less wasteful packaging.
6. Baby Food
Is your baby on solid food? Organic baby food uses a lot of packaging and be very pricey. You can save time and money and make your baby additive-free baby food by making homemade baby food from scratch.
Pro tip: If cooking and peeling veggies feels too time-consuming, try using frozen veggies. They're just as nutritious as fresh, and they're already peeled and blanched. I make my son's peas, green beans, and peaches from frozen to save time in the kitchen without losing the health benefits of from-scratch baby food.
7. Granola Bars
Many of the pre-made granola bars you can find at the store are full of preservatives and other processed ingredients. When you make your own from scratch, you save on money and packaging and you get to control what ingredients go into each bar. Check out this dairy free granola bar recipe, if you need some inspiration!
8. Almond Milk
Nut milks like almond milk are easy to make yourself, and unlike premade nut milks, they don't have chemical stabilizers and thickeners. The cool part of making nut milks is that you can use the solids left behind after straining as a gluten free flour! Almond flour, for example, is normally just finely-ground almonds, but you can also dry the leavings from homemade almond milk in the oven to make almond flour. Check out how to do both here! Are cashews more your speed? Here's a recipe for homemade cashew milk.
Related Reading: Non-Dairy Milk Additive Could be Making You Sick
9. Cookies
Even if you're not great at baking, it's hard to mess up a batch of cookies. Cookie recipes are very forgiving, and when you make your own, you know they won't contain icky ingredients like high fructose corn syrup. The other benefit to baking instead of buying your cookies? Baking takes some time, so you're more likely to eat fewer cookies. And as Cookie Monster reminds us, "Cookies are a sometimes food." Want a cookie recipe that's extra special? I love these lacy chocolate cookies from The Little Foxes.
10. Ground Herbs
Whole dried herbs stay fresher longer, so grinding your herbs as you need them means you get the freshest flavors in your cooking and baking. You can dry fresh herbs and grind them yourself or choose to only grind your own when you can get the whole dried herb at the store. Herbs and spices like peppercorns, cardamom, coriander, and fennel all come dried and whole, for example.
Pro tip: It's easiest to grind herbs in a food processor or an old coffee grinder.
Are there any foods that you prefer making from scratch rather than buying already made? Let's talk cooking from scratch in the comments!
Related
Fresh Herb Soup (Recipe)
10 Tasty Superfood Recipes
20 Cozy Pumpkin Recipes for the Fall
Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-foods-that-you-should-make-from-scratch.html#ixzz2ht6HXemt
Tiny Texas Houses Update
Tiny Texas Houses Update
by Kent Griswold on October 16th, 2013. Add a Comment
If you've been keeping up with Tiny Texas Houses then you've probably seen the many unique tiny houses they've put together over the last 6 months.
As if building all their houses isn't enough, they've also released a full length tutorial series on how to start your own salvage mining business and teardown structures to re-purpose materials. They call it "The Salvage Mining Tutorial Series."
Brad Kittel, owner of Tiny Texas Houses, explains a wide range of subject matter relating to the salvage world and how to be successful in it. You can stream the full length series online here or purchase the full DVD box set here for a very affordable price…especially considering the amount of wisdom and information packed into the series!
Tiny Texas Houses has also come up with a unique and fun way to contribute to their projects and causes. They are allowing supporters to purchase "Airspace" on "The Acre of Hope" (a one acre area at their facility in Luling, Texas dedicated to supporter contributions and fan club participation). Esentially, they have set aside an acre of property where individuals can purchase "Airspace" by the square inch ($20.00 per square inch) above the acre and receive a fun "Certificate of Airspace Ownership" with your name on it via email.
Brad Kittel explains….
"This is Tiny Texas Houses' way of providing our fans and supporters something that they can actual "own" and be a part of. I know a lot of our fans can't afford a Tiny House right now, so this is our way of making our ideas accessible to them. All the money we raise from the Airspace Certificates goes towards our educational endeavors like the "How to Build a Tiny Texas House" tutorial videos and other projects like the development of the Tiny Texas Villages."
