You can put up to 6 litres of food scraps and pet waste per day in the system. It will create enough gas to cook a good meal.

Assembled HomeBiogas System

HomeBiogas Kit

Recycled Leeks

Here’s a no-brainer for you: when you chop up your leeks, keep the lower section (about 1.5 cm) with the roots intact. Put the roots into water for a day or so, and then plant them back into your vegie patch. After a few weeks, new leaves will sprout, which you can harvest.

Leeks after several weeks in the vegie patch

Growing your own produce saves money and reduces your carbon footprint (no transport and refridgeration required). When you grow your own, you know it’s organic, and there is less waste, because you only pick what you need.

Turmeric coloured this cake frosting. Who knew?

So, it’s your turn to make the kid’s birthday cake again…how to get the colourful frosting minus those icky food colourings? Simple: turmeric (a spice powder) makes a great yellow, and spirulina (a whole-food vitamin-packed supplement based on a type of algae) makes a nice greenish colour. And guess what? You can’t taste the difference, and the cake recipient is overjoyed. Unfortunately, in this case, the sweets were regular, adulterated versions. Maybe next year I’ll find a better alternative.

Many synthetic food colourings are petrochemical derivatives. Some have been linked to behaviour disorders in children and to allergies. So why use them?

Mosaic made from broken stuff

Broken cups, plates, bowls, tiles and mirrors make great mosaic works of art. I keep all  my broken stuff in a box, and when the muse strikes, a new mosaic is born. This mosaic was made from a collection of broken cups, mugs, dishes, bathroom tile left-overs and a broken mirror.

Reusing broken stuff keeps waste out of landfills, and in this case, is fun.

Carboot Sale - Maybe in a Neighbourhood Near You?

So why are Carboot Sales good for you and for the planet? If you’re a seller, you make some extra cash from stuff that you don’t need anymore. If you are a buyer, you save money by buying second hand. In addition, we all save resources by reusing existing items instead of manufacturing new ones. We also prevent excess junk going to landfill.

Disposable Take-Away Cups are a No-No!

I love reusable take-away coffee cups, particularly the ones made from porcelain with a silicone lid. I  keep one in the car, and one at the office. OK, you may not save money using the one that you keep in your car, but you or your employer will save money by not having to refill the supply of disposable cups all the time. You can also save money by filling it up before you leave home, instead of buying a coffee on the way.

Disposable cups create a lot of garbage, and waste a lot of resources and energy in their manufacture and distribution. There are also health concerns with some types of disposable cups, because they leak toxins into your hot drink. The biggest offender in this regard are polystyrene foam cups, as described in an article by Earth Resource Foundation.

Trees Shading a House in Summer

You can drastically reduce your home heating and cooling costs using this simple passive heating and cooling technique. Plant deciduous trees or vines (on pergolas) along the sides of your house that get full sun, especially near windows. In the summer, the trees and vines will shade the walls and windows, preventing heat build-up inside the house.

Bare Trees Let the Sunshine in during Winter

 At my place, our shady deciduous trees and vines provide us with delicious summer fruits such as plums, figs, almonds, pears, apples, pomegranates and grapes.

In the winter, the bare trees allow the sunshine to heat your home, if you leave the curtains and shutters open during the day (but make sure to close them at night, to keep the heat inside).  This technique is known as passive solar heating. The sunshine will also make it light and bright inside, reducing the need to switch on the lights during the day. To collect extra heat in winter, place dark coloured heavy items (ceramic pots, pot plants) inside the windows, in direct sunlight. They will absorb the heat and release it later in the day. If you are renovating, consider using dark coloured floor tiles, stone or concrete near the windows to act as heat sinks. These passive solar design techniques will save you money and reduce home energy costs both in summer and winter.

My Solar Cooker

You can build your own solar cooker from found items or readily available materials, and cook your food for free using sunshine, a totally renewable, clean, and sustainable resource! Here’s a photo of my solar cooker, built from plywood, glass and aluminium foil. I’ve insulated it further using cardboard, old rags and shed hair from our very furry friend at home.

