Building a Floating Island

I've begun getting video.
http://vimeo.com/user7636532/building-a-floating-island

My New Nomadic Life

I share my days among the towns of Citrus Heights, Santa Rosa and Oakland as well as visiting a working vineyard near Clearlake. I'm connecting with old friends and making new friends.

It's a time of renewal for me.

At the global level, I believe this is the calm before the storm: in the next few months we will begin to feel the effects of Japan's calamity all over the world. Everywhere I go I am making mental catalogs of available resources, noting how resilient the locals are, and participating in conversations around helping those in need while also caring for ourselves.

I wasn't sure about whether any of this belonged on "The Home of the Future" but as I move into this new incarnation of the work I can see that it does.

Right now, today, I am eating these berries as I look at this broken swimming pool and imagine how to convert it to aquaculture using onsite materials.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Waste

Cleaning out the refrigerator, I end up with a collection of bottles and containers formerly holding the last bits of condiments and food. Food stuffs I had already decided I would never finish eating.
A big part of sustainability is being careful what I buy at the store so that I have less stuff to throw away.
Tonight I removed about 20 pounds of compostible (food) waste from the kitchen and another 10 or so recyclable packaging.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Updated Template

There was nothing wrong with the old template. However, the comment system had been taken over and was going to cost me money. I successfully archived all the comments before changing over to Blogger's comment system.

Backyard Foraging

My neighbor Jess writes a nice article that includes how to make pesto from nasturtiums. She's pretty keen on something she's calling "weed gardening." It's a technique of noticing what is growing really well in the margins of your yard, and using that as food. She made a successful quiche from sow thistle, for example.

I've been eating wild radish for as long as I can recall. I discovered it when I was perhaps 8, exploring the wilds of Orange County. I'd pull up the ubiquitous plant and chew on the thin bit of root meat surrounding the woody core, enjoying its horseradish like quality.

My yard right now has several hybrids of wild radish and other brassicas. The particular plant in the picture above is making giant, juicy, crisp, flavorful seeds pods. I'm munching on them nearly daily. Soon they'll start to set seed and they won't be so pleasant.

Have a look around your yard! See if there are any edible feral flora growing near you. Start simply, adding petals to salads and that sort of thing. Educate yourself so you don't accidentally eat something harmful, but by all means experiment and find what's yummy in your unexpected places!

Benefits in Green Building

Guest post by Krista Peterson

Sure, everyone seems to be getting out and going “green” these days. From driving hybrid cars to living vegan lifestyles, many people are taking different steps towards better living throughout the world recently. In the area of green building, using these types of building materials can be not only beneficial in cost effectiveness and sustainability, but also in some more important areas. Minor substitutions and green materials used in the building process can be particularly beneficial in improving overall health and cutting down on the risk of disease for the future.

Paint is often one of the primary materials throughout a building or remodeling process. What many people are unaware of is that most common paints are high in Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) which present health risks and threats to air quality when constantly inhaled. Given the repeated exposure that would be likely during a remodeling or building process, the associated health risks with VOC’s are a possibility for builders and remodelers. The range of health problems can span from extremely minor to some more permanent and long term issues. Repeated exposure to VOC’s have been shown to sometimes lead to health risks such as fatigue, headaches and dizziness, as well as more dangerous risks like kidney or liver damage.

Alternatives for paint products are relatively easy to come by. Most common hardware stores carry great options for normal paint products that are usually high in volatile organic compounds. The best alternative is to look for organic and low-VOC paints. This will certainly reduce risk of exposure and health risk.

Insulation can also be a great way to replace potentially toxic products with green building materials, while reducing health risks in the process. Many older homes, up until the 1970’s and 1980’s were built using asbestos as a common material in insulation purposes for houses and buildings. Unfortunately, although being extremely versatile and trustworthy as a building material. Asbestos began to be known as one of the primary developers in health problems such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, respiratory problems and other minor issues such as fatigue and dizziness. While both of these may seem inconsequential as far as health problems, the other risks are not to be taken lightly. For example, mesothelioma life expectancy is usually only between eight and 14 months after diagnosis. Having older homes checked for asbestos in the insulation and looking for new alternatives can be a major step towards better overall health. Even in the case that asbestos may not be a problem for your individual house, insulation is a great option for green building because of its ability to increase a home’s sustainability and reduce the carbon footprint, while still being cost effective.

