Sustainable Times

Fastest Way Ever to Hand Split Wood

2010-04-07T17:21:00.001-03:00

Our urban migrant neighbor is very much involved with living sustainably and in sharing what he learns with others.

A couple of years ago, he learned a quick and easy trick for hand splitting fire-wood. This method, now being used by several of us along the shore not only saves hours of time, it saves your back as well.

Luckily, he wants to share this quick tip with you, so say goodbye to all that bending and stooping and learn how it's done in this video by Great 769!

(By the way, that 'was' our wheel barrow!)

Carbon Brokering Review - Top Learning Tools

2010-04-06T22:00:00.003-03:00

NEW CARBON BROKERING SECRETS REVEALED

If you're wondering what the new carbon credit brokering industry is all about, how to buy carbon credits or the how to become a broker yourself in this growing market, there is a wealth of information available to you.
Canada's number one environmentalist David Suzuki publishes a very useful guide online for those who want to purchase carbon credits to offset their travel footprint for example, or for their company.

The guide to purchasing carbon offsets is consumer based and walks you through an explanation of the industry, the size of the market, and a rated list of the top twenty brokers.

There is also a fair amount of information on the web for those who would like to become a carbon offset broker in this new and exciting industry. Unfortunately, most of it is available through painstaking and often confusing research.

Is there really opportunity out there as a carbon credit consultant? According to the Chicago Climate Exchange currently 30% of fortune 500 companies currently monitor their carbon footprint and look for ways to reduce or offset their carbon emissions. These companies and many, many more need a competent and accredited broker whose service buys and sells carbon offsets.

This is where you come in, but how does it work? Where do you find the carbon offsets to sell? How do you become accredited? How much do you charge for your service?

Ah, yes, the learning curve that comes with every new business. Carbon offset brokering can be complicated. There are pitfalls, lots of them in fact.

Here's the good news - a top broker for Carbon Ventures International has put together a complete and comprehensive course, that for a nominal fee covers everything you need to know to cash in on the lucrative carbon credit industry.

Carbon Ventures shows you what’s working – and what's not working in the industry, who's making serious money and exactly how they're doing it, how to maneuver around the pitfalls, become accredited, broker your own carbon trading deals and much, much more.

Even if you know very little about the carbon offset brokerage business now, you'll soon have insider knowledge of the industry in over 900 valuable pages of this one of a kind course. You will be guided through the business step by step in easy to understand language so that you too can soon be cashing in on carbon credits too.

Good luck with your new business venture!

Survivalist Chic - Doomers Are Now Mainstream

2010-01-03T07:33:00.007-04:00

According to a recent issue of Newsweek (click on title to view article), a new wave of 'preppers' has replaced the post-911 doomer generation. These aren't your average run of the mill survivalists dressed in army fatigues who've built a bivouac in the woods somewhere.

Nope, that was yesteryear, say, the 70's or a decade or so ago. This new, third-wave of survivalists is comprised of your son's teacher, your mechanic, your parents, perhaps you. Preppers are your average Mom and Pop who just happen to be stockpiling cans of Spam and candles, just in case.

Frightened by 911, climate change, overpopulation, peak oil and a tanking economy, the new mostly urban 'survivalist lite' crowd are the new doomers. They have buckets of grain and sugar stowed in their garage and they grow potatoes instead of manicured lawns, apple trees instead of Japanese maples.

As expected, a whole rash of "prepper' sites have sprung up to cater to those who just believe in covering their you-know-whats, and who can blame the capitalists, after all? There's a whole new market out there in doomerland.

Nature's Medicine Chest

2009-09-28T14:11:00.027-03:00

Natural Medicine
Wildcrafting in Nova Scotia

How to Identify, Harvest and Prepare
Goldthread

How to Identify

The 'golden thread' refers to the root, so identification of the plant itself is important.

Goldthread is found on the forest floor and is easily spotted in Spring when small white, 5-7 petalled flowers appear - with 5 yellow stamens and sprays of tiny, white, "stamenettes". Blooms in Nova Scotia from mid-May through to July.

At other times of year, leaves are waxy green in three sections or leaflets, similar to a strawberry, but smaller and hugging the ground more tightly.

According to Blupete, Goldthread, or "Canker Root" (Coptis trifolia, groenlandica)is of the Buttercup family. The Goldthread is a small plant which lies upon the forest floor. It has a solitary white flower; it has evergreen basal leaves rising from a thread-like, yellow underground stem. The flowers are like small and white with fussy centers.

And while there is only one flower per plant, the plants patch together, so, likely, one will find quite a number of them together, usually in an area where the Clintonia and wild lily-of-the-valley gather. The leaves are divided into three leaflets with scalloped, toothed margins."

How to Harvest

When you spot Goldthread, gently lift the moss and debris from the forest floor to find the "goldthread" roots and collect as many as you need to replenish your store. In most homesteads, this would mean 6 months to a year. The 'goldthreads' are harvested, dried naturally and stored until needed in air tight jars.

