I recently had the pleasure of interviewing an amazing local artist, DeAnna Cochran, who specializes in crafting gold, silver and bronze jewelry. At first glance her jewelry is visually stunning and very unique but don’t be fooled by the pretty looks, there is a complex and very clever process that goes into making her artwork;

If you look a little deeper into the process behind DeAnna Cochran’s jewelry pieces you will uncover a fascinating story including recycled cell phones, recycled computers, Japanese scientists and a zero waste business model!

DeAnna is passionate about running her charity focused “Jewelry for a Cause” business and she tries to keep the business operating with a zero waste policy.

Simply, I love creating and more so I love that what I create holds a higher purpose of giving back and making a difference.

- DeAnna Cochran, Metalsmith and Artist

During my interview with DeAnna I could clearly hear the passion that she has for the “craft” involved in creating her jewelry, the part that fascinated me was that her jewelry is made with a Precious Metal Clay which uses re-claimed metals from scrap electronics! The Precious Metal Clay contains small particles of gold, silver or bronze and when it it freshly out of the packaging it is very soft and workable. DeAnna explained that PMC looks and works very much like a regular clay compound, it uses a water based binder and is completely non-toxic. DeAnna’s wonderful jewelry creations are full of fine details and she said that the PMC allows her to create these fine details with a high level of confidence in the final result.

Once DeAnna has finished her design the PMC can be fired or cured in a kiln. The PMC generally shrinks in size by approximately 10% due to the organic binders being burnt off. What is left behind is a wonderfully pure gold, silver or bronze piece of jewelry! DeAnna explained that she has enjoyed working recently with bronze, it is relatively new to the PMC line of products.

Needless to say, my curiosity was lit and I went off to do some research into Precious Metal Clay. Let’s start with some of the science… Did you know that all cell phones and computers, in fact pretty much anything with a circuit board, contains small amounts of silver, gold and other precious metals?

To quote Richard Alcorn from Finishing.com;

One ton (2000 lbs) of “average” circuit board from modern computers and electronics generally yields (in a very good system) between 8 and 11 troy ounces of 24k gold.

(more…)

Our front yard has lots of thriving plants, mainly roses and bushes of various types, but we noticed that the plants in an area next to our driveway had been struggling.

Last year we planted five large Rhododendron bushes and four Hydrangeas. Our wonderful Mom suggested that the soil might not be acidic enough for the Rhododendrons and Hydrangeas. She gave us a large bag of used coffee grounds which were provided by the excellent “Roots Coffee House” in North Richland Hills.

Used Coffee Grounds Can Increase Soil Acidity

The used coffee grounds can increase the acidity of soil and help plants which need higher acidity. I did some research and found that coffee acidity is the bright and dry taste that adds life to a coffee. The acidity of coffee is similar to the dry but bright sensation experienced while drinking a red wine. The brewing of coffee removes alot of the acids but the discarded coffee grounds are perfect for adding some well needed soil acidity for plants like Rhododendrons and Hydrangeas.

Rhododendrons

Most Rhododendrons prefer acid soils with a pH of roughly 4.5-5.5 and the local Texas soils are probably only a pH level of about 6.9. Adding used coffee grounds to the soil brings the pH down from 6.9 to a lower, more acidic value, which is perfect for the Rhododendrons.

Other advice is that Rhododendrons have fibrous roots and prefer well-drained soils high in organic material. Rhododendrons are often grown in raised beds with a liberal addition of composted pine bark. Mulching and careful watering are also important.

Making High Acidity Soil

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas can tolerate a range of pH, soil acidity, conditions however for some varieties the color of their flowers is determined by the relative acidity of the soil. A pH below 6 (acidic) will usually produce flower colors closer to true blue, whereas soil with a pH above 6 (more alkaline) will produce flowers that are more pink. The flowers on all of our Hydrangeas were all very pink in color which was another indicator that the soil was not acidic enough. We’re hoping that if we can increase the soil acidity with the used coffee grounds then we will get more blue Hydrangea flowers.

High Acidity Soil for Hydrangeas

We have already noticed an improvement in the look of our Rhododendrons and Hydrangeas and we will be taking advantage of free used coffee grounds from our local coffee houses to keep them looking healthy for years to come.

Our High Acidity Soil

This month’s post is simply a wonderful collection of solar panel installations in everyday homes. Hopefully one day in the not too distant future we will all have wind and solar power in our homes.

Number 1: A Wonderful French Home with a Huge Solar Array;

images from http://www.flickr.com/photos/trebosc/

French Home Solar Install 1

The Solar Panels Being Installed

The Finished Installation

Number 2: A Small But Super Green Home in L.A.:

images from http://www.flickr.com/photos/clownfish/

Before the Solar Installation

Solar Install Completed - 100% Solar Energy!

Number 3: A Self Sufficient Log Cabin – Solar Powered:

images from http://www.flickr.com/photos/44244119@N08/

Log Cabin Solar Panels

Log Cabin Solar Panels - Off The Grid

Number 4: A Green Wedge Potton House:

This wooden timber construction home by Potton is green through and through

images from http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikehales/

Green Wedge Shaped Home with Solar Array

The Green Stripe is Very Fitting!

The Home Has a Solar Well for Extra Light

Number 5: Suburban Home With Solar Panels Cut to Fit:

Proof that solar panels can be designed into any roof line….

images from http://www.flickr.com/photos/silas216/

Solar Panels Cut to Fit

We hope you were inspired by our list of home solar installations, we tried to include different examples from normal homes to the more modern super eco designs.

Let’s all go solar!

Have you ever tried finding truly biodegradable trash bags?

