At the Millennium Peace Summit at the UN where about one thousand religious leaders gathered, an Eskimo elder said that his people had an oral history going back tens of thousands of years regarding the geography of the polar ice cap. He said that lakes were appearing where they do not belong and asked, “My brothers from the south have created technologies that are melting the ice at the North Pole. When will you develop a technology to melt the human heart?” From that good heart I pray that we succeed in obtaining new levels of trust and cooperation to meet our common concerns and

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It is late March and the weather is still chilly but the other day while I was in my yard I put up a solar cooker of the following design: Windsheild Shade Solar Funnel

I baked 6 apples, cored and stuffed with dried apricots.

I used a black silicone rubber baking pan I had and enclosed it in a plastic oven baking bag. Popped it in the funnel and went about my day's work. I had a couple of appointments around town and when I came back for a 4pm meeting I'd completely forgotten that there should be baked apples in my garden! When I went to get them they were perfect. And perfectly timed to

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Here is the link: Cookit Template and Instructions. Be sure to scroll down the full page because there is a revision with best design lower on that page.

What I lov

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It becomes an interesting test/challenge to our "green" commitments to conserve water this year. I remember last time this happened about 10 years ago, we got quite expert at saving water, reusing it when possible, watering our decorative plants with "gray water" (re-used from other washing).

When you arrive here for the Connect you will likely encounter the water rationing in the form of a polite note about no daily laundry services except where really necessary of towels and bedding.

But for all of us, in t

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Last week, in my first world western convenience home, the power was out throughout town because of an overload on the electricity, because of a heat wave (more global warming effects?). We also are on what I call "bucket brigade" because of water rationing in a severe drought in Northern California while the middle of the country is flooded out (global warming?). I have a bucket under every faucet to catch excess water to keep my plants out doors alive. I've even been hauling buckets of laundry rinse water (grey water) to water my apple trees. I'm mu

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