• Sauna Exterior
    HEALTH & HOME

    Sauna for Life – Sauna for Health !

    Sometimes it is a simple wood-paneled room, with an electric heater and a thermometer on the wall, letting us know how hot it is. It may be at the gym, or fitness center, or maybe in your own home. Sometimes it will be a small freestanding building in a wooded glen with an authentic wood-burning heater. “It” is a sauna, and saunas bring different images to mind for different people. Saunas were largely unknown in this country before the 1950s, but have steadily become more popular as the source for both good times and therapeutic benefits. Pronounced “SOW-na”, it is a Finnish word that describes both the process of the…

  • COMMUNITY,  Education

    Artistic Sculpture in Unfired Earth – Earthen Hand Class

    Artistic Sculpture in Unfired Earth – Sept 14th, 10am – 5pm – Portland, Oregon – $75 / day,  classes (paid at least 1 week in advance). $30 or less materials/tools. This class explores the infinite artistic possibilities of unfired clay/sand/fiber mixtures. We will use pigments, and a wide variety of techniques to create vastly different effects. Learn how to make earthen plasters, paints, pigments, and construct skeletons to support the sculpture. Class size is limited to 6 people.

  • BUILDING

    A Platinum Home for the Golden Years

    Part I: Planning Introduction In his book Reinventing Fire, Amory Lovins realistically shows how the U.S. could eliminate the burning of fossil fuels by 2050 using the technologies that are available today. A growing number of forward-thinking people are already moving towards a fossil-fuel free lifestyle by making use of photovoltaic panels, electric drive cars, super efficient homes, and by walking, bicycling and using other alternative transportation options. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), our homes and apartments accounted for 23% of the total energy consumed nationwide in 2010. The bulk of this energy is produced from the burning of fossil fuels, and its cost averaged out to…

  • recycled sorted bales
    Business,  Recycle

    The Mysteries of Recycling Part II:

    What is 35 miles wide, 35 miles long, and 300 feet deep? Well, according to an article posted on the Popular Mechanics website on November 13, 2008, that is how big the landfill would be if America put all of its garbage for the next 1000 years in one place.

  • Home Garden,  Nature

    Landscaping for Wildlife

    This article was published in the Summer 2008 issue of the Green Living Journal. With suburban sprawl fragmenting and reducing wildlife habitat, what we do in our yards is very important for the survival of wildlife. Suburban yards are usually stripped of most of their topsoil and little concern is given to wildlife when planning a new landscape. The typical yard has a large lawn area with a few ornamental plants providing little ecological value. By landscaping with nature we can provide some of the necessities for wildlife survival, as well as, creating an aesthetically pleasing environment for people. When designing an ecological landscape, the vertical levels should be emphasized…