Plastic Biodegradable Bags by "Green Genius"

Well look no more, we found an amazing product made by a wonderfully green US company. Sam Paul was a business owner who sold traditional plastic bags until his kids convinced him to re-think plastic trash bags and find a greener alternative.

Sam rounded up a team of “Green Geniuses” and got to work inventing a biodegradable trash bag that had the strength and price of regular trash bags. About five years after his kids got him thinking about it, the “Green Genius” company was born.

The Green Genius Range of Bags

I found the Green Genius folks whilst searching my Twitter account, I noticed lots of green tips from the Green Genius tweeters and saw an offer to get a free sample of their biodegradable trash bags… Needless to say I signed up just about as fast as I could type in my details! My next step was to keep browsing their very interesting website, they have lots of information on how their biodegradable plastic works and I found the whole site easy to navigate.

Check out the Green Genius website here;

Checkout the Green Genius Website

So why are plastic biodegradable bags so important?
The Green Genius team realized that virtually every piece of plastic ever invented (unless it was incinerated) still exists! It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that everlasting pieces of trash are a bad thing indeed.

Americans use 3 billion pounds of plastic bags annually, the vast majority of which end up in landfills.

This figure truly inspired the Green Genius team to find a biodegradable plastic that really worked so that consumers could buy strong plastic bags guaranteed to break down in a landfill leaving no trace of plastic behind. The solution they found was a plastic bag that is completely edible by microbes.

Here’s how the Green Genius biodegradable bags work:

Step One: They combine plastic with a proprietary additive called EcoPure that bonds organic “nutrients” to the plastic’s molecular structure. The addition of this additive allows the plastic to be eaten by microbes, making the whole bag biodegradable.
Step Two: Whenever a Green Genius plastic bag is disposed of in a microbe-rich environment like a landfill, the microbes are attracted to the embedded “nutrients” in the plastic.
Step Three: Microbes feed on the nutrients, which actually converts the plastic into simpler organic matter like sugars, fatty acids and amino acids.
Step Four: The bag is now entirely edible by microbes, which attracts even more microbes, and a feast ensues!
Step Five: Microbes continue to feed until only the simplest organic matter remains — water, bio-gas (carbon dioxide and methane) and bio-mass (humus).

The biodegradability of these wonderfully eco-friendly bags was determined by the ASTM D-5511 test, for our boffin readers here is the lab report summary:

Treated Green Genius trashbags when tested by ASTM D 5511, which determines anaerobic biodegradation of plastic materials under high solid anaerobic digestion conditions, were found to be biodegradable. This procedure simulates the conditions that would be in a properly operated landfill treating pre-treated household waste as a sole substrate.

Not only are they biodegradable but the Green Genius drawstring trash bags contain 40% recycled plastic content and are still “ridiculously strong”. In fact, their bags match or exceed the puncture resistance of the national brands.
We ordered a big box of the Green Genius tall kitchen bags from Amazon.com and can’t wait to get them and start filling them safe in the knowledge that they will completely biodegrade once they reach the landfill. You can buy your own Green Genius bags on Amazon, see below;

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Emily Longway
Email: emily@thegreengenius.com
Phone: (888) 338-3138
www.biodegradablog.com
www.thegreengenius.com

Andi Larson
Email: andi@thegreengenius.com
Blogger, Green Genius
www.biodegradablog.com
www.thegreengenius.com

GET YOUR FREE BAG SAMPLES:
http://www.thegreengenius.com/sample/

A work colleague asked me the other day if our site had any articles about delivery of fresh local produce to homes or businesses from local farms, my answer was;

I don’t know how to get fresh produce delivered yet, but I will make it my green mission to find out more about locally delivered fresh fruit and vegetables!

Completely by chance, after a conversation with Carter, I learned that such programs are collectively known as Community Supported Agriculture or CSA’s for short.

Community Supported Agriculture - Fresh Produce Delivered Weekly

Community Supported Agriculture is becoming a more and more popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from farmers.
The idea is that a local farmer offers a certain number of “shares” to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included such as fresh eggs, goats cheese etc. Local residents purchase a “share” and in return receive a healthy crate of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season which varies depending on your location.

CSA’s have lots of benefits for all involved…
(more…)

I stumbled across a wonderfully intriguing image on Flickr.com and it turned out to be an eco friendly coat made from reused plastic shopping bags. The green fashionista responsible for the wonderful creation is UrbanWoodsWalker and her creations are truly inspiring.
This post will show you how to turn your used plastic bags into “plastic fabric” and make your own eco clothing. (Warning: The plastic fabric requires the use of an iron. Please be very careful whenever using a hot iron and ensure your work area is well ventilated)

1/ Collect a bunch of brightly colored plastic bags (The super thin ones work best such as the type newspapers are delivered in), most shoppers have eliminated plastic bags from their homes by using reusable totes but you can probably still find some plastic to use;

Step 1: Gather up Your Used Plastic Bags

2/ You will need the following, an iron, an ironing board, a pair of scissors, some paper (wax paper or parchment paper works best).
(more…)

Green Kids Game by Play Green

Our gifts at Christmas this year had a distinctively green theme and one particular fun gift was this spinning top game by “ImagiPlay Play Green Spinning Tops“. This toys is made with all natural sustainable rubberwoods and managed-forest pines which are fast growing. Even the packaging is green, it is made from the same sustainable farming wood and doubles up as the “arena” for the spinning tops.

Play Green Spinning Tops - All Natural Eco Game

The top of the packaging slides out and can be reversed and slotted back into the box to create a battle field for the duelling spinning tops!
(more…)