The iHouse

Clayton Homes has introduced what they call “a home with form, function & features for a less dependent, more responsible living environment.” – the iHouse.

iHouse Rendering

The iHouse has nothing to do with the iconic Apple Inc., even though Clayton CEO and President Kevin Clayton said the following about it:

We love what it represents. We are fans of Apple and all that they have done. But the ‘I’ stands for innovation, inspiration, intelligence and integration.

The name iHouse is derived from the house’s shape and layout of the long main “core” house and a separate box-shaped guestroom-office “flex room”, which resemble the letter “i” and its dot.

Features

The iHouse features solar panels and numerous other energy-saving products. metal v-shaped roof — inspired by a gas-station awning — combines design with function. The roof provides a rain water catchment system for recycling, supports flush-mounted solar panels and vaults interior ceilings at each end to 10 1/2 feet for an added feeling of openness.

The Energy Star-rated design features heavy insulation, six-inch thick exterior walls, cement board and corrugated metal siding, energy efficient appliances, a tank-less water heater, dual-flush toilets and lots of “low-e” glazed windows.

More Information:

Detailed iHouse features

The iHouse web site.

All in all, Clayton’s priority is to maximize energy efficiency while using green components to build the innovative iHouse.

In the words of Brian McKinley, president of Atlantis Homes, the iHouse said,

while iHouse resembles high-end custom homes, it represents a “new direction and an innovative application for what our industry can do.”

Let us learn, share and purpose to live in innovative dwellings.

“Once awareness is free,
intent will redirect it into a new evolutionary path.”
- Carlos Castaneda

Last year, I read an article on the Business Daily, about the other side of Biofuels. Specifically, their effects on poor economies in Africa. Within that article, there was an argument about how big a carbon footprint these same biofuels do have. Well, that got me thinking. Consider the following:

the figures speak for themselves: 232 kilos of maize are needed to produce 50 litres of ethanol — roughly enough to fill an average car tank, or enough to provide the amount of calories a child needs in a year. . .

. . . Several international institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and the Food and Agriculture Organisation, have acknowledged in recent years that the increasing demand for biofuel crops has catastrophic social, economic and nutritional impacts on developing countries and their already tense food resources. Despite this, several African states have drafted policies in favour of biofuel crops.

It actually reminded me of certain comments on a recent Green Kenya post regarding the ecological impact of large scale cultivation of Eucalyptus (blue gum) trees. Consider the following comment:

“chris chisanga
April 8th, 2009

I would love to get detailed research showing how eucalyptus negatively affects the soil. because i dont believe that it does”

The above arguments point to a dire need for credible information. Only when backed by solid and undeniable facts, is information worth standing by. And that introduces the essence of information gathering, analysis and presentation.

At this point, I am reminded of the awesome TED talk by Hans Rosling where he proved that with the right tools, data analysis and presentation can actually be interesting. Watch the TED talk below:

Watch, read reviews and download the above video on the TED web site.

Last year, Erik Hersman made a short presentation at TED about how texting helped Kenyans survive crisis. This was done on the Ushahidi platform during the 2007/8 post election crisis in Kenya. The Ushahidi engine went on to win an award and has been implemented in other crisis areas. The most recent implementation is the devastating Haiti earthquake.

Watch Erik’s presentation below:

Watch, read reviews and download the above video on the TED web site. Erik made mention of this talk on White African too.

Looking at the above two TED talks, and bearing in mind how people will invariably offer counter claims and arguments on just about anything, this clearly underscores the need for credible and verifiable information on matters that affect many.

Let us learn, share and seek to be enlightened on matters that affect our lives.

“Her work is focused on improving the landscape and environment within impoverished and low-income communities. Carter starts at home, where she grew up, in the South Bronx.

Majora Carter is an American environmental advocate and artist. She has demonstrated a range of environmental justice solution strategies in her hometown of the South Bronx, New York and currently works as the Executive Director/Founder of Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx).

Greening the Ghetto

Majora Carter gave the above compelling talk at the TED 2006 Conference, aptly titled “Majora’s tale of urban renewal” – by greening the ghetto. She detailed her fight for environmental justice in the South Bronx – and showed how minority neighborhood suffer most from flawed urban policy.

Besides it’s substance, this talk was so good that Guy Kawasaki dissected it extensively, writing that Majora is as good as Steve Jobs at presentation.

I highly recommend this TED talk. You can watch it, read reviews and download it at the TED web site.