Green options in insulation present some of the best forms of sustainability in houses today. As previously mentioned, making the switch to these green options can certainly decrease possible health risks, but they can also be high in sustainability and extremely cost effective at the same time. Some of the options in green insulation include the use of cellulose and lycnene. Cellulose is usually the most popular form of green insulation. It’s made from 80 percent of recycled paper and parts of newspaper, and comes complete without the dangers of formaldehyde. It’s also one of the cheapest options of green insulation as well. Lycnene is a form of spray foam insulation that is often the most sustainable form. Because it’s sprayed into seeps and cracks, its ability to keep air trapped in the house is excellent.

Certainly there are other easy steps that can be taken to help out in green insulation, but these two are some great ones to look at, primarily because of their ability to replace products that may have health risks, while still adding to the overall sustainability of the home.

E-Waste? No Problem.

This is "Timmy."

Timmy is full of e-waste.

Where should Timmy go to put all this e-waste? Is there a place nearby which will take this e-waste from Timmy? Yes, there is! I found ecollective.com through Google, and then Mobius Computers through ecollective. Chris answered my voicemail in under 5 minutes, and within an hour I was dropping off 300 pounds of wires, cables, computers, monitors, and a printer. "If you'd have told me all this was going to fit in that little car I'd have never believed you," said Aaron, the supervisor. He was super friendly and knowledgeable and made the process painless and easy. "The state pays the charges for CRT recycling, since we're a certified recycler."

While The crew at Mobius unloaded Timmy, the other company I'd contacted to get my goodies called me back. Too late! Mobius Computers Corporate E-Waste Recyclers wins this round!

Next!

So what now? We have so much technology... is that what is going to save us?

No.

It's getting to know each other more, releasing each other from our fears and pains and blocks... it's courageously looking at my relationship of 25 years and acknowledging "We've been working on this for years and we're still stagnant and it's just getting worse;" it's trusting that a higher Power is at work; it's realizing that I am free in a way I've never been; it's searching for and doing whatever it is I am uniquely here on the planet to do; it's encouraging you to do the same; it's seeing that we are all saints already and our fears hold us back from expressing that; it's unplugging from Facebook and taking a friend out to dinner--

We will be saved not because of technology but because we finally stop being driving by our fears and then hitch our souls to our dreams.

What Did I Learn?

My coach said, "I've worked with you for nearly ten years. You were very different when we started. You took on the Home of the Future project to learn something. What is it? What was so important? What did doing this teach you?"

In the space of two heartbeats, I recalled who I'd been, who I became as I tried so hard to fit into the life I'd arranged up until then; I recalled the changes wrought in me through yoga and meditation, through my permaculture class, through buying and living in this home in this cohousing community; I recalled what I'd put my family through, the sacrifices they made and continue to make; I recalled the gifts of the Spirit and companionship that have been bestowed upon me; I recalled the various housemates and meetings and challenges and celebrations and conversations and healings I witnessed and participated in; I recalled the children I'd played with, the women I'd loved, the men who befriended me...

A lump rose in my throat.

"I learned that I'm 'Dad.' Not some autocratic figure, but 'Abba;' nurturer, holder of space, appreciator of what is and what is becoming; teacher, student, facilitator; the bringer of something to the planet that didn't exist until I called it into being with the help and inspiration of those people around me."

"That's huge," she said.

Back into Foreclosure

I was very depleted after five years of so much effort to manifest the Home of the Future. I took a break. Last week I decided to come off break. I made a list of pros and cons regarding making the effort to keep this project going in this incarnation, and what actions I would need to take in order to sustain it.

