Green Blog

With luggage and camera gear packed in the van by 8 in the morning my new friends and I on my photography tour are off to our first destination, promising to be an outstanding adventure. The excitement is high with everyone getting to know each other and talking cameras and pictures on this their first day.

We are on our way to Arenal, an active volcano in Costa Rica, but there are a few stops along the way. First, we stop in Sarchi, famous for its tropical furniture, where magnificent, brightly decorated ox carts are made in an eighty plus year old water powered factory. From there, we drive to the little mountain town of Zarcero where the focal point is the old wooden church with its much-photographed double row of topiaries leading to its entrance. You can fill your camera’s memory card just at these two places with the colours and patterns in Sarchi and the fantastic shapes of the topiaries in Zarcero.

Luis, our driver, is very familiar with the many potholes that make Costa Rica famous, so he cautiously makes his way along the road while most everyone else, on 2 or 4 wheels, pass us by. The number of wannabe Formula One drivers in Costa Rica is staggering. There is even a bus driver who has been known to have passengers find religion and speak directly to God on his overland route.

After our planned stops and lunch in La Fortuna we are now just a few miles from our lodge at Arenal. As we leave the main highway we find ourselves on a road that is one continuous pothole. It is January and the rainy season has just ended so most roads are in poor condition but what is unique about this road is that it was constructed from crushed lava rock.

Rounding a curve we see a clearing beside a tropical river and there is the perfect cone shape of Arenal Volcano! Those who have never seen a volcano are stunned at the sight.

The point of the cone is cloaked in puffy white clouds with a beautiful blue sky as a backdrop. We immediately stop and quickly leave the van attaching cameras to tripods. Some of us wade into the river for a better image while some shoot from the riverbanks getting a different perspective.

Of course being this close to an active volcano could be very dangerous but Arenal is quite predictable, a low risk. The lodge is only one and a half kilometers to the base of the volcano and two kilometers to the top of the cone and needless to say, any activity attracts your attention.

While unpacking and getting settled in, Arenal speaks. It is a great roar, smoke and gas billowing many hundreds of feet into the sky and the sound of the rocks tumbling down the slopes. After the eruption, the Mantled Howler monkeys are extremely vocal but we do not know if they are protesting the roar of the eruption or just answering back.

While sitting in the lodge dining room enjoying our dinner Arenal speaks again. Everyone had been told of the many photo opportunities in Costa Rica but who would imagine eating dinner and having something like this happen? And this was only our first day of the tour!

Most of us do not get much sleep for the first two nights. Instead, we find some comfortable chairs in the common area outside our rooms and attach cable releases to our cameras and put them on a tripod. From past experiences I decide to use an 80-200mm lens set at 80mm and an aperture of f8, the camera shutter set at “B” for time exposure.

The activity of the small flare-ups at the cone and the lava flowing down the opposite side makes me think that a time exposure of more than 20 minutes could produce an ugly yellow blob of light and if there are no eruptions after this time I will close the shutter and start another exposure. In using a cable release the exposures are perfectly sharp and Arenal cooperates by putting on quite a display while we are there.

Arenal is the first adventure in Costa Rica for my photo group. With another eight days of photography everybody is looking forward to the next destination that is going to be just as exciting.

Frank Scott lives in tropical Costa Rica where he is a professional Costa Rica Photographer offering unique photography tours. Some of his work can be seen in Costa Rica Vacations, a very popular travel guide to this unique country.

Handling wastewater in a safe way is vitally important for all of us who need water to survive. Wastewater treatment therefore is a viable and important procedure for us to obtain viable and usable water. There are a variety of different methods and disposal of the waste water that is created on a daily basis.

The definition for wastewater treatment would be using known technology to enhance or improve the quality of our water. What is normally done with most waste water is to gather it up and make sure that it is run into a common area for the beginning of its treatment. This is usually your local area wastewater treatment plant.

Water that needs to be treated is generally put through a variety of different processes for complete treatment. When it is large flows of water, then the water will be in a continual flowing state and be treated in than manner. There are times though that certain wastewater treatment is handled in batches.

Even though wastewater is handled with the continuous flow procedure there are times that a batch process is used. This is generally when the water is known to have sludge in it and they need to treat the water and the sludge in a smaller contained area. This is when they will add chemicals to this particular water to try and break down the sludge.

