Green

When you’re building a space that is 200 square feet or less your bathroom is probably going to be quite small. Considering half of the space will be taken up with a toilet, composting or otherwise, a very small shower will be imperative. As it turns out, there are more options than you might imagine from the most basic solutions to decorative ideas. For our tiny house we chose a 30X30 fiberglass shower stall. Since this was our first building we wanted something that was easy to install and put together. We built our bathroom walls around it to ensure that it fit properly. It may not be the most decorative option but it is simple and functional and we can spruce it up with a nice shower curtain. Photo by Laura M. LaVoie Click below to read about more tiny house showers. Andrew and Crystal Odom recently took the internet by storm with their Shower Shack design. Check out their photo album on the Tiny r(E)volution Facebook page. The gorgeous outdoor bathroom has everything they need just a few steps from their tiny house. The clear plastic roofing material allows for them to have an outdoor shower experience but not be at the mercy of the weather. It is a really creative solution to the bathroom question. Macy Miller of Mini Motives recently showed off her ceramic tiling skills not only with her floor but also with her spacious tiny house shower. I love her design with the inset shelf for her shower products. The excess grout just needs to be cleaned off and she has a luxury shower in a very tiny home. Photo by Macy Miller Ella’s Little Yellow Door tiny house has a rustic and incredibly well designed tiny bathroom. The galvanized tub and shower combination is stunning and an inspiration for many tiny house designers. These are just a few of the shower options that have been used in real life tiny houses. There are lots of other creative options. Going back to a post from October of 2011, Kent Griswold of Tiny House Blog shared this clever shower design. The website is in French and I am not even sure if this is available anymore, but the design is interesting even if it might be a little impractical. What kind of shower do you want in your tiny house?

How eliminating the 'yes, buts' cut @Stanford commuting by one fourth #goodstreets

With at least 10 tornadoes ripping through North Texas in one night this week — leveling neighborhoods, killing six and injuring dozens — it might be tempting to call the twisters yet another instance of climate-fueled weather. But not so fast.   While most climate scientists agree that global warming is driving record heat waves, widespread drought, heavy rain and floods, intense hurricanes, and even monster snowstorms, tornadoes — at least for now — are a different story.

The spring chicks growing bigger and lovelier by the day.  By giving them personal interaction daily, they are very comfortable around humans.  Once, I put them into a basket and brought in the house for some ladies to admire.  They were shocked, thought they  weren't real!   "They are so calm!" they exclaimed.  The secret, we told them, is handling the chicks at a very early age. We'll soon be adding to our barnyard menagerie and expect another batch of chicks to arrive in June (these was the chicks we planned on) this recent batch "was unexpected."   Followed by another batch of baby ducks (I love chickens but these is SOMETHING about baby ducks... am I right?) Not to get ahead of myself!   Back to the threesome we have now,  a few weeks ago (a month to be exact), our gals were officially weened off heat, lights of the brooder; however, they are still "isolated" from the main chicken flock  to ensure there will be no coccidiosis  problems (the new chicks are being given apple cider vinegar in their water to insure healthy & happy chickens)   We erected a temporary run in one of the raised beds and are using an old rabbit hutch for their "coop."  Figure we'll move them into the main compound in a few weeks .  That will give us time to turn over the soil in the main compound, add some fresh mulch and sprinkle some diatomaceous earth. In the meantime, it's fun to see the girls enjoy their earthly surroundings. They  just love taking dust baths and go into a semi comatose trance.  One pullet was in such a trance I had to poke her to see if she was alive.  No kidding! When I look at all our critters enjoying the dirt, sun and companionship of others I sometimes get a wee sad thinking of the animals that don't share such experiences and shudder at the "modern" ways of bringing food to the table. What a blessing it is to share the homestead with all creatures great and small. :: Resources:: Caring for Citified Farm Animals Happy & Healthy Chickens

Three workers at Foxconn factories in China have fallen to their deaths in recent weeks and police are investigating, according to the company.read more

A team of Norwegian research scientists has unveiled a concept that could see electricity stored on the seabed. Conceived by Subhydro AS, the underwater pumped hydroelectric power plant would use high water pressure to create energy that can then be stored for later use on shore. Read the rest of Scientists Unveil Plans for First Underwater Storage Power Plant Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: energy storage, renewable energy, SINTEF, subhydro, Subhydro AS, tidal power, water pressure, wave power

Many of us are looking for ways to save money, as well as be greener in our habits. Luckily, more sustainable living and saving money often go hand in hand. Indeed, many of the things that [...]Recommended For You:Kill Energy Vampires and Reduce Standby Power UsageIs It Worth It to Build a Green Home?How to Decide Whether to Repair or Replace75 Frugal Hacks for Your HomeYou Tell Me: Is a Freezer Worth the Money? Read the rest of 5 Ways to Green Your Home and Save Money at BeingFrugal.net.

Study: Climate could increase heat-related death in largest U.S. city 20% within the next decade.

Official: Mysterious Hybrid Support Solutions arises to support Fisker Karma, charges $4k for membership #green

A stopover on a long migration.