Appropriate Technology

...ove is that these technologies have a place in developed western countries as well. Here’s three of our favorite appropriate tech ideas and websites: 1. Rocket Stoves: our brick rocket stove and a link to a video on how to make a simple metal version. 2. The glorious Solar Cooking Archive which has links to dozens of simple solar cooker plans that you can build yourself. We built our cardboard and aluminum foil Pavarti cooker with plans from the s...

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Crapper Livin’

...e, there is less convenience with a building like this. With a very simple solar water heating system showers need to be taken at the end of the day and the very modest solar panel would not be able to power any major appliances. But these are minor sacrifices compared to the enormous benefits of self-sufficiency, namely one’s freedom. An aside here – SurviveLA encourages a trip out to beautiful Santa Rosa Island to enjoy the natural wonders and t...

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Root Simple Visits Simparch’s Utah Compound

...WII era Quonset hut. Water is biked in with specially adapted cargo bikes. Solar power pumps the water up to the tower where it is heated by the sun in a black drum. A solar panel array and batteries provide more than enough power, all day and all night, to run power tools and pump some tunes out on the powerful stereo system. The composting toilet features, what must be the most stunning view to be seen from any toilet seat perch in the world – t...

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Saturday Linkages: Goat Wars, Dinites and a Sanitary Pad Revolution

...er-heating-system-for.html?spref=tw … A Solar Heated Loo http://www.builditsolarblog.com/2014/02/a-solar-heated-loo.html?spref=tw … A rat map that shows NYC’s restaurant rodent takeover http://barfblog.com/2014/02/a-rat-map-that-shows-nycs-restaurant-rodent-takeover/ … Is hot water more effective for washing hands? No! http://barfblog.com/2014/03/no-is-hot-water-more-effective-for-washing-hands/ … Red house with salvaged doors in Liverpool http://...

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Incandescent, Compact Fluorescent or LED?

...ewildering array of choices and what bulbs might be best in terms of cost, energy conservation and aesthetics. Some takeaways: The current way of comparing bulbs–lumens per watt–does not take into account how the eye responds to color. Incandescent bulbs give off a wide spectrum of light. Fluorescents and, to a lesser extent, LEDs do not give off as wide a spectrum of light which can make a room lit with them seem dimmer. In some situations incand...

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