There are three different categories that the procedures can be put into. The first one being physical, the second is chemical and the last one is biological. Some of the wastewater will sometimes need all three categories to process the water properly.

Also certain types of wastewater need specific categories for treatment and not all three. Below are the different categories and what is used in them for the treatment process.

Physical category would use these items for processing; sedimentation, filtration, aeration, floatation, skimming, etc.

Chemical category would tend to use the following; chlorination, neutralization, coagulation, etc.

Biological category would deal with active sludge treatment, trickling filtration, oxidation ponds, aerobic digestion, septic tanks and more.

The physical category means that they use physical objects to help with treatment like screens and filters for example.

The chemical category is when they chemicals to cause chemical reactions in order to change the quality of the water.

The biological category means that they use organisms, especially bacteria that will help decompose items that need to be broken down into organic material.

When using the chemical treatment they make use of units called feed units, mixers and other similar devices.

Treatments have different types of levels, preliminary, primary, secondary and tertiary. Tertiary is the only one that can not be done alone, this generally is added to the secondary treatment.

Preliminary is when they need to remove items that might damage the equipment that is used for treatment. This is done with shredders, screens, grinders, etc.

Primary is when the water is gathered into settling tanks and give the water time for the sediment to drop to the bottom of the tanks.

Secondary treatment is the use of aerobic organisms that will help break down anything that can not be broken down on its own. Some of the items they use in this procedure are filters, sand filters, final settling tanks and stabilization ponds.

Installing septic tanks is an effective and highly recommended method for reducing the ecological impact on the environment. Nowadays, wastewater treatment has innovative technologies such as dispersal pipes and grease trap interceptors.

More and more people are reaping the benefits of meditation. Science has shown that meditation can actually reduce stress, ease depression, lower anxiety and reduce heart disease. Meditation is one of those activities that anyone of any age or ability level can enjoy. Two especially easy meditation techniques to learn are grounding meditation and walking meditation.

If you are feeling scattered, edgy and generally off-kilter, grounding meditation may be just what the doctor ordered. Grounding meditation will help you feel energized, focused and refreshed.

Walking meditation uses your imagination. To start this meditation, get in a comfortable position and close your eyes. Next, picture a golden string moving from the middle of the Earth, into your body and out through the top of your head. Follow the golden string as it goes out beyond the border of the universe.

Now, go back to the place where this golden string emerges from the top of your head. In your imagination see it traveling out past the stars, past the sun and out of our galaxy till it goes beyond the border of all space. It ends up in a great bright white light. The golden string blends with the light and is safely rooted there. It becomes one with the light.

Now follow the chain from your body through the crust of the Earth, through the magma, through the mantle and finally arriving at the inner core of Earth. You see that the inner core is a pure radiant orange light. You understand that this is the Earth’s energy source. The chain binds itself to the light and as it does so, you feel yourself drawn towards Earth and grounded firmly.

Now follow the thread up to your body and focus on your breathing for a time. You then feel the Earth firmly beneath your feet, as if your feet and Earth were magnetized. As you come out of your meditation, you will notice that you feel more energetic, focused, at peace and ready for whatever you need to do next.

One of the easiest meditations to learn is a walking meditation. Walking meditation is great exercise and you get all the good things from meditation, all in one package. It is very simple to fit into any schedule and can be beneficial in even short snippets of time. Leave your dog at home when you do walking meditation, though. Trying to do both is an exercise in futility.

Start your meditation by just walking at a pace that feels right to you. Notice that your feet hit the ground and how that feels in your body. Feel your breath coming into and out of your lungs. Hear the rustle of leaves. Just focus on the present moment. If your mind starts to wander off, let the thought go without any stress whatsoever.

In a walking meditation, you may want to include a mantra, a phrase or meditative prayer. You can focus on this in your head. It does not need to be said aloud. Some people prefer to play some calm music or nature sounds, such as the sound of the ocean, as they walk. Music without lyrics works best. When you finish your walking meditation, you will feel relaxed, centered and rested.

Anyone can do meditation. It is not just for religious or new-age types. With so many different meditation techniques out there, anyone can find one that is appealing. Any repetitive activity can be used for meditation and made to fit into even the busiest of schedules.

