Village Homes: A Model for Sustainable Suburbs

...ntelligence. For instance, the homes are all designed according to passive solar principles, so their heating and cooling bills are considerably reduced. Some have even have green roofs. But more interesting is the landscaping, the massive network of bike/walking paths and the creative use of public space. The entire development is essentially a big food forest. All of the rainfall is captured and instead of being directed to the sewer system, it...

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Saturday Tweets: Cheap Heaters, Paper Airplanes and Lost Ornaments

Solar-OSE: Solar concentrator for steam generation https://t.co/bj8QmXxG6t — Root Simple (@rootsimple) November 6, 2015 Cheapest Heater In The World Version 2. Bigger, Better, Hotter . https://t.co/bTmzTutTWX — Root Simple (@rootsimple) November 6, 2015 Citizen Maths: free/open adult math education for practical real-world numeracy https://t.co/n4IvJEytGn — Root Simple (@rootsimple) November 3, 2015 Gorgeous book of paper airplanes collected by a...

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Weekend Linkages: Quilts, Pedways and Past Futures

...Quilt, Solar System. 1983.0618.01. Ellen Harding Baker’s “Solar System” Quilt Nobody Drives in LA — Exploring Downtown’s Calvin S. Hamilton Pedway A 19th-Century Vision of the Year 2000 The Best Commuter Bike Lights A digital archive of graphic design related items that are available on the Internet Archives (via Recomendo) Soda Can Aluminum Chuck Glider...

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What Preparedness Lessons Did You Learn From Hurricane Sandy?

...’ve wanted for a while, but never had the funds for (or forgot about) is a solar powered generator. That sure would have made my life a lot easier this week! 6) have an evacuation plan. I have no idea how to get out of Staten Island by bus. I always take the ferry because it’s close and convenient. 7) what happened in Breezy Point, Queens (a 6 alarm fire that destroyed a block of houses) could happen anywhere. Make sure that the stuff that’s price...

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New Project: Making Bitters

...I’ll share the recipes I develop as I follow this path. In the meanwhile, making your own bitters is really easy. You may be able to throw a few experiments together just using things you find in your spice cabinet. Since these are flavoring, not medicine, you don’t have to be as careful with the quantities and timing as you must be when tincturing herbs for medicine. Yet at the same time, it’s a great introduction to that essential herbalist’s c...

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