Brummet's Conscious Blog

The Real Cost of Technology and  Why You Should Recycle Responsibly  * Submitted by Zack Gallinger of  Revolution  (a company within the Shift portfolio)- a recycler based in  Toronto  and  Ottawa  that specializes in safe and environmentally-friendly disposal of old electronics, secure data destruction and IT asset disposition services. Check out the hyperlinks throughout the article, taking you to several articles on the issues presented here; also be sure to view the resources at the end of this post.  Before you buy your next electronic gadget, here’s something to think about that goes beyond the features on your wish list or where you’ll find that gadget for the lowest price. Does the amount you will pay accurately reflect the true cost of that item? If you’re like most people, you’d likely conclude that it does. Here’s why you’d be wrong. Direct and Indirect Costs Setting a price for any product can take into considera...

-- Quote of the Day -- “… There are one billion adults in the world who cannot read at all… not even a simple sentence that involves things in their daily life – we want to help those adults learn new ways of farming or to learn how to take care of their children’s health. …The skills that people take away from school (in developed countries) are not matching the demand for the jobs available today. …So our standards have gone up here in Canada and the US, but the education has not. …We have designed the Literacy Bridge device so that it comes in four plastic pieces and a circuit board with 3 screws holding it together – we’ve made it so that someone in a very rural area can …develop a business and service these devices by swapping parts. …The content can come from large organizations far away… but really what is our focus is content that is created locally with local language. …These areas have no electricity, no running water, and very bad roads…That’s were we go, we find out who ar...

-- Quote of the Day -- “…New wood stove technology uses a secondary combustion system that burns off unused fuel, this is the secret. Old air tight stoves sat there and smoldered away and mostly the fuel would go up the chimney and if you were unlucky it would condense into creosote in the chimney and cause all sorts of issues from there. …So new stove technology means that you will use much less fuel, getting more BTUs out of each piece of wood …and polluting less. …Get your firewood in the spring, or the year before, let it dry over the summer - and don’t dampen those stoves down. …Get a thermometer, which will show you a range of temperatures you should be keeping your flue gas at in order to avoid creating creosote and pollution. ” ~ John Vere 11/20/08 This quote was taken from an interview on Conscious Discussions talk radio with John Vere, an environmental advocate, who explained how to burn wood as a fuel for winter heat more efficiently. Learn how to reduce emissions, burn wo...