For people looking into how to lose weight, we recommend using the finest mediation techniques to burn fat by building muscle. With the right resources, this is very simple to do. There are a lot places to search, we recommend you using the Web.

Wildlife art, art on the subject of wild animals and birds, is a popular area of the arts. Some of the very earliest artworks were on this subject.

Cave paintings from the prehistoric age often included wild animals and birds which were food or danger at the time and so conceptualized very differently from our current perspective on them. Sculptures from the ancient world also often include animals and birds.

The evolution of people’s attitudes to wild animals and birds is clearly reflected in wildlife art. After their initial lives close to wild animals, humans grew to separate themselves from the natural world, and this is reflected in the fact that wildlife was mostly absent from long periods of western art. Religious views at the time ignored the natural world and focused on the human realm.

The romantic era used wildlife in its typical emotional representations of the world. A typical example is a proud noble lion contrasted with an evil-looking tiger with eyes downcast in shame.

Around this time wildlife in art was also often about the boundaries between the human world and the natural world, rather than a view of nature in its own right. For example, there was art depicting a lion attacking a domestic horse.

The stag paintings of Landseer were among the most popular of all art during the Victorian era and are still well loved today. Wildlife increased in popularity around this time. The finest picture book ever published is said to be the book on birds of America by the famous bird artist Audubon.

Currently, wildlife art is a popular subject. Nature is loved as a subject in its own right now, and wildlife art reflects this interest by showing wild birds and animals in their natural environments. Conservation is also a big issue these days with some wildlife art created for the express purpose of increasing public awareness of the importance of conservation.

Want to see the paintings referred to above, and find out more about Wildlife Art? then visit Thomas Goldman’s great site which is the definitive guide to wildife art.

Most dog owners want the very best for your pets, and to have the very best relationship. You spend hours training your dogs: teaching them tricks and manners and ways to communicate.

You desire to know the reasons behind its peculiar behavior so that you can train it in a better manner. You do consider the options of taking your dog to a professional dog-trainer or dog-conditioner but their exorbitant fees put you off. Finally, it dawns upon you that only you yourself could the best at training your own dog.

The good news for a do it yourself aspiring dog trainer is all the online resources available on the internet.Most of the content is about personal experiences with training dogs and the trick they are willing to share with you.These online dog training courses can be downloaded easily.

There are also many dog training courses which can be downloaded, and will guide you through training step by step. The best part is that these courses are free!

The latest internet courses for training dogs are video based. These give better results and so more popular as you can visually see the actual program. These videos can be found on pet related web pages. The negative point of these sessions can be that some of these are formulated by unproved producers. You are required to use your judgment while going through these training plans. It will be prudent to take advice from a friend who might have actually used such program, to confirm the authenticity and trustworthiness of the website. The well trained dog is indispensable for those who love their pets as close kin.

Don’t deprive your pups of the chance to be a productive member of your family. Save money and time with online dog training courses!

Find the perfect dog training course for your pet today. Check out this web page to get started now, even learn about house training a dog.

The best-selling book on “popular mycology,” Mycelium Running, would be a useful reference book in every home, especially to anyone involved in farming (or gardening), forest management and environmental cleanup. The second half of the book is an instruction manual on growing delectable mushrooms for food and medicine.

The book is a treasure trove of useful practical information on what Stamets refers to as mycofiltration (of water), mycoremediation (of toxic waste), and tips on how mushroom mycelium can help improve soils and boost productivity in farming and forestry with less use of pesticides and fertilizers.

A detailed description of Mycofiltration, the use of mushrooms to filter waste water, is given in one section of the book. It lists recommended mushroom species and materials to use in creating the mycofiltration bed, as well as dimensions, depth, layers, etc. Mycofiltration beds like this can be effectively used for both industrial waste water and farm runoff.

Added perks when using mycofiltration is that the beds also yield crops of scrumptious food mushrooms, and every 2-3 years, as the bedding material needs to be replaced, the old material can be spread on the farm fields as a rich fertilizer.

Benefits of no-till farming are described in terms of how it supports saprophytic soil fungi, which in turn help protect the soil from erosion as well as break down organic matter at a rate that is better paced to benefit plant life than if the stubble were to be plowed under and broken down by anaerobic bacteria.

