Global warming? Take an interest!

Check these videos produced by a high school science teacher if you are wondering if there is any truth to the global warming issues that you have heard about.

The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See (9.33mins)


Cannot make a decision as to what you should do next? Start by forwarding these videos to everyone you know and let them decide. In fact, this cool teacher has produced them in such a manner that even your children will find these usually "dry messages" engaging.

Patching Holes #3: The Manpollo Project (With Explosions) (10.56 min)


How It All Ends (9.58 min)


He even had his videos indexed to make it easy for you to follow through what he has created. So, if you missed one of his points and could not quite understand what he was trying to convey in one of the videos, just look through the index he has posted in the following video for the one you should be viewing for answers. Take a shot at indexing the videos for him if you can do a better job.

How It All Ends: Index (9.28min)


And, yes, you can do anything you want with his videos, including, making a profit out of them if you can. His objective is that YOU champion this cause to create the awareness of global warming.

Finally caught your interest? You can have all you want of wonderingmind42 and what he is into.

Just find the time and take some actions.

You asked for it! Green activities.

A request from my Inbox:

Please, could you kindly tell me if you know of activities that can be done with children and their parents to introduce, remind or develop and awareness and more importantly adapt buying and disposal habits with respect to recyclable materials.

Games, toy making, craft type activities would be ideal. I hope to use these at outdoor events I organise for families.

============================================================================
Here are my suggestions with links to articles I have written earlier that will be useful for your project:

1) Take the families out for walks at public gardens or National Parks. Then provoke their senses by showing them pictures of what these places will look like if they do not take care of the environment.

2) You can use your fingers to tell them why they should be mindful of the environment.

3) Get the children appreciating green places by getting them to cut out pictures of parks or forest reserves they can go with their parents. They can paste the pictures and note their locations in old calendars.

4) In my country, I am allowed to pick seeds off parks in our housing estates. If it is allowed in UK, get the children to collect seeds from parks in their neighbourhood and bring them home to grow or give away. Take pictures of the trees or plants near where the seeds dropped off from so that they will have a record of the greens they have planted.

5) I have posted a few videos to remind or create an awareness of how our shopping habits can affect the environment. A very good example of one is the following:

Shopping? Buying product or packaging?

Through my experience, the children will appreciate the following videos:

Teaching children? You need superheroes.

"If I am your friend..." is a poem I wrote for the children to go with this video I showed them.

The children love this video best:
Underwears? Yes, can be recycled.

There are a few videos from "The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See" which was created by a Physics school teacher in US.

6) If you do a search for packaging on my blog, you will find that I have posted many ideas on how to make use of them. I have also posted many free tutorials using scrap materials on this blog and on Creative Recyclers.

7) A drum circle is something that they can play outdoor. The children can create their own Recycled Musical Ware. They can also create decorations for their musical wares.

8) Don't miss out the children who do not enjoy and will not join your outdoor activities. Let them learn about going green playing games. It will also be a fun way to introduce children to the world of recycling.

This is it for the moment till I find more activities to add to this.

Be a GIANT with small footprints?

I have written about using your fingers to teach to save usage of paper in a classroom environment and today I have another idea to share with you.

Did you notice the slides I have been using on my blog? You can easily find short and interesting slides on public domains to teach with. Here is one presentation on air pollution and...

| View | Upload your own

...another on Plastic Pollution in Our Oceans

| View | Upload your own

I discovered them from SlideShare.

If you are able to create your own PowerPoint slides about the environment, post them online for public viewing so that more people will be able to read about them. Also, when you save your work on the net, as long as you can go online, you can show your presentations wherever you may be.

You can also search for relevant videos from YouTube to present. Just learn to download them onto your notebook, computer or onto a hand-held disc storage.

Then instead of printing write outs for distribution, all you have to do is to provide links to the slides or videos you have shown. I am sure that if the children or adults have enjoyed them, they will be emailing these links to their friends.

When you work on spreading news about caring for our environment that way, you are able to reach a wider group of people. So, there you are, you can be a GIANT (spreading environmental information) with small footprints (to a large group of people).

And as you tread along, you will soon realise that you have also managed to turn your GIANT footprints small, carbonwise.

More reasons to brew kombucha

Have you heard about kombucha?  It is a fermented tea.  I read that it originated in China and other parts of Asia over 2000 years ago.  