Everyone who contributes will not only receive the certificate of ownership via email, but also becomes a charter member of The Pure Salvage Living Renaissance and can receive substantial discounts on merchandise, workshops, and even a Tiny Texas house. All Airspace owners are also encouraged to come out to the Tiny Texas Houses property at their convenience and "capture" their "Airspace" in containers that Tiny Texas Houses provides onsite.
"It's a fun idea and the fans love it. The idea to do this actually came from one of our fans answering a questionnaire. It's been great…who would have thought we would receive some much support by selling "Airspace!" says Brad with a smile.
To purchase "Airspace" and become a Charter member to the Pure Salvage Living Renaissance go here: http://puresalvageliving.com/the-pure-salvage-living-renaissance-presents-the-airspace-certificate/
Visit tinytexashouses.com or puresalvageliving.com for more information.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tiny Texas – Houses Essay Contest
by Kent Griswold on June 21st, 2011. 92 Comments
*Brad sent me some interior photos, be sure and check them out.
Brad Kittel, of Tiny Texas Houses, is having a Essay Contest. The grand prize is a prototype of his newest sustainable home design, valued at $38,000. Brad wishes to show that there are healthy ways to build a sustainable house, to prove that building a sustainable home can be done with local resources and labor, to illustrate a sustainable home with a nearly zero carbon footprint, and to demonstrate the beauty of a sustainable home built using the highest quality woods, hardware, doors, and glass.Tiny Texas – Houses Essay Contest
by Kent Griswold on June 21st, 2011. 92 Comments
*Brad sent me some interior photos, be sure and check them out.
Brad Kittel, of Tiny Texas Houses, is having a Essay Contest. The grand prize is a prototype of his newest sustainable home design, valued at $38,000. Brad wishes to show that there are healthy ways to build a sustainable house, to prove that building a sustainable home can be done with local resources and labor, to illustrate a sustainable home with a nearly zero carbon footprint, and to demonstrate the beauty of a sustainable home built using the highest quality woods, hardware, doors, and glass.
What you need to do is write a 300-word essay addressing "How having a Tiny House could change your life" and submit it with a $50 entry fee. The entry fee will first and foremost help pay for the house itself, but also allows us to pay our the judges, the web support, editing, advertising, and the administration costs associated with running the contest.
All who participate in the essay contest will get a set of plans for the house and be given a copy of the soon-to-be released E-book on "How to build a Tiny House with Salvaged Materials." This book is designed to empower people to build these type of houses themselves.
To enter the Tiny Texas Houses Essay Contest Click Here and fill out the form with your entry.
Tiny Texas – Houses Essay Contest
by Kent Griswold on June 21st, 2011. 92 Comments
*Brad sent me some interior photos, be sure and check them out.
Brad Kittel, of Tiny Texas Houses, is having a Essay Contest. The grand prize is a prototype of his newest sustainable home design, valued at $38,000. Brad wishes to show that there are healthy ways to build a sustainable house, to prove that building a sustainable home can be done with local resources and labor, to illustrate a sustainable home with a nearly zero carbon footprint, and to demonstrate the beauty of a sustainable home built using the highest quality woods, hardware, doors, and glass.
What you need to do is write a 300-word essay addressing "How having a Tiny House could change your life" and submit it with a $50 entry fee. The entry fee will first and foremost help pay for the house itself, but also allows us to pay our the judges, the web support, editing, advertising, and the administration costs associated with running the contest.
All who participate in the essay contest will get a set of plans for the house and be given a copy of the soon-to-be released E-book on "How to build a Tiny House with Salvaged Materials." This book is designed to empower people to build these type of houses themselves.
To enter the Tiny Texas Houses Essay Contest Click Here and fill out the form with your entry.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