How to Use

Use topically as a wash on wounds, scratches, bites, sores and burns. It seems to be an astringent. Use internally as a tea for mouth sores, stomach problems.

My father gathered Goldthread and chewed the roots directly for cankers, toothache, digestive problems. Oldtimers here would take several strands of Goldthread and position them directly into open wounds before bandaging.

Others report the leaves and stems can be gathered and used as well, however, the roots were used historically for their storage capabilities and were usually part of the medicine chest on long sea journeys. The dried roots were often ground into a powder.

Francis Harnish of Sheet Harbour Passage, recently told me two stories. One was taken from the book, "MicMac Medicine" by Laurey Lacey, South Shore. As Laurey tells it, a man was sent home from the hospital to die, after being diagnosed with "incurable" and terminal stomach cancer.

He was told by [a Medicine Woman] to take a 1 foot strand of Goldthread in a cup of tea several times each day. (Checking source for quantity but more won't hurt you). Goldthread tea is reportedly a little bitter to taste, but not unpleasant.

After a period of time, the man returned to the doctor who had treated him and was told he was cured. No more stomach cancer.

Shortly thereafter, Francis found a series of pre-cancerous boils (source medical term) on the back of his neck. They were treated by a medical doctor removal and cauterization. One lesion grew back and again was removed, only to grow back again, a raw open sore.

This time, discovering that the doctor was on a 3 week vacation, Francis boiled Golden Thread in water for 15 minutes and let it steep for several hours. Then he applied it to the boil "5 or 6 times a day" until it was healed. By the time the doctor returned, all that was left was a lump where the lesion had been.

The doctor said, "I don't know what you're doing, but keep doing it". Soon thereafter, even the lump disappeared.

Traditional Use: Medicinally it was used by the Indians and the early colonists to treat mouth sores, natures dental floss. Boiled goldthread root was used as a tonic. Checking use by Mi'kmaq for cankers; assume a tea, gargle or rinse. In current practice, the Mi'kmaq elders make a salve for topical application.

The elongated yellow roots of the goldthread, from which use it takes its name, had a use for the aboriginals as a thread for bead work.

Another species of Goldthread (Coptis chinensis) has been used in traditional Eastern medicine for thousands of years and is recommended by naturopaths for testicular cancer, stomach cancer, emaciation, etc.

Herbal-Drug Interactions / Pharmacology - Goldthread contains two active alkaloids, berberine and coptine which are responsible for its traditional use in anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, antipyretic, antimicrobial treatments. Current interest revolves around results showing Goldthread to be the most potent of 15 natural medicines found in Canada with respect to cytotoxicity in five hepatoma human cell lines, including Hepatitis B (HB) virus genome. Thus, its reported success in inhibiting cancerous cell growth. Caution should be taken when using cancer drugs and natural remedies.

Further References

"Goldthread (Coptis trifolia); also known as Alaska Goldthread, Canker Root, Common Goldthread, Trifoliate Goldthread, Vegetable Gold; perennial evergreen herb with creeping rootstalk.

Family: Buttercup (Ranunculaceae)

Flower: White, star-shaped, 5-7 petals; usually solitary at tip of leafless stalks; May-July.

Leaves: Basal leaves on long slender stalks, triangular shape, 2-5 cm wide, compound with 3 leaflets, upper surface is shiny dark green, margins with rounded teeth.

Height: 7-15 cm.

Habitat: Cool, moist habitats in coniferous forests, swamps, bogs, road banks, thickets, mossy places, cedar swamps, and in damp woods. Prefers low light, cool, moist conditions on relatively infertile soils, which are acidic. Goldthread does not tolerate disturbance and disappears after logging. Requires some shade, possibly because of its preference for moist sites.

Interest: The Goldthread rootstalk is bright yellow or gold in colour and looks like a bit of golden wire. It is reported that Native Americans chewed roots to treat mouth sores and made tea from the roots to treat mouth sores. The name Coptis means "cut", referring to the divided leaves.

Thanks and Photo Credits to Blupete (Nova Scotia) and Andy (Northern Ontario) Book References: MicMac Medicine, Laury Lacey

Saving the Land That Feeds Us

2008-07-11T09:55:00.000-03:00

Soaring oil and food prices have been labelled by some as “the first real economic crisis of globalization".

According to the current issue of "Alternatives Journal", the owner of a dairy farm north-west of Toronto recently pocketed a cool $4.5 million dollars for his 40 hectare property. The $35,000 per acre payout by developers proved too good to resist.

The current issue of Alternatives Journal states that "Our growing nation’s insatiable appetite for housing, and the commercial and industrial development it spawns, has brought us to a fork in the road."

