How To Know When It's Time To Remodel

Source: thereifixedit.com

~ concord carpenter



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Vertical Farming - Can It Work?

Will it work? you tell me.......


Some facts to consider:


By the year 2050 this planet will have 9.5 million people and need additional farming space equivalent to the size of Brazil to feed them.

Agriculture uses 70 percent of the worlds freshwater and is not reusable for drinking since it leaves it polluted with fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides.

Farming consumes huge ammounts of fossil fuels. 20 percent of the gasoline and diesel consumed here in the states. It also effects green house gas emmissions.

Fossil fuel costs drive up the cost of fuel.

To accomodate the growing population huge deforestation will take place creating more envioronmental and greenhouse issues.

Growing crops in environmentaly friendly city skyscrapers would use less water and fossil fuel than outdoor farming, eliminate agricultural runoff and provide fresh food for many many people!

What is Vertical Farming?

The concept of indoor farming is not new. What is new is the urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate another 3 billion people.

An entirely new approach to indoor farming must be invented, employing cutting edge technologies.

The Vertical Farm approach seems like the most logical answer. Vertical farms, many stories high, can be be situated in urban areas and can use vacant, not highly sought after land.

If successfully implemented, these farms offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply (year-round crop production), and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.

These farms would use the following three technologies to grow food:

AEREPONICS:

This is a system where plants are suspended and their roots are free and fed by water vapor and nutrients.

HYDROPONICS:

This is a system where the plant roots are in a troft and fed by water and dissolved nutrients.

DRIP IRRIGATION

This is an irrigation system that saves water by injecting nutrient rich water at the root system.



A high rise 30 story farm could employ many self sufficient features such as solar cells and incineration of inedible plant waste to produce electricity. Cleansing of city waste water to irrrigate the plants.

Besides the fact that these farms would grow and produce crops year round, they would be completely unaffected by floods, droughts, insects and eliminate the dangerous runoff fertilizers and deforestation.

This country need to start experimenting with this technique to see if it is a viable system and a reliable food producing option.

Architects, Engineers, Eco-Engineers, Growers and Research Universities all need to get together to design a building that works.

We need to start thinking of our childrens world before it's too late.

READ MORE


~ concord carpenter

Source: Scientific American , Nov 2009

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Don't Underestimate The Power Of A Hug

Free hugs is a real life controversial story of Juan Mann, A man whose sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives.





~ concord carpenter







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Test Your Fresh Water Knowledge

CLICK HERE


~ concord carpenter



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Extinction VS. Preservation

Photograph by Joel Sartore

The following is an excerpt from a National Geographic online article by Verlyn Klinkenborg.

In the United States as elsewhere, stopping the countdown to extinction means preserving healthy habitats—the aim of the celebrated and scorned Endangered Species Act.

For 35 years, ever since Richard Nixon signed it into law in December 1973, the Endangered Species Act has served as a biological half-way house, a kind of protective legal custody for life-forms at risk of disappearing.

READ this short but informative article HERE.

~ concord carpenter





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Is Adult Texting A Problem? ~ Statistics

The following information was taken from a law firm thaft represents injured people in motor vehicle accidents....

Adult Driver Cell Phone, Texting, and Car Accident Information

Talking on a cell phone causes nearly 25% of car accidents.

One-fifth of experienced adult drivers in the United States send text messages while driving.
A study of dangerous driver behavior released in January 2007 by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. found that of 1,200 surveyed drivers, 73 percent talk on cell phones while driving.

The same 2007 survey found that 19 percent of motorists say they text message while driving.
In 2005, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that ten percent of drivers are on handheld or hands free cell phones at any given hour of the day.

A study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Motorists found that motorists who use cell phones while driving are four times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.

In 2002, the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis calculated that 2,600 people die each year as a result of using cellphones while driving. They estimated that another 330,000 are injured.

According to the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, drivers talking on cell phones are 18 percent slower to react to brake lights. They also take 17 percent longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked.

An estimated 44 percent of American drivers now have cell phones in their automobiles.

Of cell phone users that were surveyed, 85 percent said they use their phones occasionally when driving, 30 percent use their phones while driving on the highway, and 27 percent use them during half or more of the trips they take.

84 percent of cell phone users stated that they believe using a cell phone while driving increases the risk of being in an accident.

The majority of Americans believe that talking on the phone and texting are two of the the most dangerous behaviors that occur behind the wheel. Still, as many as 81% of drivers admit to making phone calls while driving.

