Hello Everyone,

In our waiting period, or incubating period....lol....I would like to send ideas encouraging positive thoughts and actions to go more GREEN and what we can do in our lives today.

I am trying to do more things green every day in every way. In the spirit of sharing and offering information on how easy and simple it all is, I will post some of these things shortly.

One thing I will post quickly right here: to assist in the shortage of pure water, and the ridiculous practice of releasing our, as I call it, 'human by product' otherwise called human 'waste'...which is not waste at all, as god did not create such a thing.....but when properly processed by way of composting, creates the richest humus known on earth.....read more about it here where the book can be downloaded for free:
http://www.jenkinspublishing.com/humanure.html
If every human alive were to properly compost their by-product, there would be no deserts on earth, no depleted soils, or dependency on anyone for personal individual sustenance.

But to continue.....by releasing this 'human by product' uncomposted into our drinking water supply....by way of 'flushing toilets'....is poisoning our drinking water supplies. In light of the global clean water shortage it is good to cut down on the amount of flushing water by doing this: insert into the tank a half gallon glass jug filled to the top with sand to stay down, as this space fills up the tank and therefore less water is needed to refill after each flush. This cuts down on refill water and still works normally.

But here I would especially like to post one about our cars and the gas situation. I personally do not want to pay for gas anymore, I never did, but especially at over $4.00 per gallon !! Nor do I want to support those gas moguls, the owners of gas companies, those who drill for gas and make billions from it......and I really want to change my car to something else. It is said necessity is the Mother of invention....well...
Here is a woman who has done it and has created a website to describe it. They use straight vegetable oil....not bio-diesel but straight vegetable oil. Did those 'experts' not realize this could be done????? I think they did, but did not want the masses of people to know, for who would be putting money in their deep pockets?

I encourage, beg, ask, implore all people to abandon things that continue to make wealthy those who pollute and exploit the earth and the people and life on it.

I hope you all click on this http://www.dld123.com/veggiecar123/ link, and learn what you can do about your own car/gas situation, then do it. It would be great if you all sent this link to all on your lists to send far and wide into the world so that many others who desire to can do something so simple, to eliminate toxic gas use and stop supporting those exploiters who run those gas and oil industries. So many are truly wanting to do something but do not know what.....they need a point of reference and for the gas situation, this woman did it in such a simplistic way.
Please feel free to report back any benefits or anything.


    
Walk in Liberty.
Serena   


    

Hi,
I think it's a great idea to help eachother think of 'green' things to do!
Do remember that if you want to recycle you 'byproduct' you have to make sure you have eaten 'clean' food, no pesticides etc., not to much sugars and no other poisonous stuff. And if you are going to compost it, you should realise the reason we don't is because of hygene: we are afraid that if you put human manure on your plants it might spread diseases. So if you are ill, perhaps you should keep your 'manure' off the compost heap, and always make sure it gets really hot during composting (it should do that by it self, if you set up your compostheap properly I think) because that kills the bacteria and other causes of disease.

As for the vegateble oil, we run our car on it already. But there is a very serious issue here: If we use our farmland for fuel production (and we need loads and loads of land to procuce what we now get from petrol and diesel) we loose that land for food production. And at the moment a lot of rainforest is being chopped down to produce palmoil, wich is used for biodiesel.
It should be clear that we have to stop using our cars so much. Produce local food, work locally, walk or cycle whenever you can, and if you do have to travel, share your car, and use vegetable oil, I would say.

So my 'green' tips are as mentioned above and:
*Try and eat food produced without chemicals, and were possible locally produced (organic or, even better, homegrown).
*Always swich your lights off if you go out.
*Compost your vegetable waste, and use it on your garden. (Do be careful of rats, don't put meat on the compostheap)

and ofcourse there are loads more things to do, think of some more yourself.

Thanks Noor,

Yes, the tips you gave are good. I am composting and it's working out beautifully, odorless, all green, no animal products, and lots of green grass clippings and all organic. It heats up perfectly and breaks down rapidly and is usable in only a few months.....it smells heavenly.

