Reef Balls

Artificial Reefs are nothing new, but the fact that they are in such high demand is. Given the amount of destruction taking place in the ocean due to climate change and human activities it is no wonder. These reef "balls" created by the Reef Ball Foundation are made of concrete and don't further harm the ocean environment like tires or sunken ships and planes have done in the past. The foundation creates two different types of reefs through a patented process that generates large amounts of natural space for sea creatures of all sizes. The image to the left is the "ball" and then there is another type as seen recently on Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" that is more of a tiered structure complete with embedded shells for the tiniest of fish to hide and live within. The foundation is a non-profit organization and has been involved in reef rebuilding projects all over the world including a project to help rebuild reefs damaged in the 2004 tsunami. This is a much better and natural alternative to sinking our garbage and hoping that it helps.

The foundation offers other services around the world including coral propagation and planting systems, estuary restoration, red mangrove plantings, oyster reef restoration and erosion control. You can even create a memorial reef with the cremated remains of a loved one.

See video and websites below.....

Reef Ball Foundation
Eternal Reefs - Cremation Memorial

Earth Hour: Let the Earth Go Dark

The future of our most needed resources is unknown and the outlook is bleak. Dwindling supplies of metals and precious fossil fuels are causing a dramatic shift in the way people think. On March 29th many cities, companies and individuals around the world will join in on "Earth Hour" when between the hours of 8:00 and 9:00p.m. those committed to the cause will turn of all non-essential electronic devices and lights. The event was first started in Australia and has grown this year to a worldwide movement. The event is sponsored by the World Wildlife Federation.

To find out more information:
http://www.earthhour.org/

The Cat Genie (Self Flushing Litter Box)

It has arrived....the savior of those who love cats but hate the smelly crap and chore of scooping poop and clumped cat pee. The Cat Genie is a robotic litter box that scoops the waste left by your cat and processes it and disposes of it through your toilet or down your utility room drain. The utility room option is much better than the bathroom installation because it does not require you to flush the waste....all you have to do is press a button and walk away.

This is how it works.....

The Genie uses special re-usable cat litter that is made out of plastic. This litter is placed within the Cat Genie and is used as usual by your cats. When you are ready to clean the litter, you press a button and the "magic" starts. The bowl starts turning as a litter scooping arm dips into the litter and the solid waste is collected. The arm disposes of the waste several times during the process. The urine is either collected at the bottom of the bowl or is later cleaned during the last phases of the process. After the solids are scooped and deposited within a special receptacle. The washing cycle begins and water is sent into the spinning bowl and the litter is washed and the solid waste is chopped up, liquefied and disposed of through the tube that is either going to your toilet bowl or to your washer outlet line. After the cleansing has been completed the re-usable litter is dried by a built in blow dryer and ready to be re-used by your cat(s).

If you have one cat then you clean once a day if you have two then it is recommended that you clean twice a day. Two or more then you clean more often.

Now this is a pretty neat device that is really useful for those of us too lazy to clean the litter on a regular basis....though it isn't perfect. The Cat Genie doesn't always get all the solid waste and when it doesn't, the smell is a little annoying when you clean again. This is easily overcome though by helping out a bit if this occurs. The Cat Genie is much better than the Litter Maid automatic cat box and is cleaner and easier to work with.

They say the Cat Genie is more environmentally friendly than regular litter boxes because the cat litter is re-usable; however, over time you will have to replace the re-usable litter because some of it is lost during the scooping and some of it is lost when cat's kick it out of the bowl. The Cat Genie requires a sanitizing solution that comes in a plastic container in order to work. When you take into account the electricity and water used in combination with the plastics used to generate the litter and the solution container it's questionable whether this is a more sustainable solution than just a regular litter box. It would be nice to see the company that created the Cat Genie offer more information about the true environmental impact or benefit of their product.

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