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4 Comments
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Re: Window Farms
2009-10-14 14:05:59 UTC
Very interesting and clever idea. Anyone have any thoughts on the energy consumption of these systems? If electric lighting and pumping is required, does it make sense to grow this way, if you have alternatives such as a backyard kitchen garden? (Obviously, many folks don't have a backyard to garden.)
Neil Chura
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Toilet Recycling - the "Low Flush Hang-Over"
2009-10-14 13:52:51 UTC
Civic programs in many jurisdictions are promoting disposal of old toilets that use large volumes of water and encouraging installation of new toilets that use much less. What is happening to the massive load of old toilets resulting from these campaigns? Do we know what percentage of the load is going direct to landfill disposal? Are there practical and useful ways to reuse or recycle old toilets? Are there good programs or ideas to aid jurisdictions that need inspiration?
Neil Chura
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Household Food Security
2008-12-20 14:29:43 UTC
The availability of quality food stuff to sustain a population is frequently discussed at a theoretical level, broadly under the concept of food security. Frequently, discussions of food security focus at a regional or international scale. But, who, ultimately, takes responsibility for ensuring that individual communities have access to safe, healthy food during times of crisis? I invite members to use this space to think constructively about what might happen if our major institutions fail, either slowly due to systemic challenges, or suddenly, due to emergency threats. In particular, I invite specific thoughts on household contributions to community food security. How much food could indivdual households actually produce? What are the priorities for action? What specific food security actions are people actually taking in their own households, or witnessing in their own communities?
Neil Chura
Canada
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Re: Energy efficiency solutions in the home - Canadian Context
2008-10-08 15:47:07 UTC
Hi Angie:
While our home energy efficiency issues in the Canadian context may be quite different from your situation down there, you may want to peruse the information available for home owners on the Green Communities Canada website (http://egh.gca.ca/index.php?en_home). GCC is a network of community-based organizations, many of which have signed on to deliver government energy efficiency programs to homeowners across Canada. The site links to the main efficiency programs from the Canadian government, as well as to the individual members of GCC, which offer various "tip" information to their respective clients and communities. It is my view as an energy advisor that we have yet in Canada to move much beyond distributing the "canned" information that has been pulled together from our government agencies as an "official" response to mushrooming concerns and problems with home energy consumption. While much of the information is very good, some of it is less than practical. My sense is that as individuals increasingly have to come to grips with their own energy budget, more localized, and more "necessity-as-the-mother-of-invention" type practices will emerge and circulate. In that regard, I wonder if there are not heaps of tips to be salvaged from our grand parents (maybe even great grandparents) generations. I think it is also worth considering that when we are talking about tips and solutions for home energy efficiency, we are into a "knowledge" intensive subject rather than just simple "information". We can think of knowledge as information with "experience" applied to it. Compared to information, knowledge is more of challenge to capture, record, share, disseminate, and generally, get to the people who need it at the appropriate time. Thus, it is important to look at this as a knowledge management project, albeit, at the grassroots levels where high tech systems are not likely practical. Can you share your research and conclusions when complete?
Cheers,
NEIL CHURA,
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