As for human composting, one will need to learn how to do this properly....it is one of those things you cannot do unless you understand the process.....it has to be composted and broken down into humus before it is used. Some say it takes up to a year.....I don't know. But if done properly, there is no such thing as 'waste' from anyone, nor a planet of dead soils. Microbes break down everything in their proper ways, and this intelligence cannot be duplicated ever by any man......no one can do better than mother nature. I hope people learn about the process and understand it needs to be 'cooked' before being used.......this is simple enough. After this, it is a matter of spreading the knowledge and the beauty of this natural process.

As for the cars veggie oil, I hope that a good idea isn't hijacked again by those greedy business people who exploit all good things for large bucks.....and using perfectly good farmland to grow oil producing crops is not the answer. I get sooooo weary of those who see a good thing and run out to buy massive quanitites of something to make money. I'm just hoping that most people understand that sustainable means utilizing what is already being produced and wasted......and find a way to convert their cars to oil using what oils are already being used by the restaurants.....as this oil would be best used by cars since it is already available......NOT that massive lands are bought up by developers for use for growing oil producing crops.....this is not the point.....nor is it green or sustainable.....this is awful.....yet typical.
The point is to encourage those who can to use the oil being used now in a secondary way, in their cars. This is sustainable. The ultimate goal is as you say, either no oil or gas cars, or no cars at all.....

Imagine everyone on earth living in their 3 acre Domain, growing their own foods, and not having to drive anywhere to do this......and only using bikes, horse or other natural travel mode to get to where they want if it is far.......this would wipe out most pollution......most greed, and eliminate businesses developed for the purpose of making bucks.....as most would not need to buy things they can produce and make in their own lands or in their own communities......imagine a community making all their own Foods, hygiene products, clothing and even furniture from the forests they have growing and replenish or using only the fallen woods or recycled woods.....and travel would be needed only to visit others in further communities? How creative and interesting.......everyone an artist and craftsperson.
There are people now who have a tiny parcel of land like a fifth of an acre and are producing 2 tons of produce a year.....even selling to nearby restaurants.
Basically anyone who now owns their own home with a yard can do this. It is too simple really.

Another tip is to make all your own hygiene products, using pure edible vegetable and seed oils and pure essential oils. I do this for everything I use. I make room spray, mouthwash, tooothpaste, bug spray, moisturizer, sun lotion, and everything else. There are so many recipes on the internet and in books. Once you start, you never go back to store bought. Doing this eventually could eliminate the tons and tons of needless and useless stuff we see on shelves in drug stores and even health food stores all over the country, that sometimes sit there for years and are produced using chemicals and nothing with chemicals is good for anyone.
Why do we need so many different companies making these things? They tout natural oils and things like sea buckthorn berry seed oil as being miraculous as they use minute amounts, and call it natural.....I like to buy the buckthorn seed oil itself and make my own.....this is natural....it elimates the middle man, keeps money in my pocket, and I have the freshest products that smell wonderful. Maybe this is what makes me look younger than my years?
I use pure magnesium chloride as a deodorant, works beautifully, and is made from the ocean....it is a concentrated form of magnesium and so I get my magnesium in this way as well. I wonder why cities don't put magnesium into our waters since we are all deficient in it, instead of flouride? Makes one wonder who decides these things.

It would be nice to hear of others who have ideas for "Green" living.

I was told once that Hitler invented putting fluoride in drinking water, because it makes people obedient. It was only an added bonus that it seemed to improve their teeth as well.
Here they put chloride in the water. It tases foul, so now we have to buy waterfilters, to get rid of it (although you can just put it in a jug and wait a few hours, that will get rid of the chloride too).

Ok, here are my tips for going green:

-Focus on REDUCing and RE-USE-ing in preference to recycling.

-With every dollar you spend, ask yourself - "Do I really want to support this industry?" Be aware of your role as a consumer in perpetuating unsustainable practices. Buy local and organic as far as possible.

- Stop eating meat (or at least reduce your consumption). Meat is very inefficient to produce compared to plant products. Eating lower in the foodchain is more sustainable. In most parts of the world, meat production is very unenvironmentally friendly (leaching of fertilisers, pollution of ground water and waterways, contamination of soils and the environment with pesticides and herbicides, depletion of soil organic matter resulting in desertification, methane emissions etc).

- Change your mentality around transport. It was never anticipated that biofuels would be able to support our current transport habits, as it takes so much biomass to make just a little bit of fuel. Use public transport, or bike or walk if you can. Live close to the places that you need to go to.