The number of crashes and near-crashes linked to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening. Dialing is more dangerous but occurs less often than talking or listening.

Studies have found that texting while driving causes a 400 percent increase in time spent with eyes off the road.

Do you text? What are you going to do? How do we monitor our kids?


source: www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cell/statistics
Some statistics taken from
"State lawmakers try to curb driver distractions." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 2007.
"Teen texting is OTT, even at wheel." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. July 2007.
"Driving, Texting Just Don't Mix Well." The Pittsburgh Channel. May 2007.
"Bill would require motorists to unhand their phones." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 2006.
"PennDOT Teen Driver Safety Week News Release." Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. October 22, 2008.
"Cellphones and Driving." Insurance Information Institute. October 2008.
"AMA acts against trans fats, texting while driving." Washington Post. November 10, 2008.






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Are You A Blog-A-Holic?

Do you spend more than an hour a day reading other blogs or writing posts for your own blog?

Do you constantly check to see if they have posted anything new?

Do you follow more than five blogs?

Do you check your dashboard constantly to see if anyone has posted on your blog?

Do you visit your friend’s blogs after you have commented to see what their responses might be?

Do you look forward to and check for comments after you post your own blogs?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have an addiction to blogging.

Blogaholics Anonymous has helped numerous bloggers come to grips with this problem.

In extreme cases, blogaholics have been known sit in front of the computer for hours on end drinking cold coffee, ignoring the phone and often without showering.

In very dire cases, family members and friends are only able to communicate with the blogaholic by commenting on the blogaholic’s blog.

Blogaholics anonymous follows a 12 step-program meant to lead us toward a life free of addiction.

Join forces with other blogaholics here!

Introduce yourself as a blogaholic... it's the first step to recovery.


~ concord carpenter



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Teaching Never And Always

AT WORK:

In police academies we teach new recruits police tactics that we learned “the hard way” – from other officer’s mistakes, Such as. . .

“NEVER reach into a running motor vehicle for fear of being dragged” or “ALWAYS keep three to six feet of distance between you and a suspect as a reactionary gap.”

In reality… I have reached in many running vehicles as well as allowed myself and other people to stand closer than three to six feet… and I’m the one teaching this stuff! So what gives? Am I wrong? Am I sending the wrong message?

We all know that there are no absolutes but we still teach them. Is it because they’re easier to remember… right? wrong?

AT HOME:

This story begins on a Sunday. My son and I were driving to Emerson Field in Concord to hit some baseballs.

While driving by a deserted corner of the parking lot [Emerson Umbrella] I noticed a disabled vehicle with a flat tire and three older women, standing in front of the flat tire looking bewildered.

My son will later ask me how I even saw this situation unfold….. COP’s have a habit of looking everywhere but where we're going.

I turned around and to ask if they needed help. They were clearly flustered, embarrassed and unsure of what to do. At first they told me they did not have a spare tire so I offered them a ride and the use of my cell phone.

Having noticed that this woman was not 100% confident on whether she had a spare tire or not, I asked them if they wanted me to check for a spare. I found the spare right where it was supposed to be, under the trunk floor mat.

After changing the tire the women thanked me, we chatted a bit and they asked me who I was. Although tempted too say "I'm Batman," I introduced myself and son and left them with a police business card.

While driving away my some started in with a myriad of questions:

Q. I thought you told me never to go near strangers?


Q. Why did we stop?


Q. What if they were bad people?


Q. Why did you offer them a ride? Their strangers. You told me never to take a ride from strangers. You said always assume that strangers offering rides are dangerous. And never to go with them.


Q. What were you thinking dad!!!

How do you explain to a child that I break the rules all the time? That being a police officer is a vocation for me and not a 9 to 5 job.

That in a split second that we DO judge a book by its cover? We do size people up as threats or non-threats, and sometimes go against what we teach always and never to do.

How do you explain that we often think without thinking, leap without looking?

We do that by "thin-slicing," using limited information to come to our conclusion. Basing decisions on our experience, training, skill sets, and knowledge.

Knowing that saying “DO AS I SAY, AND NOT AS I DO” doesn’t fly with a teenager so I tried to explain to him the best I could about threat assessment, thin-slicing, and sizing up the situation from afar - all with the intention on balancing the importance of helping people in need.

Well I’m not sure I answered all his questions but I sure did have fun hitting balls!


Stay Safe!