To brew it, you will need:

-water
-tea
-sugar 
-SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast) pellicle with kombucha (the starter tea) 

A new batch can be brewed with just the kombucha as starter tea as the SCOBY culture is present in it but it will take a longer time to ferment without the pellicle.  The SCOBY pellicle is usually supplied with kombucha.  However, if you only have the pellicle, you can use two tablespoon of distilled white vinegar to replace the kombucha as the starter tea. New SCOBY pellicles will form as a by-product of the fermentation process.  

I became interested in learning about kombucha when I found out that the SCOBY pellicles used in the production of kombucha can be dried to become a leather like fabric that you can use as art and craft material.  Watch this video to see how the material can be created with kombucha.

As shown in the above video, you can make SCOBY pellicles in petri dishes:

-by pouring two tablespoon of kombucha (must be unflavoured starter tea) into each dish.

If your intention is to make art and craft material with the SCOBY pellicles produced, you can: 

-add colourings of your choice to each dish.

-leave them to ferment for 2-3 weeks till pellicles are formed.

-check thickness of pellicles.

-when thick enough, take them out of the dishes to dry under the sun for a day.
-bring them in to air dry in a well ventilated area.

You can start crafting with them when they are dry.  As to what you can make with them, check out videos shared at GiY: Bio Buddies.  I like how they were able to make lanterns with them.

Other than that, why should anyone take the trouble to brew kombucha?  Based on my research, it is a beverage filled with:

-amino acids

-vitamins B
-vitamins C

-minerals

-antioxidants 

-probiotics

Drinking it regularly will:

-boost immunity.

-enhance mood.

-fight allergies.

-detoxify and defend body of infection and disease.

-detoxify liver which will put you in a happy mood.

-increase metabolism.

-improve digestion.

-rebuild connective tissue. 

-helps with arthritis, gout, asthma, rheumatism.

-cancer prevention

-reduce glucose levels.
-aid healthy cell regeneration.  

The tea you buy to brew kombucha should be organic as you do want them coated in pesticides which can inhibit the fermentation and brewing process and can eventually kill your SCOBY.  These are the type of tea you can use:

-pure black tea (reported to make it much more flavourful).
-green tea
-white tea 
-oolong tea 
-hibiscus tea
-a blend of the above

You should avoid using teas:

-that are scented or flavored teas which can effect the growth of your kombucha culture.

-like Earl Grey that will introduce naturals oils as they float on top and suffocates the SCOBY.

-like Chai which contains cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, all of which have antibacterial properties, that will kill the SCOBY.
-that are herbal like peppermint or chamomile as they will not be able to provide the nutrients necessary to feed your kombucha culture. 

Do not start the process till you have the following utensils on hand:

-stock pot or sauce pan
-long *wooden spoon

-glass jar with a wide opening to ease adding or removing SCOBY pellicles in size of: 

1/2 gallon or 2 quarts (64 oz / 1.9 Liter) glass jar - 2 units 

-Tightly woven cloth to cover the jar like:

clean napkins or
tea towels or

coffee filters or

paper towels

-Airtight Bottles:
Six 16-oz glass bottles with plastic lids or
swing-top bottles or
clean soda bottles

-Small funnel to ease pouring into bottles

*Note: prolonged contact between the kombucha and metal both during and after brewing can affect the flavor of your kombucha and weaken the SCOBY pellicles over time.

To start, wear a pair of gloves and spray Isopropyl Alcohol (IA) on the utensils you will be using:

-spoon
-sauce pan
-jars
-funnel
-cookie tray work surface (if you are also making kombucha leather)

Here are the steps based on all the articles I have read about brewing kombucha.

If you still have doubts about your ability to start, you can watch this video I found on You Brew Kombucha Youtube Channel as the brewer shares a lot of answers to questions that you are most likely to ask as you start brewing your own kombucha. 

You can also learn from Raw Brewing on how to start a Kombucha Brew Log so you can record the processes correctly.  It will help you nail the acidic flavour that you prefer best for your kombucha.

Once you have started brewing your own kombuca and have a collection of pellicles in your SCOBY hotel, check out this article:

10 Smart Ways to Use Your Kombucha SCOBY 

Glass bottles litter? You can stop complaining.

I have read about bottles littering the beautiful beaches of Ecuador. The environmentally conscious residents there are working hard to boycott companies who supply their beverages in non-returnable containers in bottles and cans.

While they take such a stance on bottles litter, Bedrock Industries is making money out of the very same litter by creating beautiful tiles and decorative items.



I discovered this company from Greener Business. Greener Businesss promotes companies who make business out of any kind of environmentally friendly materials.

If are looking for some DIY ideas, check out the Projects videos they have posted which provides simple tips, guides, and how-tos.

