Ecolonomic Life

Dandelions are a very familier weed and seems to really like flower beds and lawns. Photo from Grian Herbs Knowledge Base.

If you’ve ever had your own garden you know the dilemma of weeds. They are always getting in the way and can be real pains in the neck (and back). If you don’t really care about the environment then toxic herbicides are the way to go, but they are harmful to more than just those weeds. Herbicide run off is toxic to wild animals and even children who play near the place they were sprayed, not to mention other plants and insects as well. The chemicals can also ruin the soil. The solution is a lot better than getting down on hands and knees and plucking the weeds out though. There are things you can do that are good for the environment and will make those pests a little more manageable. (more…)

China has the largest population in the world and possibly one of the highest pollution rates in the world. Last Thursday, China and the United States made a stride to reduce their rates of impact on the climate. I have already explained the new Energy Bill in previous posts and it seems that China wants to go green as well.

The United States and China are going to collaborate together in making better green technologies. Their focus will primarily be the building sector. Both countries goals are to have eighty percent more efficient buildings. China builds more structures than most other countries in the world. I believe that if they take greater measures to produce greener technology they will greatly affect the climate and also the activity of other societies. (more…)

Some time ago I wrote a post about the pros and cons of e-books. Regardless of those debates e-books are growing to be a very popular form of literature. I even have begun to think that e-books are a wondrous invention (and I love the old fashion form of books).

Research was the thought in my mind. I have discovered that you are able to highlight and search when using a Kindle. This is a great feature that can be used for many different industries. Kindles could become a student’s best friend if it can bring text book prices down and make research and notes easier. (more…)

Fighting climate change has not been at the top of some oil industries list. For some, it could be found at the bottom of their list. Exxon Mobil, one of the nation’s largest oil companies, has pushed climate change to the top of their list. This could be a huge step for the oil industry as a whole. Exxon is investing $600 million dollars in the research and development of algae based fuel, sometimes called in oil industry “oilgae.” Exxon has been known and criticized as an oil company that doesn’t care about its impact on the climate. The same people who have criticized them for not caring are questioning whether the company will actually do something with this research. Exxon has admitted that this will be a slow process that could take five to ten years before being implemented. If they do follow through with this program there is no telling where the oil industry will go. This could be one of the greatest steps for alternative energy. (more…)

The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) passed the House by a very slim margin. It was passed with 219 votes to 212. In my last blog I discussed everything that was found in the draft formulated by co-sponsors Henry Waxman and Edward Markey, both Democratic Representatives. Once the discussion draft made into the House, amendments and changes came. The bill was expanded to about one thousand three hundred pages. There is no doubt that much controversy and debate came over this bill. (more…)

My focus for today’s blog is to clearly lay out the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. I think, before we talk about the pros and cons of this act, any reader should understand what this bill is exactly.

There are four titles (or sections) to the bill. I will address each one individually. I will only be able to give you a brief summary because the bill is a thousand page document that I could go into great depth about. That will probably bore most readers, so I’m going to give you what you need to know and leave out all the rest. (more…)

America has entered a new era in history. For the past one hundred plus years you could say we were partaking in the Industrial Revolution. This was a time of great economic growth and urban development. For the past couple decades and coinciding with the Industrial Revolution was (and quite arguably still is) the Technology era. We have experienced the greatest advancements in technology all the way from transportation down to MP3 players and phones. Well, it seems we are now entering what could be considered the Green Revolution.

I guess it could be argued we have been in this revolution since the late 60’s early 70’s when hippies were all for saving the environment, but I believe the greatest turning point would be the amount of influence the government is now having on the environment. The House just passed a bill on June 26th called the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) that is the first of its kind. It is the first lawful step that has ever been taken to stop greenhouse emissions. (more…)

Colorado is very strict about its water. Because of the Continental Divide and the Rocky Mountains, water for the country can very well be traced back to Colorado. This was the cause for water rights and has now caused any precipitation that comes into Colorado ownership of the state. Water collection is out of the question because of these tight water laws. The only people who could collect water were those who had old water rights or occasionally when there is a surplus of water in the rivers.

My last post discusses this issue and I promised to address the law today. Well, to my surprise, the law has now changed. I read in my local newspaper that effective July 1st, rainwater and snowmelt collection will be permissible. I found the news a little ironic due to the post I had written the day before, but it couldn’t have come at a better time because of the blog I had promised the readers. Sadly, the law is too good to be true. (more…)

I’m sitting here, inside, listening to the rain fall. I can hear it distinctly on the roof. It’s a soothing sound. Rather pleasant to just close your eyes and listen. It never really rains here in Colorado. We have had a very wet late spring and early summer. It has rained every afternoon for the last few weeks. I can’t complain really. We need the moisture, but I feel like something can be done with all this water.

A great idea is to have a rain water collection system that can be used to water plants and can even be used in toilettes. This is a great way to conserve water and money. You can easily make your own collection system, or you can buy one. Both of these methods can be found online by doing a simple Google or Yahoo search. I believe that it’s a great idea for water plants, but you must not drink or consume this water in any way. There can be some toxic run off, either from roofs or any other surface that uses chemicals to create it (so quite a few). Now, this is not bad for your plants, because they were getting soaked by the same water anyways. (more…)

I bought a sweater a while back that was made from a super soft material. I didn’t really care about what it was made from I just bought it because it was soft. After buying the garment I looked at the materials and found that it was made from Angora rabbit fur. This unnerved me. All I could think about is how a rabbit (if not several) were killed in order to make this sweater. I was not happy about my purchase after that. It wasn’t until later that I came to realize no rabbit was killed in order to produce the fibers of my sweater. (more…)