~ concord carpenter




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New ~ Top Commentors For My Blog

New to my sidebar column is the Top Commenter Widget

If you look in my sidebar column on the right you will see my new widget "MY TOP 5 BLOG COMMENTER'S."

I recently came across this cool widget tool for my blog. I like it because it allows me to recognize and give credit to my most loyal readers.



It's a great way to inspire a blogs constituents to keep making useful comments on the blog.

The widget displays links to to the top commentators websites and can easily be implemented in your blog's sidebar.

The widget default for this widget is 5 but can be set to more if desired and allows the blog owner to filter out their own responses.

Very cool ~ check it out in my sidebar!

~ concord carpenter


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Prevent Flood Damage With SMART Hoses

Watts Water Technologies recently came out with a real nice product called, FloodSafe®, to protect your home from water damage that results in a burst washing machine water supply hose.

FloodSafe® connectors include a standard braided stainless steel flexible hose and a FloodSafe® shutoff device located on the inlet.



The auto-shutoff feature automatically shuts off the water supply to plumbing fixtures/appliances if excess water flow is sensed. Water flow through the FloodSafe® device is limited to a factory preset flow rate, any flow over the preset rate will automatically shutoff all flow of water through the device.



A pair of hoses cost approximately $ 22.00.


~ concord carpenter








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1/3 Teens admit To Texting And Driving

About a third of texting teens in the U.S. admit to texting behind the wheel, even though some said they thought it could hinder their ability to drive, according to a study by the Pew Research Center.

Teens aged 16 and 17 reported a variety of motivations for texting while driving, including the need to report their whereabouts to friends and parents, getting directions and flirting with significant others.

Teens also told of a variety of texting practices they believed would increase safety while they continued to drive.

The study by Washington, D.C.-based Pew polled 800 youth and found 82 per cent of those aged 16 to 17 have a cellphone and 76 per cent text. The poll suggests that overall, 34 per cent of teen texters aged 16 to 17 have texted while driving. The survey has an accuracy of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Read complete article HERE.

Data regarding car accidents involving cell phone use and/or texting while driving has been limited in the past, but it's slowly becoming available to the public. Here are some disturbing facts:

In 2007, driver distractions, such as using a cell phone or text messaging, contributed to nearly 1,000 crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers.


Over 60 percent of American teens admit to risky driving, and nearly half of those that admit to risky driving also admit to text messaging behind the wheel.


Each year, 21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of cell phone usage. This result has been expected to grow as much as 4% every year.


Almost 50% of all drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 are texting while driving.


Over one-third of all young drivers, ages 24 and under, are texting on the road.


Teens say that texting is their number one driver distraction.

~ concord carpenter











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What Do You Learn From Books?

Today's guest post is from my friend and fellow blogger Eric Snow.

Eric works for BLANC-OTUS a public relations firm in Boston. At his firm he is a General Manager and is responsible for ensuring the efficient delivery of high-value, high-quality client service while driving organizational growth.

Eric is skilled in crisis communications, investor relations and employee communications.

He has earned an MBA from Babson College and a BA from James Madison University and has published articles and delivered presentations on topics ranging from national telecommunications reform to national health care reform.



Every now and then, a book comes along that that offers a perspective so different, so refreshing that its main points stick with you long after you read it.

For me, one of those books was Natural Capitalism, published in 1999 by Paul Hawken (of Smith and Hawken fame), along with the husband and wife team of Amory and L. Hunter Lovins.



According to the quick review on Amazon.com, "Natural Capitalism starts with an elegantly simple premise: economies need no longer be based on the idea that human capital is finite and natural resources are infinitely abundant when the obvious truth of the 21st Century is
exactly the opposite.”

The book was brought to my attention as part of a class I took on social entrepreneurship at Babson College. What I remember about the book is that it challenged traditional economics (which I was having a hard time understanding anyway) with some pretty radical ideas, such as:

(1) Biomimicry: we ought to study nature for clues about how to improve the way we work (e.g. figuring out how the thin strands of a spider’s web are so darn strong).

(2) Sharing: we ought to think less about owning/disposing and more about sharing/recycling the stuff we use throughout our lives.

(3) Environment: we ought to reinvest in the natural resources that make up the primary inputs of our entire economic system.

Given the global financial meltdown we’ve all suffered through in the past year, it seems like a good time to question whether our current economic model is sustainable.

Challenge yourself with some fresh thinking and the next time you go for a walk in the woods, take a look around, you just might learn a thing or two from good old Mother Nature.

~ Eric Snow


Eric can be reached at: esnow1@babson.edu


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