The Butterfly Effect
I was given some free tickets to the Home and Outdoor Living show at the Portland Convention Center this past Sunday, so earthling2 and I went to see if there was anything new since it has been five years since we last attended.
The normal vendors were there selling Jacuzzis, windows, and patio products. A few solar panel outfits and roofers.
I picked up some lit on metal roofs and solar panels as I'm in he market to buy some soon. My roof (asphalt shingle) is about 30 years old, so why not combine the two in one job. In fact, I want to add a couple of solar lights in my dark baths in the middle of the house, so, make it a three-fer. The "lights" redirect sunlight down into the room rather than an electric light.
I can get a generous tax treatment from the Feds and the State on the solar panels and the E lights.
I'm looking at the metal roofing in white to reflect the heat in the increasingly baking summers here. For the last three summers we have had record temperatures, once exceeding 115 degrees one day last year. Don't know if this is the new normal or not, but this year will bend me one way or the other.
I'm also looking at some roof exhaust fans that have built in solar panels to power them. They may even qualify for some tax credit.
Planning, planning, planning, it takes time but also provides for saving, saving, saving, as this is going to get expensive.
Anyway, a surprise vendor at the show had some Milkweed starts that I've been looking for.
Been searching for a couple of years now. Will soon have a Monarch butterfly garden up and running and ready for guests. We already have multiple nectar producing flowers spread around the farm and suburban home. The milkweed will complete the cycle with a place to lay their eggs and food for the larva. The leaf of milkweed is the only food the larva consumes, so it is critical to the survival of the Monarch population.
I keep remembering the old adage about the wind from a butterfly's wing can change events on the other side of the world.
What about the wind from billions of butterflies no longer flapping?
It may not be much, but I'm trying to help out.
The thread is open. What's flying around your imagination?
Comments
My mind is off seeking the intersection between
"Home" and "outdoor living", like, perhaps, "Yes, this rock-shelter has been our home for 25 years now" or "travois packable yurt kits now discounted for spring". Tuesday is a couple of routine weekly chores plus whatever I'm far enough behind on to make it a priority but nonetheless something I should be able to polish off in my spare time after chores and chow and such. Ergo, instead, I'm here ... Of course I still need to finish some of the videos Joe posted yestidday too.
I do like the high reflectivity roof idea. When we reroofed we went with light colored composition shingles for the same reason, especially since our attic fan simply dumped the heat into the garage and was old and cranky so I pulled it out and scrapped it years ago. Now we have some passive eyebrow vents, but it only gets seriously hot a few days per year.
I can see an onion (spring onion) going to seed in a box under the orange tree so it would appear to be time to make something utilizing one verrry large spring onion. I'm thinking lentils and brown rice, cooked together in equal proportions in pressure cooker with said onion and some spices and packaged up for whatever whenever. That can somewhat cook itself while I do some of my other stuff and provide the odd lunch or breakfast off and on for quite a while.
Good luck with the milkweed. Ours grows very much like one would expect a weed to grow and we do get monarchs on the premises annually, so it works to that extent. We also have a snall flock of band-tailed pigeons, a species of concern, that has been hanging out for a while now, so we might become a regular migration stop for them.
meanwhile, the chores await, so I'd better get to it.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Lol...Outdoor living show
I completely missed that angle.
Should have been a lot of homeless folks there looking for two bdr. tents. Some free grub too. Even though it was free admission and raining like crazy outside I didn't see any.
We did stop by the Green Burial booth and picked up some lit for future reference.
Planning, planning, planning.
I've got two onions left over from last summer that made it through winter and looking pretty good. But I didn't know you could still eat them. I like your lentil & rice idea.
Have a good day.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
When re-roofing a portion of our house
a few years ago, I installed a couple of solar fans. They work well to move the heat
out of the gabled attic. There is also a product out that combines thin solar cells
embedded in roofing shingles. Have not followed the development, but it sounds
like a good concept. Generally, solar panels produce heat as a by-product. That
is why mounting panels are spaced a few inches from the roof - for air circulation.
Also, the higher temperatures lower the efficiency. So there are considerations.
Good luck with the milkweeds!
question everything
Tesla has some solar roofing systems
But are spendy, and I don't know their longevity. The heat issue is another ?
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
I have a soft spot for Monarch butterflies. Sightings in my
area have declined.
I have allowed milkweed to spread in my hedge. As a result I was able to find some eggs and bring them indoors. Last summer I was able to raise and release 35 Monarchs. Not a big deal but every little bit helps.
Kudos H!
Hey Humphrey! Good for you!
I like this little ditty as it is often how I have approached these things...
~ ~ ~
Have you ever heard the story of the old man walking along the beach and seeing a young man throwing something into the water over and over again?
When the old man approaches the boy, he sees he is picking up starfish that had been stranded during low tide and throwing them back into the water. The man proceeds on telling the boy that what he is doing is pointless, that the beach is miles and miles long and that there are thousands of starfish stranded, and that he will never make a difference.
The young man stops in his tracks, thinks about it, and picks up another starfish. As he throws it back in the water, he replies, “It made a difference for that one.”
~ ~ ~
A lot of people doing a lot of small things can have a big, huge, impact.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
It appears as if Blinky would be better suited to be a comedian
rather being in charge of of foreign policy.
With comments like this he seems to be joking.
lol
Promoting peace, security, and prosperity.
He couldn't be more opposite to reality.
He forgot to add Freedom for all!
Thanks for the post.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
dropped mike
hey Hirohito, wanna buy some nukes?
question everything
Reflective metal roof made a big difference
We live in a double-wide that fell apart after 10 years. My husband inherited funds that allowed us to make repairs. A year earlier, most of the trees around our house died from the Mexican Soapberry Borer Beetle and the effect on our energy bill was enormous. Installing a reflective metal roof made a huge difference. We also have vents and fans. It is "insulated" for heat, but not so much for cold.
An aside . . . today we have discovered that honey bees are maybe trying to take up residence through the vents. Ugh.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
Dammit about the honey bees!
We have to protect them, but in the vents?
I do have some local bee keepers who have taken a hive from my office.
Good luck!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Hi Marilyn
If you can let local beekeepers know, you might find one happy to collect the bees if the access is safe.
Twenty years ago we painted the corrugated metal roof with a reflective, dark coloured paint. I think it had mica or aluminium flakes in it to create a slightly glittery surface. It's been quite effective, although dulled now. It would probably benefit from a new coat, especially as it's getting hotter here.
Be well,
Janis
Good idea w/ beekeepers
My problem is with mud daubers, otherwise known as wasps. I try to leave them be though as they do serve a purpose.
Had a hornets nest last year and watched it grow to the size of a basketball. The whole thing disappeared over winter.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
The natural disappearance of some insects
because of a harsh climate has it's advantages ; )
A day late and a dollar short.
Tuesday's are my busy day...Trade Day and grocery shopping, plus town errands...so I rarely get by to say hi here on c99. We had our dark metal roof spray foamed (and painted white). It's been about a decade and we've been happy with it. I had to do something, the gaskets of the screws had weathered and were starting to leak. Sure helped cool the screened porch in summer due to the insulating properties of the foam.
Good luck with your project!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”