If you heat your home with wood, you will inevitably have a bunch of firewood on hand. How much you need depends on a few factors such as where you are located, the particulars of your home’s …
Cob Construction
Of all the building methods in use around the world, none go back as far as building with mud. Indeed, it would be reasonable to assume the first dwellings humans had were made of earth instead of …
Alternative Building Methods
When most people in the Western world think of building a new home, almost all of them imagine the same sort of construction process: Stud framing (as this most ubiquitous method is known) uses …
Earthbag Homes
What Is an Earthbag? An “earthbag” is not a thing in and of itself. It is actually a combination of two things: a bag and dirt. These dirt-filled bags are then used like large bricks. What …
Underground Greenhouse: Uses and Benefits
As long as gardeners have existed, they've sought to extend their growing seasons beyond the limits of winter's shutdown. Gardening history is dotted with an arsenal of methods created to rebuff …
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Vertical Herb Garden: What Is It, DIY Plans, And Photos
What can you possibly do for your ailing green thumb when all that is allotted to you is a patio, a balcony, or a postage stamp of an urban backyard with little room to roam? Don't grow out...grow …
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Rammed Earth: What Is It, How Is It Made, And Photos
When it comes to alternative building methods to construct a home, you have a host of different choices. Some rely on fairly modern materials like poly bags or used tires (considered new guys on the …
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Keyhole Gardens: What Are They, The History Behind Them, And Photos
Drought. Nutrient depletion. Bending over with a bad back or dealing with mobility issues. Have you ever had to battle with any of these gardening-impeding troubles? Don't you wish there was an …
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Outdoor Stone Ovens: What Are They, How Do They Work, And Photos
We've recently put out quite a few articles on ways that you can build an oven to cook food with the most ancient of methods: fire. So far, we've got articles on Outdoor Brick Ovens, (largely …
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Outdoor Earth Ovens: What Are They, How Do They Work, and Photos
There's something about an outdoor fire that speaks to us humans on a basic wiring level. It doesn't matter if you are from the most technologically-advanced city, backwoods, dirt-road country, or …
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Earth-Sheltered Home: An Eco-Friendly, Passive Housing Alternative
Folks on the street may call them "hobbit houses" in reference to J.R.R. Tolkien's work, but earth-sheltered homes have been around for far longer than 1937 when the novel was published. Though the …
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The Basics Of Cordwood Construction
In the realm of natural building, you have many different options. From rammed earth to straw bale to adobe, there is a building method suitable for almost any situation within the United …
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Outdoor Brick Ovens: Types, Uses, And Photos
When it comes to building an outdoor oven, you may start feeling like one of the proverbial three little pigs when you try to decide what type is best. Will you build it out of mud? Concrete? …
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Rocket Mass Heaters: What Are they, How They Work, And Photos
Let’s say you want to build a cozy reading nook in your house, or maybe a room-warming heater for your tiny house. What if you want it to be heated with off-grid heat? What if you want it to be …
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Masonry Cook Stoves: How They Work And Photos
When most Americans think of a stove, they think of a collection of heating elements that sits atop an oven. In modern times, this stove and oven combination is usually a box made out of thin sheet …
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Masonry Heaters: Benefits, How They Work, And Photos
When you think of heating with fire, the first image that might leap to your mind is a crackling wood stove, the mainstay of cozy homesteading living rooms everywhere. But despite it’s current …
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Swimming Ponds: A More Natural Approach to Swimming Pools
Let nature clean the water... Chemical-free water garden and swimming pool. The plant portion, or regeneration zone, is separated from the swimming area by the wall seen a few inches below the …
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How to Attract Butterflies to Your Garden
Habitat loss, climate change, and pesticide use have decreased butterfly populations. Unbeknownst to many butterflies do not live on nectar alone, some species prefer, even require, overripe fruit …
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Recycled Glass Bottles
Much of the glass we throw out is not recycled because different glass has different melting points and recyclers only melt the most common containers. Artists use old and new glass to create …
38 Eye-Catching Moon Gate Designs For Your Garden
A moon gate rises out of the earth, like the moon rises in the sky; both spheres celebrate the continuous cycle of birth and death...rising and falling... A circular passageway designed to welcome …
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Hugelkultur: What It Is & Inspiration For Your Permaculture Garden
Instead of putting those small branches, leaves, and grass clippings in bags by the curbside...build a hugelkultur bed. Simply mound logs, branches, leaves, grass clippings, straw, cardboard, …
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The Fibonacci Sequence in Nature
