Caribbean Living Lifestyle Blog - Environment

Solar Kit For Your Home

nospam@example.com (Terri Henry - Contributor) — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:58:00 -0500

Solar power is an obvious way to reduce your carbon footprint. More
and more people are finding that solar power is a clean and affordable
way to power their households. Solar panel costs are dropping as the
government is providing grants and tax incentives to home owners to
convert to renewable energy. A solar kit that contains the materials to
build a solar panel can be a solution to your renewable energy needs.

A
solar kit contains materials such as solar cells, flux pens, and
bindings that allow you to build a solar panel. The quality of solar
cells varies largely between different manufacturers depending on its
efficiency. Solar cells can convert as much as 24% of the sun's light
into electricity depending on its efficiency. The solar panels that you
make can be used for a wide range of uses such as solar power for your
RV or boat. The solar panel is most often used to power a person's
house.

If you want to power your household with a solar kit, make
sure that you can tie your solar power to your electricity grid or store
the electricity in an efficient battery. Check with your utility or an
electrician specialized in solar in your area.

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How Much Time Do You Spend Making Sure the Exterior of Your Home is Energy Efficient?

nospam@example.com (Terri Henry - Contributor) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 11:51:00 -0500

During the Spring and Summer we spend more of our time outside
cutting our grass, trimming the shrubbery, and gardening. Who wants the
exterior of their house to look downtrodden and unkempt?

A
question to ask ourselves is, do we spend as much time on ensuring the
exterior of the home energy efficient as we do on making sure the lawn
is mowed? Do you know that by letting heat escape through improperly
sealed windows and doors, you are wasting money on higher energy bills?

If
we were to spend just a couple of hours twice a year, we can find ways
to make the outside of our home more energy efficient. At first it may
seem overwhelming, but it is time well spent. The savings on your energy
bills will be well worth it.

Here are a few culprits that can
drive energy bills higher:

By not properly sealing windows and doors, you are letting way too
much of the heat in your home to escape. To save money on your heating
bills, find and fill any drafts in your home.

Do a walk around the outside of your home and observe if there are
any areas that need to be sealed. Because our home exteriors are
constructed with more than one material, be sure to look where these
different materials come together, like the foundation and exterior
brick. Also check where the chimney joins your aluminum siding. Be sure
to look at all the outside corners of your home also.

You must
seal any and all cracks in the exterior of your home. Find the
appropriate materials to seal your home. Do the job right the first
time. Your work will last longer when it is done with the right
materials.

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Birding in the Caribbean - Saving our Feathered Friends

nospam@example.com (Terri Henry - Contributor) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:49:51 -0600

People vacation in the Caribbean region for many reasons. As well as the sun, sea, sand, rainforests, hiking, cuisine and entertainment many flock to the region with a pair of binoculars in hand to do some serious bird watching. According to Birdlife International, the region is home to 770 bird species, 148 of which are endemic, with 105 confined to single islands. Certainly anyone fascinated by ornithology will find themselves very happy with a birding holiday in the Caribbean.

Birds are an integral part of a healthy ecosystem and with 10,000 species worldwide their presence is a clear indicator of the integrity of biodiversity. Birds control pests, spread seeds, offer beautiful environmental soundscapes with their songs and are beautiful to look at. Given these factors they are also a rich natural resource for local socio-economic development when persons from overseas pay good money to come and see them in their natural habitats. Certainly for all these reasons, as well as their sheer intrinsic value, they are worth protecting.

It is therefore sobering to read in the newly released directory, ‘Important Bird Areas of the Caribbean’, that only around 10% of the Caribbean region’s original bird habitat remains, and 54 of the Caribbean’s bird species are globally threatened, of which 12 are Critically Endangered.
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Nature Air - Costa Rica's Carbon Neutral Airline

nospam@example.com (Terri Henry - Contributor) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 07:00:00 -0600

A few months ago I wrote about the problem of airline emissions being worse in the tropics. I’d love to be reporting to you now that things have changed, the problem is solved and we can all live happily ever after but unfortunately not. Climate change is real and a huge challenge for the Caribbean and the entire world.

However, the optimist in me still wants a positive story so I’m posting about one airline who is actually addressing the climate change issue head on and striving to make a difference. Nature Air in Costa Rica has been a ‘zero emissions’ airline since 2004. No, they are not running their planes on air but they do offset their emissions by paying local landowners to preserve threatened portions of the rainforest. According to the company they have saved about 500 acres in the Osa Peninsula which has equated to an offset of 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide.

Whilst many airlines around the world have introduced voluntary offsetting options to their clients, Nature Air goes the step further in making it a company policy, a move that is congruent with Costa Rica’s plans on being the first Carbon Neutral country by 2021. Nature Air are also trying to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by using less fuel and have increased their fuel efficiency by 7% in the last 3 years. They also run Nature Kids, a foundation for children of low-income families in Costa Rica as part of a social responsibility venture.
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Carbon Offsetting for Tropical Travel

nospam@example.com (Terri Henry - Contributor) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 06:00:00 -0500

I love traveling and I also like encouraging others to come and experience the delights of the Caribbean. However as someone with a passion for living in harmony with nature the negative environmental impacts of travel do not go unnoticed. I am in conflict between my desire to explore and enjoy other parts of the world and my wish to ensure that the world is in a state that my children and great-great grandchildren can live in happily and healthily.