Solar cooking is possible anywhere where there is direct sunshine for a number of hours, and you can cook this way for about 6 – 10 months of the year, depending on where you live. It is most suitable for cooking “slow food”. We like to cook potatoes, antipasti, stuffed vegetables, lasagna, rice and legumes in our solar cooker. Our cooker reaches around 100 degrees Celsius inside on a warm summer day.

Solar cookers come in many shapes, sizes and designs, such as solar box cookers, solar parabolic cookers, and more. Most designs have two things in common: reflective materials and black cooking utensils which absorb the heat. A fantastic resource to get you started is Solar Cookers International. I built my first solar cooker from a cardboard box, some aluminum foil, and a cellophane oven bag.

Solar cooking saves money on energy costs in two ways: the cost of energy required to cook the food, and the cost of energy required to cool your home as a result of cooking inside on hot days. In places where firewood is the primary cooking fuel, the use of two solar cookers can save up to one ton of wood per year!

Solar cooking solutions are being used in the developing world as a means of reducing the need for firewood for cooking, and in disaster situations and refugee camps in places like Darfur and Chad. If you don’t fancy solar cooking for yourself, perhaps you could consider donating a solar cooker to someone who needs one, via NGOs such as Jewish World Watch for their solar cooker project.

Food cooking in the solar cooker

Did you know that the raising of beef for red meat produces more climate changing emissions than all transport emissions combined? If you want to save money and save the planet, consider changing one or more of your meals per week to vegetarian. It’s not easy for people to go fully vegetarian, but here are two options that will still make an impact:

Weekday Vegetarian: this idea was coined by Graham Hill, founder of the Treehugger web site. He explains the idea simply in this 4 minute TED video: http://www.ted.com/talks/graham_hill_weekday_vegetarian.html

Another worthy initiative is the Meatless Monday movement, which encourages people to go vegetarian on Mondays. The idea was developed by Sid Lerner, in collaboration with the John Hopkins School of Public Health Center for a Liveable Future.

There are lots of great and tasty alternatives to meat meals, and there is no need to be limited to just a green salad. Protein rich meals could include ingredients such as quinoa (my favourite), legumes, couscous, oats, nuts, seeds, eggs, and cheeses. Sustainably harvested fish are also a good option. In winter-time, spoil yourself with a hearty thick soup or a stir-fry; in summer go for a salad with some nuts, cheese, beans and cooked pasta or quinoa tossed in. The easiest way to find a good vegetarian recipe on the fly is to simply make a list of a few basic ingredients that are in your fridge or pantry, and just Google them along with the word “recipe”. I found a yummy and versatile quinoa-bake recipe by doing that, which can be modified with whatever vegetables or cheeses you happen to have on hand: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/11/on_moving_towar_1.php

So how will becoming a Weekday Vegetarian or Meatless Monday adherent help you and the planet? By eating less meat, especially beef, you will be lowering emissions caused by the meat industry which contribute significantly to global warming. You will help save precious drinking water, because the raising of cattle uses 100 times more water than growing vegetables. You will save trees, because in many developing countries, forests are cut down to produce more grazing land for the cattle. Cattle are treated with anti-biotics and various pesticides and chemicals, which end up in the environment and the food chain, which are harmful to us all. Last but not least, meat is more expensive than vegetarian options, so you will save money, too.

I love the Bread in Five Minutes a Day method (Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking), which uses no-knead, quick and simple recipes. You prepare the dough in advance, and you can keep it in your fridge for up to two weeks. When you need a fresh loaf, you just cut off a portion of dough and bake up a loaf. However, I usually bake up the whole batch at once, and freeze the loaves not needed immediately in a big re-usable plastic container. That way, I only have to use the oven once, and that saves energy. Here is a picture of my home-made bread.