This is what others say about Majora Carter:

“I admire Carter’s mission “Environmental justice through innovative, economically sustainable projects… people are creative and powerful. We are all creative and powerful. I read a story like hers and feel my own capacity for creating positive change in the world around me. Creativity is vitality! She is an artist as well as an activist, so I’ll dub her as an official “Artivist”.

- www.gemsalsberg.com

“Now, I’d like to specifically suggest that you watch the video of Majora Carter because there’s a lot we can all learn from this magnificent performance.”

- blog.guykawasaki.com

Let us learn, share and go green for a more sustainable habitat.

Late last year, I got tagged in a note on Facebook, that contained an update on Cancer from the John Hopkins Hospital.

Following is an extract from the Facebook Note:

Be informed!

After years of telling people that chemotherapy is the only way to try and eliminate cancer, the John Hopkins Hospital is finally starting to tell you there is an alternative way:

Cancer Update from the John Hopkins Hospital

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person’s lifetime

3. When the person’s immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9 When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

What Cancer Cells feed on and Foods that Fight Cancer

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg’s aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soya milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine.Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body’s killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxid ants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body’s own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body’s normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

I do reiterate the message in the above extract, that this message “should be sent to anyone important in your life.”

Let us learn, share and continue to effect positive change both in our lives and those of others.

Keeping the Dream Alive
Since childhood, it has always been my long term goal to one day generate and use renewable energy for my lighting and heating needs. With diminishing fuel wood, increasing energy demands and for ethical reasons, I strongly feel that renewable energy is the way to go.

This aspiration was piqued at an early age when an ambitious biogas project was set up in my village. It however stalled after a few years, but my hopes and renewable energy dreams still live on…

Biogas digester on a farm

Biogas
Biogas is basically methane gas (around 60%), with carbon dioxide (around 40%) and a little hydrogen and hydrogen sulphide. It is made by the anaerobic breaking down of organic matter by bacteria, in the absence of oxygen.

We can make it ourselves from plant and animal wastes, and even human waste. It can be burnt to drive a generator, or on a smaller scale, for cooking or lighting gas lamps.

The equipment in which the organic matter breaks down anaerobically is called a digester, and there is also some sort of storage container for the gas produced.

So, Why Use Biogas?

1. Biogas reduces CO2 emissions and resource use:
   Biogas is a substitute for natural gas. CO2 from biogas is from recently-alive plant matter (even if it was fed to animals), it is part of a cycle – i.e. the plants for the next batch of biogas take in the CO2 given off by the previous batch. Using biogas also saves trees.
2. Biogas reduces methane emissions:
   Animal manures release methane into the atmosphere. When methane is burnt it releases CO2, but methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2, so it is a good idea to burn it rather than release it.
3. Biogas creates two renewable resources:
   Sewage sludge and animal slurries usually end up as fertiliser anyway – so it’s better to obtain fuel from it first, and prevent runoff and methane emissions at the same time – and you still get fertiliser at the end of the process.
   It’s the missing link for those wanting to switch from fossil fuels – many (green) people heat their homes with wood/charcoal and their water with solar, and get their electricity from wind and solar – but cooking is a problem; it’s too expensive with electricity, and LPG gas is expensive.
   But gas is still the best, and now it can be done without gas bills. With biogas.

Where and How to Start

Biogas generation on a domestic scale

Batch digesters like the one above are feasible on the domestic scale.
A typical small family digester will be around one cubic metre. For cooking and lighting, you don’t need much; every kilogramme of biodegradable material will yield around 0.4 m³ (400l) of gas, and gas lights need around 100l per hour. 2 gas rings for a couple of hours a day will use between 1-2 m³, so if you have some livestock, plus kitchen and human waste, you can do this easily.

The length of time you leave the material in a batch digester depends on temperature. The average is around 1 month – so gauge how much material you will add each day, and multiply it by 30 to calculate the size of the digester. The waste input must be a slurry – so add water if it’s too solid. Try and keep the temperature over 30°C.

You can get more information on biogas at the University of Adelaide web site.

Let us learn, share and do the needful to meet our energy needs.

In 2006, Al Gore gave a talk during the TED Global conference in Monterey California.

In this talk on averting climate crisis, Al Gore outlined 15 ways we can address climate change.  Watch this talk at the TED web site or download the video file (zipped MP4, 57MB).