Standing at that crossroads, our choices are few: continue on the path of mass urban development and it's energy dependent imported food supply or take the road less travelled, towards protection of farmland and the farmers who supply food for the local market. Read the full article here:

Alternatives Journal

Abandoned Farmlands Are Key to Sustainable Bioenergy

2008-07-04T10:41:00.005-03:00

Recent research conducted by Stanford University in partnership with The Carnegie Institution Department of Global Ecology has determined that there are sufficient abandoned farmlands in the US and Canada to provide up to 10% of our current energy needs in bioenergy production.

But it won't be tomorrow, researchers warned. Read more at:

Renewable Energy World
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=52960

How to Use a Log Splitter

2008-06-25T11:34:00.002-03:00

How to Properly Use a Log Splitter

If you are a person that is always cutting trees for firewood, then you will want to think about getting a log splitter. Log splitters are a very expensive machine that is often purchased when there is a lot of wood that needs to be cut. Wood splitters are most commonly used for firewood or logs for furniture making. In fact, you can buy one wherever equipment for logging is sold; as well as on the internet.

One of the best selling log splitters is a hydraulic log splitter. In fact, there are many benefits of hydraulic splitters over any other ones. Some of the benefits of wood splitters are that they are very easy to use; they have either a gasoline or diesel engine; which is what makes the machine fire up.

When it comes to the features of a hydraulic log splitter, there are many to look for. In fact, one of the biggest features that people look at is the engine size; which ranges from 5-8 horsepower. Generally, any home wood splitter has a small engine that is commercially used. In most cases, it will have 10-25 tons of force when splitting wood as well as have a 2 stage oil pump.

For most people, the only purpose they have a wood splitter is for cutting logs into firewood; however, the tree must first be cut down and de-limbed by a chainsaw. In fact, the process of making firewood with a splitter is much easier and faster than doing it by physical labor; as it would take hours and even days to complete the job.

One of the biggest things to think about when using a splitter is safety. In fact, there are many tips that should be followed; and those are: 1. Children should never be allowed to operate the machinery. 2. Always make sure there are no children present, as there can always be debris flying. 3. Always wear protective gear (steel-toe boots and safety glasses) as well as no loose clothing; as it could get tangled in the machinery. 4. Before using it, read all the directions and owner's manual. 5. Make sure there is a safe perimeter around the machinery. 6. Don't ever make any adjustments while the machine is running. 7. Never operate the machine during the evening or night; always during daylight. 8. Never be impaired when operation the machine; no drugs or alcohol. 9. Always use on a dry surface. 10. Do not put anything else in the cutter except for wood. 11. Always make sure the guards are in place.

On some occasions people have purchased wood splitters for the purpose of furniture making; which is possible. In fact, many splitters can be set up for log furniture making; however, a chainsaw will still be necessary among other tools. Some of the other tools you will need for making log furniture are different sized clamps, instructional videos and books, larger sized chisels, mallet, wood guides of various sizes and a tenon among other things.

About the Author

The technical writer Ken Morris is very excited about issues corresponding to log splitter hydraulic system. His abstracts on hydraulic log splitter are found on his webpage as well as many different websites.

[Employment] Solar Homes Coordinator

2006-05-17T13:20:00.000-03:00

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Position: Solar Homes Promotion & Inventory Coordinator
Organization: Ecology Action Centre & Solar Nova Scotia

* Date posted to GoodWorkCanada.ca: May 16, 2006
* Job Classification: 4 month, part-time (until Sept 30th)
* Deadline for application: Monday, May 22nd, 2006
* Wage: $15/hour
* Location: Halifax NS with travel around Province

Project Description

The EAC and Solar Nova Scotia will be undertaking
an inventory of buildings utilizing renewable energy
technologies in Nova Scotia. The person hired will
undertake a promotion contest to identify renewable energy
homes in the province. The homes identified will be placed
in a database (http://www.solarns.ca/reap.php), prizes will
be awarded for the person who spots the most houses, and
a final event will be organized. Ongoing promotion of
renewable energy technologies will occur through media,
advertising, public meetings, and solar homes tours.

The person hired will oversee the five phases of the project:
prize acquisition, media preparation & contest
establishment, Spotting contest and advertising, validation
and database updating, contest draw and awards ceremony.

Responsibilities

1) Choose prizes for contest
2) Prepare advertising and promotion materials
3) Networking with businesses & community organizations
4) Conduct media interviews
5) Receive contest entries and enter into database
6) Validate authenticity of entries
7) Organize 2 public meetings, and 2 solar home tours
8) Organize awards ceremony

Skills

- self motivated & ability to work independently
- familiarity with renewable energy technologies (esp. solar)
- experience in advertising, media, promotion
- experience working with database
- demonstrated experience and/or ability in project
management and coordination

To Apply:

Applicants should email a short cover letter and resume to
energy@ecologyaction.ca with Solar Homes Inventory in
the subject line. Only candidates chosen for interview will
be contacted.