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100% wool dryer balls are growing in popularity to the point where I have even seen them at my local dollar store, and for good reason. They can save you money in laundry costs.

If you are someone who uses dryer sheets, these wool balls are a great alternative that removes static from your clothes and can decrease drying time by around 30-50%. So, you save money by not having to buy dryer sheets, as well as on electricity. All you do is toss them into the dryer with your clothes!

"Per Toner, “Dryer balls excel in reducing drying time due to their ability to create space between clothes. This separation facilitates better air circulation, leading to faster drying and potential energy savings.” | bobvila

I have had mine for many many years now, and they are still in great shape. When or if they do ever break down to the point of being unable to use, the wool is biodegradable.

Just make sure that what you buy is 100% wool. If you are crafty (and have access to wool) you can also make your own fairly easily.

https://youtu.be/de644Zwtnbg

It’s long been thought that soil is the only effective terrestrial methane sink, as certain microorganisms use methane as a food source, but similar creatures live under a tree’s layer of bark, meaning that not only do our woody cousins withdraw CO2 from the atmosphere and store it in their roots, but also remove methane as well, about as effectively or perhaps more so than soil.

Years ago, I took an online course on mountains, and one fact that stuck with me from it was about how people in the USA accidentally polluted the water in New York City by cutting down trees.

It was the 1800s, and the trees in the Catskill Mountains were cut down to accommodate growing populations, and as a result, the water quality for New Yorkers deteriorated rapidly. Yes, the agriculture pollution and sewage did play a part, but the trees were decided to be such a big problem, that they decided something had to be done.

So, they purchased land, and planted 18000 trees to restore the natural ecosystem.

How does this water-cleaning work? With watersheds.

“Watershed: an area of high ground from which water flows down to a river” | Cambridge Dictionary

Imagine it is raining in a forest. Droplets hit the ground, and —thanks to the vegetation which slows runoff — it is absorbed into the soil like a sponge. As the water moves through the soil, microbes are actively removing harmful pollutants, silt is filtered, and plants removing fertilizers.

Some of the water will end up in our lakes and streams, but will be much cleaner than when it started.

"The ability of forests to aid in the filtration of water doesn’t only provide benefits to our health and the health of an ecosystem, but also to our pocketbooks. Forest cover has been directly linked to drinking water treatment costs, so the more forest in a source water watershed, the lower the cost to treat that water. Forests provide these benefits by filtering sediments and other pollutants from the water in the soil before it reaches a water source, such as a stream, lake or river." | American Forests

Since this intake and outtake of water is gradual, removal of these forests can even to lead to a higher chance of both droughts and floods.

More Info:

• https://youtu.be/QOrVotzBNto
• https://youtu.be/OfqOOqz0RhU

Have you heard of the beautiful living root bridges in Meghalaya, India? Their construction is a lesson in patience as the roots are gradually encouraged to grow in the supportive shape. They need regular care, but grow stronger with age.

“Once a bamboo structure has been stretched across the river, the roots of the tree, usually the rubber tree (Ficus elastica), are teased and manipulated to become entwined with the bamboo until it becomes a strong mesh. The roots are allowed to grow gradually and strengthen over time. In the initial stages, only about 15-20 people can cross the bridge in a day. Much later, it can be as many as 50 or more, although it can take up to two decades for a living roots bridge to be finished.” | The Guardian

Once done, the bridges can have a lifespan of several hundred years; far outliving the original creators of them.

It is unknown when this tradition started, but they were written about in 1844, so it would be far earlier than that.

I just thought people on here might find this tradition as fascinating as I do.

More Info:

• https://youtu.be/1H0qTm7wNjk

A good place to start learning more about Miyawaki Method https://www.sugiproject.com/blog/the-miyawaki-method-for-creating-forests https://earthwatch.org.uk/program/tiny-forest/

Around 50 billion disposable drink cups are used every year in the US, but in the city of Petaluma, we will see if Americans have the discipline to reduce this footprint.

The city numbers around 60,000 people, and will participate in the Reuseable Cup Project. The aim is to furnish 30 local restaurants, from Starbucks to Taco Bell, with identical, durable, plastic drink cups, which customers and diners can use and then either leave on the table, or deposit in a network of dropoff bins around the city.

“Noting that she had read studies about mushrooms growing around the Chernobyl nuclear plant, she came to understand further, through her work, that fungi are an extraordinarily resilient species of life that consume carbon, and even though petroleum products are toxic to plants, to mushrooms they are essentially a kind of carbon.

In fact, mushrooms break down several categories of toxic waste with the same enzymes they use to consume a dead tree. They can also eat plastic and other things made out of oil, like agrochemicals.”

Full Article Here