And if you have been inspired by what you see, you can leave them a free GeenerBusiness Voicemail about your episode ideas and see if they would include them into their future episodes.

Leftover mushroom? Grow them!

I buy oyster mushroom almost every week and I have been told by my supplier that they will remain fresh 2 to 3 days refrigerated. So, what if your package has more mushroom than you need for your recipe?

If you have some glass jars on hand, you can try growing new mushroom out of your leftovers if you place them in the right environment and medium for the spores to grow.

Wikipedia has a good list of substrate or growth medium for you to choose from and most of them are waste material that you maybe able to acquire free of charge. Here are some examples extracted from that list:

# Wood chips or sawdust
# Mulched hay
# Corncobs
# Waste or recycled paper
# coffee pulp or grounds
# Nut and seed hulls
# Cottonseed hulls
# Cocoa bean hulls

I have watched how mushroom was grown with strawbedded horse manure and urea on "Dirty Job with Mike Rowe". Here is a video clip from "How It's Made" posted on YouTube.



Other than Wikipedia, you can also read "How to Grow Mushrooms" posted by BioHaze on Squidoo.

Don't like reading? You can view videos posted on YouTube by MushroomVideos. Let's start with Part 1 of 4.



There are definitely lots of stuff that you can consider doing your 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) just by cultivating mushrooms.

Nokia Recycles

Check out the survey carried out by Nokia on the awareness of recycling used mobile phones. The results? There are around 3 billion people using mobile phones in the world and only 3% recycle their old models.

Watch the processes of recycling mobile phones in the following videos.



Here is the survey report in slides.

Nokia Recycling Survey Results

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: survey environment)

eDump? Want to stop it?

You have read about e-dumping and you are concern about how it can affect the environment?



So, what can you do to stop it? Here are some ideas of what you can do that I have posted on my blog.

Upgrading your mobile phone? Before you dump...
Recycing eWaste? Are you doing it right?

Make it one of the topics to talk about in events your company organise or in forums or societies that you are active in. If you would like to screen videos posted on youtube during your talks, check out the free youtube video download tool you can make use of.

Also, check out the recycling concepts of Matsushita Eco Technology Center in Japan and learn what materials and components they can recover from end-of-life electric home appliances to make "new products". You can also learn about the processes.

If you are in the transport business, maybe you can work out a deal with manufacturers of electronic product to collect and deliver materials and components they can re-use.

Food wastage? Reduced with values.

I have put on some weight! I have been eating my children's leftovers because I don't like the idea of throwing away food that I have taken so much time to cook. They have not thought about the cost in getting the supplies and energy needed in the processes. They have forgotten about the children with no food to eat in war torn countries. They obviously do not value the love and efforts I put into cooking for them as much as I do.

I should put these thoughts and feelings to use by teaching my children how to grow their own vegetables and cook them. After all the efforts, I am sure they are less likely to throw away their own greens.

If you think that children are not capable of such tasks, then you have obviously not heard about "The Edible School Yard". It is a programme of an urban public school, Martin Luther King Junior Middle School, in Berkeley, California, where the students have more than an acre organic garden and a kitchen for classroom.

Hear what the founder, Alice Waters, and teachers in "The Edible School Yard" have to say about the effects this programme have on the children.







And, just in case this posting has inspired others to start a similar programme in their community, don't forget to check out their "How To" link. You can also try googling "edible classroom garden" to see if there are any such programme in your own country.

You may also want to read about "Forest Gardening" or download Dave Sansone's booklet on "Edible Forest Gardens".

Here are some videos of "Forest Gardening with Robert Hart".





I have covered composting in my earlier posting.

Pots? Broken to perfection!

I have been doing some spring cleaning and have decided that some of the odd bits and pieces of toys that got separated from the main sets, most of which have been given away, have to go.  Dumping them is no easy task though.  Just think about the years of attachment my children have hanging on to  (hiding) them.

Maybe we should start a project together so that we can incorporate these toys into our "work".  My son shared an idea with me this morning when he showed me some photos of miniature gardens grown in broken pots.

I did a search and found the same photos posted at Ella and it was one of the ideas they found on Different Solutions. 

Will it be easy to recreate?  There are some free tutorials to check out at The Garden Diaries, About Miniatures, BuckEye Gardening and some videos to watch at Miniature Garden Shoppe to decide on what to grow.

OK, children, you can keep the toys but before you start breaking any of my pots, lets go find some broken ones from the parks nearby.

Let'us get to the park before anyone start burning the cuttings thrown at the park.