LA ecovillage: self-reliance in a car-free urban homestead

...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdQGozSavz8 Johnny, who shot that nice video of us for faircompanies.com just made another video about our friends at the LA ecovillage. It’s well worth a view. Some of the most amazing folks in Los Angeles live there. And I like that fact that’s it’s an ecovillage smack dab in the middle of my beloved hometown. Make sure to also check out Johnny’s blog Granola Shotgun....

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Book Review: The Urban Bestiary

...estiary is an exploration of the intimate intersection of humans and other urban animals, such as coyotes and raccoons and opossums and squirrels. In The Urban Bestiary, Haupt introduces us to our close neighbors, the animals which share our land, and sometimes even our homes. She gives us a naturalist’s overview of their behaviors, physiology and life cycles, interspersed with personal anecdotes and interviews with wildlife experts. The resulting...

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On the 100th Birthday of Our House: The Past and Future of Housing in the U.S.

...onnie Maas Morrison points out in a paper, “Ninety Years of U.S. Household Energy History,” household energy savings have been more than offset by increases in consumption elsewhere in our lives. Think of the conveniences required for today’s dual-earner, single-parent/multi-job holding households. Think of the eating-out phenomenon, think of the pre-packaged, pre-prepared meals (from freezer, to micro-wave, to table, to garbage can, all in one co...

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Permaculture Design Course at the Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano

...r design, walk through an energy audit, how to read a utility bill, ‘going solar,’ tour of energy-efficient home, design an alternative energy plan for your own energy-efficient home / home-scale energy audit MAY 31 / DESIGN OFF-SITE – Perform client interview/determine clients needs/wants; budget considerations; site walk; sector analysis; mapping of space; create a design + plan, group design time with guided mentoring JUNE 1 / ALTERNATIVE FUTUR...

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Saturday Linkages: Battling Herbicides, Solar Wall Ovens and Jaywalking

...the Cane Toad http://ensia.com/voices/consider-the-cane-toad/ … Commercial Solar Wall Ovens http://feedly.com/e/nrC8gJXU Wilson Solar Grill for outdoor cooking http://www.examiner.com/article/wilson-solar-grill-for-outdoor-cooking … America’s public transit routes, mapped: http://boingboing.net/2014/02/06/americas-public-transit-rout.html … LA residents: The city offers free native trees for street planting. Coast Live Oaks are approved as street...

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