And my personal tip re deodorant - try baking soda in water, with a few drops of essential. Put it in a roll-on container, Works for me!

fMerryn

Well this is the third time I am trying to post more tips, hope it goes through since it takes a while to type it in and then to have it disappear in cyber space....

Soaps: I use Miracle 11 soap for everything. I bought a gallon and dilute it and use it for body and hair. I add essential oils for delicious scents.

Laundry: I use arm & hammer liquid, but only 1/2 teaspoon, then add mule team borax, and oxy clean....these things are biodegradable. For rinsing I use store bought lemon juice. I have soft water so a little soap goes a loonnng way and lemon juice cuts the sudsing and leaves clothes crisp...also harmless to water systems.

Cleansers: I use lemon juice for alot of cleaning and mix lemon essensial oil or tea tree for extra cleaning and scent. I buy spray bottles and mix. There are many recipes on line.

Toilet and shower: I use a mix of 1/2 cup distilled vinegar, 2 teaspoons tea tree essential oil, 30 drops grapefruit seed extract, mix this together, then add 2 cups water into a spray bottle, and it is great for all cleaning of bathroom and smells clean. It prevents molds perfectly.....I know since I live in a humid climate and I have no problem with this mixture.

With these basics, there is truly no need for chemical cleaners so prevalent in stores, and clean will be pleasant and fragrant, and non toxic.

I hope you enjoy them.

Awesome thread. I have great respect for those trailblazers who are living largely off the land, and in complete harmony with nature. I truly believe that that is what lies in the future for all of us,
and these people will be our guides when the time comes for us to all live in that way.

I also think it is essential to have people "within the matrix" (so to speak) doing what they can to live harmoniously with nature, and encouraging those they come in contact with to do the same.

I don't really have anything to add, but I just want to say "Thank You" to all who have contributed to this thread. There are many good suggestions which I'm taking into consideration,
and trying to spread the word about.
I was just talking to a coworker the other day about the "veggiecar". He was quite interested in converting an older car, and I promised to pass on the information so he could look into it further. So, thanks again for the wonderful information.

i have got to say, i LOVE composting my poo! i really do. it gives me such a feeling of satisfaction, i never would have guessed it, but it does.

our family has been using a composting toilet for almost a year. we ordered one online and got it sent to us as a kit-set, which we set up and put on a trailer which we built walls & roof onto to have our own portable loo. (we are living on the land kin's domain style and haven't permanent buildings yet).

i know you can build them yourself, but we just weren't ready for that yet - baby steps and all, so we got it pre-made with all the instructions and packets of things to add to it to get started. and it took a while to get to know it and how it works, but i truly love it.

at first we just dug holes in the ground in random spots away from our living area to put the compost into, but we have gotten a bit more adventurous lately and put it in the holes we dig to plant a tree. i wouldn't put it on my veges yet. i have seen this stuff and i KNOW i wouldn't want to put my hands in it. but... it is still such a good feeling to have it going into our own plot of land, not being flushed away somewhere to become someone else's problem.

our friend thought it wouldn't be good to use for our trees cause of the high content of heavy metals in our poo but i think it is better to diffuse it in this way than to concentrate it, much like the nuclear waste scenario that was mentioned in the books.

i'm still thinking of other green things to mention but i have to put my two cents in about the toilet...

sunshine&rain

ladies of reproductive age... let's not waste our jing (traditional chinese concept: our "essence" .... one of the places it is lost is through menstrual blood or semen)

our bodies make so much effort into making a nice cosy home for a potential human every month, let's at least give this to the garden, and not use plasticky products to catch the blood, but reusable products made naturally,...

Dear Rainbows,
your loo experiments ring the bell in the Russian forums: some of them say they dig holes and place their toilet above and then move it to a new place where they want another apple tree. That's fantastic - to turn something nasty into a foundation for flowers and fruit.

I also found the truth about feeding on the air with all its ethers and fragrances. We went on a boating trip with my son and his buddy one summer thru the wilderness with no villages or houses on the banks. And all three of us noticed that after a day's rowing we didn't really feel hungry with only a snack for breakfast in the morning. Thus camping for the night and cooking dinner was not an urgent issue. I bet we were filled with all those things from the blossoming flowers and trees and grass.

