Organic Gardening and Farming in Fiji

Stunning Solar Building Will Generate More Power Than It Needs /sci-tech/article/33088 The Masdar Headquarters building will produce more power than it needs (an energy positive building). In fact, the solar roof (one of the largest in the world) will be constructed first, and it will power the construction of the rest of the building. The video link on this page has a great view of the sun-infused interior. The 1.4 million square foot building was designed by Chicago architecture firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill. It will serve as the centerpiece of Masdar City , which will end up being about a $22 billion development in Abu Dhabi (the capital of United Arab Emirates). Masdar Headquarters will have the lowest energy consumption per square foot, it will feature the largest photovoltaic system and the largest solar thermal driven cooling and dehumidification system. The building will also have integrated wind turbines. It will consume about 70% less water than a typical mixed-use b...

sci-tech/article/32798 OLEDs are thin, organic materials sandwiched between two electrodes, which illuminate when an electrical charge is applied. They’re so thin, that they could be applied to rooms as a type of wall paper to glow at the touch of a finger or when someone enters the room. Like LEDs they produce light very efficiently. But OLEDs also have to potential to be made at a very low cost, because they can be printed “roll-to-roll” like a newspaper. GE recently demonstrated the first OLEDs to be made in this manner — the researchers worked for four years on this project. See more at the GE Blog . Via: Groovy Green

Great idea! Stuart ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Written by A Siegel Friday, 07 March 2008 Solar is a highly efficient for heating water. Combine it with underground storage, and a year-round system can be created where the system can cover heating requirements in the winter and cooling in the summer. The Dutch company Ooms Avenhorn Holding BV has taken this concept and moved it a step forward with the Road Energy System ® (RES). Rather than putting tubes on a rooftop, RES lays the collection system within concrete -- think the black asphalt of a road or runway. The piping connects to undeground storage areas. Remember the last time you walked on black asphalt on a sunny August day and you understand the heat being transferred into the water in the pipes. This water is then transferred into the storage area. On demand, in cold weather, the hot water is used to heat buildings and to keep th...

Students of Andrews Primary school on the Nadi back road, like every other schools in the country, go through their daily curriculum but also use outdoor gardening as a learning process. The school was established in 1918 and has a roll of 700 students from Class One to Class Eight. The headteacher, Mohammed Rasheed, said gardening also taught students to have a healthy lifestyle. He said it gave students an insight of what could be done in their backyard at home. He said in the Third Term, students and their gardener would plant pumpkin and harvest it in late January or early February. “When the pumpkin is harvested we plant other crops such as dhania, radish, French and long bean, okra, cucumber, bindhi, tomatoes and eggplant,” he said. “On the hill slopes we plant cassava. The garden is maintained by our school gardener and the children. “This is one form of substituting our school fees which is very low. This is one of the school’s income-generating projects. “When it’s harvest s...

“ To everyone who is part of Matava and the magic that makes Matava the paradise it is, Vinaka vaka levu, We had the most wonderfully perfect start to our extended honeymoon (except it was too short) Hopefully we will find our way back to your gardens, bures and grassy paths but until then we will rave about you to anyone who will listen. Love” Laurie & Josh Kahm

“ To everyone who is part of Matava and the magic that makes Matava the paradise it is, Vinaka vaka levu, We had the most wonderfully perfect start to our extended honeymoon (except it was too short) Hopefully we will find our way back to your gardens, bures and grassy paths but until then we will rave about you to anyone who will listen. Love” Laurie & Josh Kahm