Saprophytic fungi benefit forests too, by breaking down organic matter but also help by competing with parasitic fungi (blights), which may kill thousands of trees if not stopped. Foresters can easily seed saprophytic mushrooms in blight infested areas as a natural fungicide against parasitic fungi, fighting fire with fire.

Mycorrhizal fungi likewise can be seeded to support tree growth, or these beneficial fungi may simply be encouraged to grow naturally through smarter and more enlightened forest management.

Most plants benefit from partnerships with mycorrhizal fungi, especially trees, which become much more drought resistant as well as disease resistant when they partner with a mycorrhizal mushroom species.

Mushroom mycelium can also be utilized to clean up toxic waste sites through a method known as mycoremediation. The term was invented by the author of Mycelium Running, Paul Stamets, but was in common use before the publication of this book.

Petrochemicals and biological warfare agents can be effectively broken down by mushroom mycelium, as can dioxin and toxic industrial waste. Even toxic levels of chlorine, which is used as the universal biocide, can be neutralized by some species of mushrooms. Bacterial contaminants like Staphylococcus sp. and E. coli can be killed, and heavy metals can be absorbed by mushrooms to then be removed from a site.

Mycoremediation is extremely economical, at less than 5% the cost of some conventional methods for cleaning up toxic waste.

All that is just in the first half of this 300-page book; the second half is an instruction manual on growing your own mushrooms and mycelia, which is something that may be of interest to forest managers for mycoforestry, environmentalists for mycoremediation, farmers for increasing soil productivity, and the rest of us for growing our own gourmet mushrooms for food and medicine. In other words, this is a book for anyone and everyone.

Dr. Markho Rafael has worked in the natural health field since finishing Chiropractic College in the mid-90’s. He currently specializes in medicinal fungi, frequently consulting two reference books: Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets for chemical, biological and medicinal properties of mushrooms, and Mushrooms Demystified by David Arora, the most complete identification guide for North American mushrooms.

The day started like any other, up at 6am and straight to the computer and work. 7am arrives finally, the caf is open. I dress my daughter quickly and head off for my coffee. Today was a bit different to most though, as I pulled up sharply once I got to the front gate. There, a mere two feet from us was a magnificent Australian kookaburra.

I admired its courage, we were so close and it had not flown away. These are not tame birds, they typically shy clear from humans. The memory of this encounter will stick for a long time, it is so rare. I alerted my wife to the visit too, so she could come outside slowly and meet our friend and there the four of us stood, enjoying each other’s company for nearly five minutes.

Having had my coffee now though and reflecting on the experience, I realize I blundered my way to the gate, to within two feet of this bird without even knowing it was there. I know the kookaburra was aware of me, was I really that caught up in my own little world though that I did not see this creature till we were almost butting heads? Did I really need to get close enough that we were eyeballing each other before I even noticed he was there?

One more step and surely I would have sent the kookaburra to flight. I would have missed this wonderful start to the day; it would simply have been sacrificed to inattention. What a terrible loss as these magical moments with nature are so rare. It was really a little bit of a wakeup call. Slow down and smell the roses. There is so much happening right now, yet we are all rushing to tomorrow, eyes so focused on the future we forget to enjoy the present.

From my home on Australia’s Gold Coast, my young family of three are blessed with the song (or laughter) of kookaburras quite regularly. Never have I experienced one in such a personal way as I did today. I know from today too that the kookaburra’s song will have a special meaning for me; there will be a message in every verse. “Slow down Damian” it will sing. “Enjoy what is in front of you right now”. A message perhaps we all can benefit from.

Damian Papworth is a dedicated family man. He recently went shopping for baby high chairs. He found the Fisher Price high chair products were particularly impressive.

Many diamond vendors are proving and setting the example that living an ecological-conscious life is possible in every aspect of our life. Take their offerings of Conflict free diamonds and refined metals to make Eco-friendly jewelry. The diamonds come from the Kimberley process; which ensures that your diamonds come from legitimate sources only and have nothing to do with blood diamonds.

StopBloodDiamonds.org is the site for conscious jewelers. The blood diamonds tainted with human rights violations come from Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola, therefore Diamond trade with this region is banned. Horrible crimes against fellow humans are committed here at the hands of well-armed militants who are supported by unethical governments.