This inner discord was intensified recently when I read in New Scientist that the environmental impacts of air travel are actually worse in tropical climates. The short article clearly explains that certain greenhouse gases are intensified in hotter climes and thus contribute far more to climate change than travel in temperate climates – yikes! Since tourism is the economic backbone of much of the Caribbean a decrease in the industry could lead to negative social impacts such as unemployment and poverty. It’s an issue without an easy solution.
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Frog Friends - Saving the World's Amphibians

nospam@example.com (Terri Henry - Contributor) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:00:00 -0500

Am I the only one who thinks that frogs are one of nature’s cutest creatures? Fairy tales have told us about kissing a frog and having it turn in to a handsome prince but I’m happy with the frog itself!

We get at least one ‘froggy’ visitor in the house each week and I just can’t stop gushing over how adorable they are. I do my best to capture them for a moment in order to release them into the outside world again where, I’m sure the natural damp environment will suit them much more than the inside of my house.

The decline in the world population of frogs in recent years is devastating. Conservationists have assessed that up to half of the world’s 6,000 amphibian species (frogs, toads, newts, caecilians and salamanders) are in danger of extinction. This has been attributed mostly to human impacts – destruction of habitats, climate change, pollution and pesticide use. To make matters worse amphibians around the world are also being severely affected by a deadly parasitic fungus known as amphibian chytrid. So what can we do to help our little frog friends?

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Eco Preparations for the Hurricane Season

nospam@example.com (Terri Henry - Contributor) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 09:00:00 -0500

In the preparations for hurricane season, battery operated appliances can be a vital part of surviving if electricity lines go down. Disaster preparations offices all over the region advise us to stock up on spare batteries to operate radios and flashlights so that we can hear the news and find our way around in the dark.

Whilst this is all well and good in the short term, batteries come with a whole set of other ecological and health problems that we may want to avoid. Most batteries contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel that leach into our soil and water. If incinerated the metals within the batteries can be released into the air and concentrate in the ash. The effects of these heavy metals on human and environmental health are well documented and diverse. They include damage to the brain and central nervous system, organ dysfunction and cancers in humans; and devastation of aquatic and forest ecosystems.
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Essential Preparations for Hurricane Season

nospam@example.com (Terri Henry - Contributor) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:26:48 -0500

June 1st was the official start of the hurricane season for the Caribbean and typically we start to become much more interested in the weather reports at this time. No longer is it enough to know if the forecast is rain or sun – we want to know where the next tropical storm is brewing, what is the barometric pressure for the day and what name the next hurricane is going to have.

Hurricanes are an inevitable if unfortunate part of living in paradise. There’s not much we can do about them although it is a contentious issue as to whether the amount and the strength of hurricanes is increasing due to climate change. Whatever their causes, many Caribbean islands have been badly hit in recent years and none of us can afford to be complacent during the season.

Two of the best things to do around hurricane season is to be prepared by stocking up on essential items and making sure your home good condition to withstand a storm. For now let’s focus on the essentials required...
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Eat Local and Get Farming – Solutions to the Global Food Crisis

nospam@example.com (Terri Henry - Contributor) — Thu, 15 May 2008 08:30:00 -0500

Food shortages and increasing hunger are making news all over the world. As small islands, we in the Caribbean rely on many imported products. However as fuel costs rise, it forces up the price of these goods and shortages in global production mean that we definitely need to think seriously about making the most of locally available goods.

I’ve been doing an informal assessment of my daily diet to see what proportion is local versus the amount is from overseas. Overall I’ve been doing pretty well anyway but this simple analysis has shifted some habits. For instance, I realized that breakfast I was eating a lot of oats with dried fruits all of which are imported, so even though I still enjoy an occasional bowl of oats porridge I have instead been eating breakfasts of plantain and salad with home-made fruit juices and cocoa tea. To further experiment with local ingredients I recently made green banana porridge too which was interesting. It’s not really a substitute for the oats but a new flavour that adds variety and makes an alternative use of this local staple.

Bread is another food that a lot of people consume in high proportions but relies on wheat flour which is not grown in the Caribbean. Again there are alternatives and bread can be creatively substituted with breadfruit, plantain or by making cassava bread. (Tip: The most delicious cassava bread in Dominica, possibly the world, is to be found in the Carib Territory) Another option is to do like one of my friends does and dehydrate local ground provisions such as yam, dasheen or tania and grind them into flour. Yes it’s a little more work but these yield some interesting results and can be mixed with a little wheat flour to stretch it further.
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Engines That Smell of French Fries! - Using Vegetable Oil as Fuel

nospam@example.com (Terri Henry - Contributor) — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:35:06 -0500

Last week I was given some local potatoes and I made chips. Being such a healthy eating fanatic I feel like this is a real confession! Anyway after cooking and eating was complete I was left with an uncommon dilemma – what to do with the excess oil? Aware of its clogging and polluting effects I knew that I should not throw it down the sink or into the garden but how on earth was I going to get rid of it?