Al Gore later gave another TED Talk titled ‘New Thinking on Climate Change’.

The entire transcript of this TED Talk is available here.

Dry after recent heavy rains

When I went back to my village last week, I was rather surprised at how dry the place now looks. It is all dusty, and the sun seems hotter than ever.

Consider the following photos:

Dried up and eroded

People have already prepared their farms, ready for the rain which is yet to fall.

The land is prepared, but the rain is yet to fall

Fortunately, the crops that were already planted are all green.

Individually do A LITTLE MORE, Collectively do A LOT MORE

Global warming, unpredictable weather patterns, and all the attendant problems that are triggered by adverse climate change are in fact very real. We can however, each in our own small and individual ways do something about it.

Quoting Al Gore as he answered a question during his ‘New Thinking on Climate change’ TED Talk,

There’s an old African proverb that some of you know that says, “If you want to go quickly, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” We have to go far quickly. So we have to have a change in consciousness. A change in commitment. A new sense of urgency. A new appreciation for the privilege that we have of undertaking this challenge.

At TED 2009, Al Gore gave yet another talk, where he showed updated slides and video clips that outlined the current climate change situation. Following is the video:

Read reviews, share or download the above Al Gore TED Talk here.

The Need for Change

So, be the change you want the world to be. It is possible. If we each a little more, we all do a lot more.

Let us learn, share and change.

Rural vs Urban

The other day, I left the city for my cradle-land. The place has this soothing effect on me…. words simply cannot be used to express it!

The Clean Air Fix

A very striking difference between urban and rural areas is the difference in the quality of the air between the two places. The air is cleaner and fresher out in the rural areas. Since we all need to breathe, it is worth thinking about air pollution. Consider the following:

Clean air is a public good; Indeed no other resource exhibits the same degree of ‘publicness’; Land can be parceled and fenced; Water can be bottled; Scenery can be hidden; One can even isolate himself from noise; But man has no choice but to breathe the air around him – polluted or not.

I have always believed, and many of us still do, that the air out there in rural areas is far much cleaner than in the cities. This is true to an extent. But then, rural air polllution is real. And its effect and impact gets more significant with population growth and enhanced human activity.

‘Natural’ and Organic Air Pollution

Reading some reports on air pollution, I now have a better understanding of the surprising fact that air pollution is also prevalent in rural areas. A report by Amelia Mutere, the Assistant Science Editor, International Centre of Insect Physiology (ICIPE) in Nairobi, explains that air pollution is not just a problem in developed countries and urban areas.

She writes:

The smoke from burning biomass is the most ancient and ubiquitous form of air pollution. As people are so familiar with such smoke it is often assumed to be benign… Nevertheless, these biomass fuels yield high emissions of a number of pollutants. The most dangerous emissions actually occur during incomplete combustion of carbonaceous materials which releases a wide range of organic materials of entirely different character from those in the fuel itself. Seven combustion related categories of air pollutants had received the most attention: suspended particulates (SP), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC’s) and other organic emissions such as nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulphuroxides (SOX), ozone (O3) and lead (Pb).

All of these pollutants can be found along with CO2 in biomass smoke, but the relative amounts differ from those found in fossil fuel smoke. Many of the hydrocarbons in biomass smoke have been identified as being mutagenic compounds and some are carcinogenic. One polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon of particular interest, benzo(a)pyrene, is the most studied of all the carcinogenic chemicals. Emissions, concentrations, exposures and doses are important in determining the health effects of biomass smoke.

Amelia goes ahead to identify five major categories of ill health expected from high exposures to biomass combustion products:

1. Chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD)
2. Heart disease, particularly cor-pulmonal caused by pulmonary damage
3. Acute respiratory infections (ARI) particularly in children due to degradation of the respiratory de fence mechanisms.
4. Low birth weight due to maternal exposures and associated with a range of perinatal and infant ill-health.
5. Eye disorders, conjunctivitis, blindness.

Read the entire Domestic air pollution in rural Kenya by Amelia Mutere article here.

The problem of Smoke and Health in Kenya has further been explored at the Practical Action web site.

The Way Ahead

One way of alleviating this air pollution in the rural areas is to introduce ’smokeless’ stoves or better yet, by use of special smoke hoods which according to Practical Action, are simple, cost effective and efficient. Apparently, the hood is already helping to save lives.

All in all, we each can do something to help reduce this highly ignored type of pollution.

