If you’re a maker just starting out your journey in sustainability, it can be overwhelming to figure out how to get started. From understanding the types of materials to utilize, learning what steps will help reduce waste and emissions, and finding inspiring new ways to explore creativity that don’t have a negative environmental impact. The good news is there are plenty of resources available for DIYers looking for ways to make their projects more sustainable – from simple switches you can make today, big-picture ideas for longterm change, or exciting new ways makers are helping push sustainability into the future. In these blog posts we’ll look at tips tricks and ideas specifically tailored towards diyers and makers on the road to creating projects with greater eco consciousness so that not only will you create something beautiful but also respect its impact on our planet!
The RoofRay site allows you to specify location, size and slope of your roof via Google Maps. It then uses this info to estimate how much energy can be generated from your available exposure. Though perhaps not terribly precise, it’s certainly helpful for familiarizing more people with some determining factors and maybe even making solar […]
From the Core77 blog: The AEOLUS race, to be held in the Netherlands later this month, pits competing single-person land yachts against each other, with the requirement that they sail directly into the wind. The vehicles are therefore quite different from the sail-powered craft of old, using wind turbines to harvest energy and translate it […]
Here’s what you need to know to make a quick, very serviceable compost bin out of four wooden shipping pallets. Pallet Compost Bin
Design~Build~Live is one of a healthy number of groups in Austin doing their part to fill us all in on the ‘no-brainers’ of sustainability: measures where you don’t make a sacrifice to green your life but rather end up with a ‘better than polluting’ outcome. To steal a Worldchanging catchphrase, they’re trying to create a […]
The above graphic is from a book that does not stink: The Humanure Handbook. Here’s a pdf version of this potential soution to water overuse. As author Joseph Jenkins notes, “a single person using a Clivus (pronounced Clee-vus) Multrum [specific type of composting toilet] will produce 40 kg (88 lbs) of compost per year while […]
When Austin clothing designer, Kathie Sever, and writer, Bernadette Noll, learned about Swap-O-Rama-Rama at last year’s Maker Faire, they were inspired. Not only did they see the environmental benefit of upcycling unwanted clothing, but they also appreciated the opportunity to get creative and make something their own. When they took that inspiration home to their […]
When you’re building an off-grid retreat in a city that received just 8.93 inches of rain last year, you might find yourself inspired to think about water a bit more wisely than those of us with more agua from the sky. I was lucky enough to visit Mikey and Wendy in Truth or Consequences last […]