The pros outnumber and outweigh the cons.

As if to reward me for pulling my head out of my navel, I got a Notice of Trustee Sale taped to my front door yesterday. The timeline is super short; December 13th. I'll call the bank and see what's up.

I'm in a pretty good mood about it. I really feel God's love and support. The "right" thing is going to be the thing that happens. The right thing is already happening. I'm feeling His presence within me. With Him as my center, my heart, my shelter, my shield, whatever happens out in the world cannot undo me.

Sustainable Consumption Musings

I'm pondering galvanized pipes.

Oliver Cannell, a student currently studying environmental sciences at the University of East Anglia in the U.K., asked me for a definition of sustainable consumption. I gave him one, and in the writing of it realized that we have, in addition to a constant input of energy from the sun and time from the Universe, an ever-increasing resource in terms of human ingenuity.

We've been transporting water for all of recorded history, and along the way have discovered lead poisoning and hydraulics, created new methods of organizing people and making people pay for something that is inherently free, and other marvels. We've used materials science and social science to solve the problems we encounter.

A lead pipe is completely recyclable, but the side effects of water transported in lead are hard on folks. An steel pipe will rust; dipping it in zinc creates a material that when scratched will heal itself. Unfortunately, the zinc is a contaminant if you want to recycle the steel.

Recycling wasn't as important 150 years ago. Delivering clean water was. Now we believe recycling is important, too. With the power of human ingenuity we'll come up with another material that is "better" than hot-dipped galvanized pipe (or PVC pipe, or ABS, or any of the other non-recyclable materials) for delivering water.

The Pause

I hired my coach again.

Years ago, Nika Quirk helped me reach into my yearnings and pull out an action plan that got me to today. I'm caught up with the steps we outlined. Many manys of rewards and unseen consequences have occurred; for example, I have oodles of opportunity before me and my family has moved out and the big old house is effectively empty.

So, what's next?

Don't know.

But I'm curious to find out.

Prop 23 and co-opting the Tea Party

San Jose Mercury News:

Shirlee Pierce, a tea party activist in Solano County, says she contacted the Yes on 23 campaign on her own after doing research about the ballot initiative on the Internet. She's now organizing people to hand out Yes on 23 fliers at a Fairfield Safeway. "To begin with, nobody knows if there really is global warming or if it is just a big scam to enrich the solar companies,"said Pierce, who is retired.

Apparently, enriching out-of-state oil companies (who are meddling in our state's politics) is preferable to enriching local solar companies who are actually providing new, green jobs.

EV Event at the Craneway

You're invited to join 3Prong Power at the Green Drive Expo this Saturday.

Normally the event is $10 per adult, but as an exhibitor at the expo 3Prong Power is able to offer you free admission to the expo. To print off a coupon for FREE admission go to http://greendriveexpo.com/greendriveexpocoupon and use the coupon code 3PRONG.

Green Drive Expo is a new consumer expo happening in the San Francisco Bay Area on Oct. 9. It's the first green car show of its kind in the Bay Area.

It's taking place in the Marina District of Richmond, right on the waterfront, at the Craneway Pavilion -- the location of a former Ford auto factory where the company built Model Ts and Model As. (The Craneway Pavilion is located at 1414 Harbour Drive, Richmond, CA. The Expo runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

At the expo will be exhibits, test drives, speakers and more! See Plug in Priuses and other Electric vehicles from major manufacturers including Nissan, Toyota and Ford.

Public programs include a session on the real-life experiences of EV drivers--including a Tesla owner who will be driving up from Southern California in his Roadster for the event.

Additional session topics include green car conversions, manufacturer's forums, consumer incentives, and bicycle commuting.

The keynote panel will be Chelsea Sexton, a long-time EV advocate and key figure in "Who Killed the Electric Car".

There will be activities throughout the day including opportunities for people to sign up as VIPs and show off their green vehicles. For more information visit the Green Drive Expo website atwww.GreenDriveExpo.com .

Electrically yours,

The 3Prong Power Team