Sustainable Living Skills You Need to Survive
It might not seem so serious to the average consumer in the First World, but the future of the world as we know hangs in the balance. The media is full of bad news that can make changing things for the better seem hopeless, but there are simple and radical things you can do to reduce your impact and set an example for others. It's not just a choice, our survival depends on it.
Follow my YouTube Channel Hardcore Sustainable to find out how I've implemented sustainable technologies and techniques at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage to help me live more lightly on the Earth.
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Turning waste into food: Oyster mushrooms on old shitake logs
In this video I take some old shitake logs, along with some white oak beam cutoffs, and inoculate them with oyster mushroom spawn. I’d read about reusing old shitake logs to grow mushrooms in succession in a Paul Stamets book. I’m going to give them a jump by putting them in the microclimate of my hoop house. Grow your food locally for a more sustainable economy.
Sustainable Landscaping: Scythe vs String Trimmer
Most people these days maintain their yard with a lawnmower and a string trimmer (or weed whacker, as we like to call it), but before the days of fossil fuel, the scythe was the preferred mowing tool. Virtually silent in comparison to its carbon emitting counterparts, the scythe is simply manufactured, durable, and long lived. Best of all, it requires no fossil fuel, only muscle power. And for that reason it’s also provides good exercise.
At Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, where we are building a post fossil fuel culture and community, the scythe is the tool of choice for yard and farm maintenance. The renewable energy powered electric string trimmer also has a place in maintaining a space.
Homemade Tamales from all Local Ingredients
Many people in the rich world have little connection to the food they eat. They find what they need at the local grocery store. Ingredients have been shipped across the country or the world, possibly more than once, before being assembled into a highly processed form that has questionable health benefits. More likely, the food the large brands are feeding them is detrimental to their health. Continue reading
Catching Household Water from the Sky
This video will show you the systems I’ve set up to collect rainwater and use it in my house. With water scarcity being such a big issue in many parts of the country and around the world thanks to climate change, overpopulation, and overconsumption, more than ever American households need to set up more sustainable systems for water use. Continue reading
My Passive Solar Tiny House
This video is an introduction to the passive solar design features of my strawbale tiny house. This 450 sq ft house uses south facing windows to heat itself during winter, supplementing heat provided by a wood stove. Roman-style thermal curtains on all windows help to conserve heat. A cantilevered second floor and overhangs keep the sun out during warmer times of the year. Continue reading
Intro to Hardcore Sustainable
This is an introduction and trailer to my new Youtube channel Hardcore Sustainable.
This channel will bring you an in-depth look at the techniques and technologies I’ve implemented to reduce my impact on the planet. Continue reading