Take the initiative and Grow Your own Fresh Air

In March 2009, TED released some videos, and as always, there was something really interesting to learn.

The following TED Talk by Kamal Meattle is all about growing fresh air, albeit with very little effort:

In this talk, researcher and activist Kamal Meattle shows how an arrangement of three common houseplants, used in specific spots in a home or office building, can result in measurably cleaner indoor air. Be edified:

Following is a slide show of the same TED Talk:

I find it interesting that some of the solutions to many of the problems we currently face have such simple solutions…

Let us all learn, share and effect change.

NOTE: The following post was first published on Tuesday, 31 Mar 2009. It has now been republished as an addendum to our previous post about Looking back to see Ahead on Water Harvesting and Conservation. Enjoy!

Heavy Rains

The rains have started falling in most areas of our country.

It saddens my heart when I see all the top soil being washed away by the storm water, and this is largely due to erosion and cutting down of trees. But I digress. (This is actually a story for another day…)

Water Harvesting

As I took a stroll in my village, I came across this commendable effort by a local farmer, to harvest and efficiently collect the rain water on his farm. This water can later be used for irrigation.

1000 Words

Let the pictures do the talking:

Rain Water Harvesting pit

The Left hand side...

The Right Hand Side...

Water entry point

The area around

The above is a good initiative indeed. The only thing this farmer has to contend with is loss of most of this water through evaporation.

What do you think?

“We never change, do we? no, no
We never learn, do we?”
- Coldplay (We Never Change)

El Nino floods

Oh no. Not Again!

As I write this, the Red Cross and the governments of several African countries (including Kenya) are trying to manage a floods crisis occasioned by the current El Nino rains. Reuters last reported that the floods have claimed over 20 lives.

Interestingly, the Red Cross had 0n October 13, 2009, released a report on the impending crisis. At the time, the Red Cross and Red Crescent were appealing for funding to address this situation. See the East Africa: Emergency Preparedness for El Nino Floods document (PDF 859KB).

My point is, the heavy rains and the resulting floods haven’t caught anyone unawares. Policy makers knew what was coming, and your guess is as good as mine regarding what they did in preparation.

Okay, It’s Raining. Are we Harvesting the Water?

On Sep 03 2009, we published on Green Kenya, a post that sought to know what we had so far learnt from the droughts that have previously ravaged our country.

Earlier on, we had published a post that explored local solutions for harvesting rain water for irrigation. Unfortunately, we lost this post while migrating Green Kenya to a new domain. I’ll however, shortly republish this post for reference.

Looking Back to See Ahead

Life sometimes demands that we look back so as to see ahead. After all, the future is invariably predicated on the past.

On The Walkabout, we have seen Steve Jobs say that “you can only connect the dots in your life by looking backwards”. In a post published on March 20, 2009, Jonathan Haidt wrote the same “Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom” in his book The Happiness Hypothesis.

That said, I was watching some TED Talks from TED India that was held last year.

Anupam Mishra reminded everyone of the ancient ingenuity of water harvesting in his talk.

Following is the video:

The Challenge, especially in Kenya

I am sad to openly acknowledge that every time we encounter challenges whose solutions are in the public domain (read the Internet), we still talk about the government spearheading efforts to effect change.

As you have probably read earlier in this post, the government (politicians) and other policy makers will not help you improve your way of life. Sad, but true.

The onus is now upon us, to individually do the much we can  to harvest the rain water while we still can. Otherwise, the dry season will once again inevitably ruin our lives. So will the rainy season eventually.

The time is now. Therefore, seize the day and do the needful.

What the heck have you done lately?

What a Start!

Last Saturday (Jan 2, 2009), I was out planting trees.

I thank God for the rains that have made this very possible. Following are some of the trees I planted:

Trees:

Acacia tree

Bottlebrush

Fruit Trees:

Avocados tree

What else we are growing:

The objective here is to go local by growing our own food, as much as we can. And damn it feels good.

Courgette (squash)

Tomatoes

Cabbages

Team-work Works:

Yeah, team-work works by dividing the effort and multiplying the effect. Put another way, if we each do a little more, we all do a lot more.

That way, we can succeed in making Kenya much greener.

Play Your Part

Having watched the 2008 film Wanted on New Year’s Day, the film ends where Wesley Gibson is taking back control of his life.

Just like the last lines in the movie, my challenge to you as we start the year is in the form of this question: “What the heck have you done lately?”