These diamond mines are also a hot bed for money laundering activities by terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda. As we choose not to partake in these crimes we bring you clean diamonds. Some diamond vendors are also committed to protecting the earth; if you have already begun by choosing the right electrical appliances, walking to the library, buying organically grown goods, now choose to wear only the jewelery made out of recycled precious metals.

This process sees broken jewelry molten and cleared of impurities to make pure precious metals which are used to make fresh pieces of jewelry. This way you protect the earth from being stripped of the fertile humus layer; prevent gallons of water being wasted and the earth being gouged of tons of soil to make few grams of gold.

This means that there is enough refined metals already mined that we do not need to exploit the land anymore!

Buying at upstanding jewelers helps you avoid blood diamonds, and gives you an opportunity to make another environmentally literate decision to wear Eco-friendly jewelry. Look for harmony Brand of 100% recycled precious metals; recycling is a cleaner process than mining and produces finer diamonds.

Danforth Diamonds now has proven that living an ecological-conscious life is possible in all aspects of our life. Take their offerings of Conflict Free Diamonds, Refined Metals & Eco Friendly jewelry- at Danforth Diamond now! Including lab created diamonds .

The world presently has an even bigger growth rate in its demand for energy. This is due mainly to the rapid increase of population, which has more than two times in the last 50 years. This has caused a injury on our energy supply, which has brought about an increase in energy prices and shortages in a lot of parts of the globe. Conventional energy supplies like petroleum and gas are said to have been declining drastically and has the possibility of running out completely in the future. This has influenced many individuals to look for alternative energy sources one of which is renewable energy. The concept of renewable energy is not new.

individuals have been using every advantage of renewable energy for thousands of years for various uses. Some utilize it for heating and cooking while others use it for lighting their houses. There are those who utilize it transport their vehicles and operate their machines. This renewable energy comes in a lot of types the common ones being solar, water, wind, biomass and geothermal energy. Today, with the present situation regarding conventional energy resources like fossil fuel, people have been searching for means to use this power to give electricity and power to their homes.

The main benefit of renewable energy over fossil fuels is the reality that it is renewable. This means that it may easily be refilled without so much effort for man. This is for the reason that this energy is produced through natural processes so they are normally found in nature. These makes them virtually infinite in amount and so are not in risk of running out. Additionally, this energy can’t be quickly consumed because it just goes back to nature where it was harnessed.

Because of the fact that they are sourced from nature, renewable energy is additionally clean and does not normally give harmful effects when harnessed and used.

This benefit of renewable energy is very vital especially today where a lot of the environmental pollution comes from power plants and factories that are used to provide electricity. By using renewable energy, this pollution can be greatly lessened and even avoided in the future.

Jason Myers is a professional writer and he writes mostly about renewable energy news. He’s also interested in renewable energy informations.

A lot of things in life need force in order to run. This energy can come from a lot of different basis, a number of which are renewable and some of which are not. In recent years there has been much talk regarding renewable energy and the good impact that is has. So why must you worry about renewable energy?

Using a source of energy that is renewable is very lucrative. As soon as a company or an individual has set up a means to generate their own energy they can wave goodbye to the utility bills. Solar force for instance can be very useful to power the appliances within a house and to run heating systems.

The natural resources of the world will not be used as rapidly if people are consuming renewable energy. Eeventually gas, coal and oil are all being run down and this will lead to them becoming non-existent.

Supplies of these naturally occurring matters are not endless and over time they will totally run out. Using energy sources which are renewable end to this happening. Using renewable energy helps to keep the air around is fresh and clean. In comparison using non-renewable types of energy will produce smoke chemicals which will contaminate the air. Fortunately there is no contamination which is produced from utilizing a source of energy which is renewable.

Harmful and hazardous materials are not created through the generation of renewable energy. After all using wind, water or solar power to generate electricity does not include any type of activity which creates by products. Unfortunately the same cannot be assumed for nuclear energy which is something of a difficult subject some people.

Unlike non-renewable sources of energy renewable energy will not be consumed eventually. For instance, those who use solar power will always be able to use the energy of the sun. Wind turbines will always be caable to use the force of the wind to create electricity. And the tide will forever create sufficient waves to create energy which can be easily used.

Jason Myers is a professional writer and he writes mostly about renewable energy news. He’s also interested in renewable energy tips.