A few Google searches later I found some answers. Excess cooking oil should only be disposed of by pouring it into a sealed container and throwing that away. Of course that garbage ends up in a landfill which isn’t very ecological either, but it’s better than it getting into the water supply where just one litre of oil can contaminate 1 million litres of water.

But there is another solution – making it into fuel. There is a lot of hype about biofuel these days and the race is on to make the most efficient alternative to traditional fossil fuel oil. These types of fuels made from vegetable sources may be heralded as the solution to the problem of diminishing oil reserves but they have also shown to have negative environmental and social effects. In order to grow enough plant fodder to make the fuels, forests are being destroyed and food prices everywhere are rising as crops sell for much more as fuel than food. Ultimately there has to be a compendium of solutions to our current energy crisis and surely one of these components is to recycle used vegetable oil and make it into fuel.

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Moving Towards Renewable Energy - Solar Solutions

nospam@example.com (Terri Henry - Contributor) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:14:36 -0500

Moving into a new home recently I got very enthusiastic at having a spacious kitchen all to myself and even with an abundance of non-cooked salad making I finished our gas bottle in just over 2 weeks! I was lovingly told by my partner that as much as he enjoyed every morsel that I made, I clearly had to be more efficient in my energy consumption. So in the absence of a pressure cooker and considering how long it takes to boil up beans and pulses, which I do regularly, I bought a coal pot.

A coal pot is a traditional piece of Caribbean cooking equipment that relies on charcoals as its fuel. It’s really quite efficient, smells delicious, cooks wonderfully and I have a sentimental fondness for it, but deep down I have a nagging feeling that it is not the most sustainable item in my household. After all I am likely contributing to trees being cut down to make the coals and sending out some smoke fumes into the clean air each time I use it. It’s small scale when you consider coal-fired power stations and the ilk but I believe that every little helps so ultimately I have to start looking for alternatives.

Then I got talking with some friends who told me about their solar oven building project. ‘Wow’, I thought, when the student is ready the teacher really does appear! It makes sense really for a region so saturated with sunshine that we make the most of all the free energy and harvest it in as many ways as possible. By all accounts it seems that a solar oven isn’t too hard or expensive to make so I’m eagerly awaiting their course on solar oven building in the near future.

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Creating Soil - Making Organic Compost in the Tropics

nospam@example.com (Terri Henry - Contributor) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:59:24 -0500

I like to be creative in the kitchen and I use what seems like a ton of fruits and vegetables each day. What I love about these fruits and veggies is that as well as being wholesome, tasty and nutritious, they still have a great value after being eaten...in a compost pile.

The skin and peel of a juicy mango, sweet banana, crispy carrot, succulent pineapple or any other delicious gifts of nature are a storehouse of nutrients. Each of these can be organically broken down to provide rich compost that will positively enhance the next cycle of growing and harvesting. Compost improves soil quality and thus naturally enhances crop yield and quantity. So the more I put on my plants, the more I will get back in return – it sounds like a very fair deal to me. It’s also another contribution to my environmental care ethic, keeping my organic waste out of the landfill and using it purposefully in a rejuvenating cycle, so I feel good about that too!

However, although it appears to be a seemingly simple process, I am discovering that making compost comes with some great complexities! Firstly, there is the dilemma of where to place the pile. It can not be too close to the house lest it attracts critters but not too far that it’s a burden to visit each time. It also needs to be placed out of direct sunlight, away from large trees which steal nutrients and wooden structures that could rot from contact with the pile.

There are also so many choices of how to build the pile…do we just put it in an open heap, make a wooden box, get a plastic bin or create a wire mesh container? All have their advantages and disadvantages with regards to air circulation, moisture of the pile and ultimately the speed of the process. Since we live in a wet area our pile needs to be enclosed and covered to prevent it from becoming a soggy mush that leaches out slime everywhere, which would not be much fun! If we were in a drier place then we would likely need to add a little water once in a while to keep the pile moist as compost is a fussy creature that likes to be damp but not saturated.
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R-R-R-Recycling

nospam@example.com (Terri Henry - Contributor) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 09:59:29 -0500

Recycling is a key environmental ethic that has gained much acceptance and widespread popularity over the past 20 years. It is unfortunate that in many Caribbean islands we do not have that luxury and as imported products with heavy packaging arrive on our shores, our landfills are increasing on a scale that is not sustainable for small islands with limited land space.

I have ecological envy over the fact that my Mum in England has 4 bins provided by the local council to separate her waste and so only a portion of everything thrown away ends up in a landfill. So what’s the solution for us islands in the sun? Well Recycling was only ever part of a 4 part solution – Reduce, Refuse, Reuse, Recycle so let’s look into the first three parts of the earth-saving equation.

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