Here’s the latest on the Take it to Zero idea from yesterday’s blog post:
I see now that an online forum will naturally create self organizing teams of volunteers. People choose a topic they’re interested in and converse with others on the forum who are also interested in the same thing. Brainstorming and networking with others should lead to lots of good ideas and spontaneous/grassroots growth. So a free forum seems like a perfect solution for this project.
“A forest planted by humans, then left to nature’s own devices, typically takes at least 100 years to mature. But what if we could make the process happen ten times faster? In this short talk, eco-entrepreneur (and TED Fellow) Shubhendu Sharma explains how to create a mini-forest ecosystem anywhere.”
“Before the invention of the refrigerator, which is a relatively modern invention, ice was a precious commodity that couldn’t be easily obtained or made, especially during the summer. To preserve meat and other food items huge blocks of ice had to imported all the way from Scandinavian countries in the Arctic circle or from mountain … Read more
Carl Smith, of Austria, has been keeping me posted about building his earthbag winery, for a couple years. I believe that it is nearing completion. One of the most interesting aspects of it is how the wine will be stored and aged. Carl is introducing an ancient Georgian method (dating back at least 8,000 years) to Austria. He is burying five huge ceramic amphorae inside the winery.
I have gotten periodic email updates on the progress of this handsome earthbag and ferrocement root cellar made by Clay Dimeno. Rather than leaving the stucco over the bags as plain cement colored, he decided to scribe faux stones and stain them to look like real stones. I think that he did a marvelous job … Read more