And once you settle on your land, you'll be surprised to see that you definitely do not need as much food as you thought you would. I experienced that when I was planting the green fence - it was all digging and carrying bucketfuls of water for over 50 yards, many times, yet this seemingly hard work for a city sleeker did not make hungry!

that's a great idea that the russians are doing with the loos! me likes. wish i could read russian to read the russian forums.. they seem to have a different flavour... o well

i am also noticing more the food thing... on the days that i go into town, i get SO hungry as soon as i arrive there, but when i stay at home i'm not needing to eat as much as i am accustomed to.

we live 2.5 hours from a city, so we hardly go there, but on our latest visit i was really drained by the city and needed to eat a lot. the fatigue i felt was something i used to feel daily when living in the city but haven't felt it in a long time now, so it was very noticeable to me.. sure i get tired and have had babies and have suffered lack of sleep, but that city fatigue is something quite different.

and now for something green......

hmm. hows about trimming your lawn with a scythe instead of a mower? i'd really like to try it out. the thing that appeals most to me is the silence of it. the noise of motors is something less and less appealing to me these days. oh and the petrol smell. would be nice to reduce some of that.

Dear Rainbows,
amazing how your intuition works!

I watched a DVD about one of the Russian eco-villages, and the guy there was telling that he stopped using a lawn mower after he had a bee-hive. As soon as he started mowing, the bees were flying right in his face buzzing a lot but not actually stinging. When he stopped the mower, the bees went away. Seems they don't like it as you're destroying a lot of flowers they collect pollen and honey from. Or may be it's the noise and the smell from that machine that doesn't belong to your space of love.
Cheers and best luck!

interesting. we're lucky our bees haven't reacted like that but then we've been pretty sporadic with the olde mowing...

chickens are also quite handy for eating grass

i am liking the meadow effect we are getting actually, but would probably still like to try out the scythe for around the "house"

can i think of another green thing today?

hmm.

i am thinking that forests are pretty cool and we've let a few paddocks go to regenerate into natural bush. they say that a forest can produce more income (if that is what you are after), than a paddock of animals, if you grow shiitake mushrooms in it and sell them to local restaurants. i think berries also do well in forests.

Hi Rainbows, Valvas and All,

I was at work one day on the harvest trail where the pay is per kilo you pick. We were not making much money and the boss said 'Ho ho, you'll be right when you find your rhythm'. My rhythm he was talking about did come, after many more hours of sore muscles and working through repetitive strain injuries. building up to a non stop fierce pace in competition with fellow workers. 'Ah, this is my rhythm he was talking about!' And I decided that 'giving ones rhythm' is another way of saying 'giving ones pound of flesh'!

Here is the rhythm of the scythe: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=dVv597m848s

I am looking forward to the day when I can find my rhythm in conjoint creation of beauty and perfection!

I had a scythe once and tried to use it, but it must have not been set right or something as I couldn't get it going? But this is something I would like to master too. I do have my dads sickle and used to use it for cutting road side grasses for my horse.

What about geese? I have heard that they are great for keeping the grass down at lawn height in ones orchard. These are what I am thinking about getting later on.

I love that his bees communicated to him like that. It may be that he is becoming in tune with his space of love. I look forward to these type of communications too.

I designed a 5 (phive) winged house, Each family has their own dwelling here with their own bathroom and this house sits central to every one's one hectare kin's domains. There is a 40 meter walk from each dwelling to their kin's domain. On the way, just out from each wing are each families composting toilets, which sit in the middle of gardens.

This house for 5 families is under 1 roof, so also solves some local council challenges for getting us onto the land.

These are the things I do in my incubation period....Well I think a lot!....about our transition.

Chris

geese are supposed to be good for eating grass. they are also supposed to be very good watchdogs. my experience with them is that they can be a bit boisterous and i don't really enjoy boisterous creatures about. they are also water birds, so i think you would need some moving water on the land... which we don't have, so we have ruled out the waterbirds. but they are supposed to be great as they don't need to be fed anything special if they have enough grass. our turkeys kept our grass very short, but i wouldn't recommend turkeys to anyone.

my latest green thing i am working toward is to not produce any rubbish. i was inspired by john seymour - "nothing should be wasted on the self-sufficient holding. the dustman should never have to call." and lately i heard of a couple who made it their new years resolution not to produce any rubbish and was impressed with what they achieved: http://www.rubbishfreeyear.co.nz/