The Fibonacci spiral appears not only in the perfect nautilus shell... ...but in events and objects viewed from afar. An energy system in the shape of a fibonacci moves with limited losses. …
Try An Eco Friendly Christmas Tree
Upcycled, recycled, reused eco-friendly Christmas trees are a sustainable alternative to chopping down a living tree or buying a tree that's been chopped down and shipped to you. Christmas tree farms …
Quilting With Old Clothes
Old Clothes Quilting By Luke Haynes American Gothic Made from Old Clothes www.lukehaynes.com Close up of above Made from old clothes... Old Clothes Quilt www.lukehaynes.com Detail …
Sand Magnified
Sand grains magnified 110-250 times reveal each grain is unique. The tip of a spiral shell has broken off and become a grain of sand. After being repeatedly tumbled by action of the surf this spiral …
Cob Fireplaces
Cob Fireplaces... Cob fireplace. americanclay.com Cob fireplace in Hilde Dawe's house, British Columbia. onelessbrickinthewall.com Cob fireplace by Charles …
Bicycle Art
Every year about 109 million bicycles are produced, and 140 million people are born. That adds up to lots of extra bikes to make art with. Burning Man Festival 2007 by Mark Grieve and Ilana …
Green Roof Inspiration
A green roof—essentially, a garden atop any office building or home—helps save energy, promote drainage, and feed you. Why Build a Green Roof? Sod roofs are common on the Faroe Islands, west …
Upcycling Window Shutters
Angled louvers were first used in ancient Greece. They've fallen out of fashion, making them a perfect candidate for upcycling. Creative designers have turned shutters into tables, headboards, …
Pallet Furniture
You can find free pallets at flooring and furniture stores, lumber and stone yards, etc. Resourceful folks have turned them into cost-effective chairs, tables, beds—even entire houses. Pallet …
Shipping Container Homes
Shipping container homes seem like a no-brainer. Approximately 30 million steel shipping containers are in existence, filled and floating, or standing empty in a port. 8 feet wide by 8.5 feet high, …
Greenhouses from Old Windows and Doors
Calling all used awning windows, bay windows, storm doors, and clerestories back to service. 1) Recycled Window Greenhouse, Minnesota Greenhouse made from recycled windows by Jan and Ed …
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Eco Sports Cars
Porsche 918 Spyder Plug-in Hybrid prototype (all of Porsche's concept cars have been brought to market) has emission levels of just 70 grams CO2 per kilometre on fuel consumption of three litres/100 …
Noise Pollution Alters Bird Behavior
It takes no observational feat to notice that people enjoy birds. As human developments dominate the landscape and evict so many of our wild neighbors, we spend a disproportionate amount of our …
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Wood Fired Pottery
Humans have been enamoured of wood fired ceramics for thousands of years. Yet since the invention of electric and gas kilns, wood firing was pushed aside by many. Fortunately the unique beauty of wood …
Human Urine As Fertilizer
A study out of Finland has found that plants fertilized with urine performed four times as well as nonfertilized plants and just as well as plants given commercial mineral fertilizer. Urine plus …
Wedge Shaped Cars
The future looks wedge shaped... The 3 Wheeled Elio. Order yours now. More than 50,000 have already been pre-ordered... Made in America. Costs $6800. Designed for a 6’1” 220 lb person in the …
Microscopic Images Of Seeds
The diversity and intricacy of shapes and sizes of seeds is extraordinary. Even more amazing is that within even the tiniest of seeds lies the complete genetic information required to birth …
Butterfly Eggs
Julia Heliconia Butterfly Egg in a tendrill of a Passion flower creeper. The Julia Heliconia is an orange butterfly found along the periphery of the Gulf of Mexico. Image by Martin …
Upcycled Maps
Tear em, decoupage them, fold them, paint on them. Many Rivers, 2009 Inlaid maps, acrylic, on panel, 48 x 78 inches. By Matthew Cusick, mattcusick.com Bonnie, 2004. Maps on wood panel. By …
Algae Streetlight
Microalgae Street Lamps (in prototype stage). French biochemist Pierre Calleja has invented a streetlight that is powered by algae AND which absorbs CO2 from the air. Pierre reports that one lamp …
Kitchen Of The Future
"Energy-saving light bulbs will only take us so far. We need to push ourselves to rethink domestic appliances entirely, to rethink how homes consume energy, and how entire communities can pool …
Telephone Wire Art
Telephone wire as an art medium. Telephone cord sheep by Jean Luc Cornec. jeanluc.cornec.de Telephone cord sheep at the Communication Museum, Frankfort, Germany. …
Best Electric Cars For City Drivers
Wheego Whip Life All electric. 100 miles per charge, 5 hours to charge, top speed 70 mph. MSRP $32,995. Qualifies for Federal and possibly State and Local Tax Credits. ($7,500 federal tax credit …
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The Art Of Henrique Oliveira
The artist Henrique Oliveira uses old plywood, fencing and PVC as his medium. Recycled from dumpsters and landfills from his home city, São Paulo, Oliveira shapes plywood around PVC forms. Casa …
Nuts And Bolts Sculpture
This sculpture is constructed of thousands of steel nuts. By Park Chan-girl, South Korea. blog.naver.com Steel Nut Sculpture By Park Chan-girl, South Korea. blog.naver.com Park …
Stone Furniture
No more plastic! Or vinyl, or PVC! Stone Couch at Chanticleer Gardens, Wayne, Pennsylvania Image by Carolyn's Shade Gardens, Bryn Mawr, PA. carolynsshadegardens.com Stone chair at Chanticleer …
Green Home Plans
Pebble Pathways
"Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain." Unknown. A pebble and stone …
Firewood As Art
Firewood Sculpture By Jaehyo Lee Wood ring. By Jaehyo Lee. leeart.name Wood chair. By Jaehyo Lee. leeart.name Wood chair. By Jaehyo Lee. leeart.name Wood Stool. By Jaehyo Lee. …
