Originally aired 11/01/08

Guests:

Felicity Britton and Tom Braun are speaking to us from Linden Hills Power and Light.  Linden Hills Power & Light is a local effort with origins in a few informal gatherings attended by a few concerned neighbors. As the group has grown, their core objective continues to be to engage and mobilize more and more members of our community, no matter what their ages, skills or prior levels of community participation.  Felicity and Tom are here today to talk about their new organic material recycling pilot program and their study of building an anaerobic digestor to create power from these organics.  Anaerobic Digestion is the act of microscopic organisms feasting on organic food waste.  The gasses they produce from eating and digesting the food can be captured and used as a power source.  Linden Hills Power and Light also organize an independent film festival the focuses on short eco-minded films.   Check out their website - www.lhpowerandlight.org

Tamara Dean talks with us about her new book The Human Powered Home - Choosing Muscles Over Motors.  Learn  what a snovel is or how to make smoothies with your bicycle!  This book discusses the science and history of human power and examines the common elements of human-powered devices. It offers plans for making specific devices, grouped by area of use, and features dozens of individuals who share technical details and photos of their inventions.

For those who want to apply their own ingenuity, or for those who have never heard of human-powered machines, this book is a fine reference. For those who are beginning to understand the importance of a life of reduced dependency on fossil fuels, this book could be a catalyst for change.  Tamara will be speaking about the book and human powered devices next Saturday at Natural Built Home! Click HERE for more details!

Links and Info

Light Green Tip #5792

Dispose of your unused medication in an eco-friendly manner.  The U.S. Geological Service found that more than 80% of sampled rivers tested positive for medication such as antibiotics, birth control hormones and antidepressants.

Don't flush your old meds!  Our water treatment plants are not currently equipped to filter these medications out and therefore they end up in our drinking water.  Here are some better disposal options:

• Some pharmacies have safe drug disposal programs.  Ask yours next time you pick up your prescription.
• Go to Earth911.com, enter your zip code and the word medication and find a nearby dropoff site for unused pills.
• Some states allow donations of unused medication for redistribution to folks who can not afford them.