But while grass fed beef is clearly here to stay, many people still have questions about whether it is really all that different from any other kind of beef. After all, aren’t all cows raised eating grass? 

The truth is that grass fed beef has measurable advantages over more conventional varieties. Unlike other types of beef cow, which spend the last part of their lives on a high-calorie grain diet, grass fed beef are leaner and less calorically dense, which makes them superior in three key ways: flavor, health, and sustainability.  

1. Grass Fed Beef is Tastier

While taste in meat might be subjective, there is no question that grass fed beef has a stronger, earthier flavor than many gourmands prefer. Because the meat is leaner and darker, it lacks the blander, sweeter flavor that grain finished beef often has. Grass fed steaks, for example, need much less seasoning because of their richer taste.

If you want to try some grass fed steaks for yourself, you might want to order grass fed beef online so you can try a variety of different cuts to see which ones you like most. 

2. Grass Fed Beef is Better for Your Health

The debate about whether grass fed beef is actually better for your health is a lively one, with some arguing that it isn’t significantly healthier than grain-finished beef. But is this true? 

The health claims behind grass fed beef are based on three scientific facts: 

• Grass fed beef contains less overall fat and fewer calories than grain finished beef
• The fat grass fed beef does contain is healthier, and contains more Omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid
• Grass fed beef is richer in nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin E, and antioxidants

Obviously, grass fed beef is still red meat, and eating large amounts of grass fed beef can still lead to higher cholesterol. But if you are going to eat beef, it is still better to choose grass fed than grain finished.  

3. Grass Fed Beef is More Sustainable

Thanks to numerous books, films, and pieces of long-form journalism exploring the problems of the beef industry, it is now common knowledge that concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are bad for the environment and bad for human health. 

Grouping thousands of cows into small enclosures creates huge amounts of animal waste that can easily pose a risk to air quality and the local water table. Keeping beef cattle on the land for longer and letting them graze on ranges or pastureland reduces these risks and, when done with sufficient care for woodland preservation, can make cattle farming more sustainable.  

For thousands of years, grass fed beef was the only kind of beef one could find. And while industrial approaches to raising beef might yield a higher output in terms of quantity, there is a clear cost to doing so. 

This month, why not consider making the switch to grass fed beef and start putting together your first online order? You might be surprised at how much you like it! 

Preparation for Mass Production of Tesla Vehicles

 
Cities along the east coast are probably already crossing their fingers and trying to have Musk notice them because of what it will mean for the local economy. Not only will there be a plethora of manufacturing jobs opening, but also a turning point in production overall for Tesla. According to production growth, Tesla has seen a significant increase with the Model 3 EV that targets the mass market as one of the relatively cheaper Tesla models. With the similarly affordable Model Y entering the market in the near future, the company will have more than enough work cut out for production companies.

Tesla’s Current Production Facilities

 
The new Gigafactory will be Tesla’s fifth worldwide joining Nevada and Buffalo in America, Shanghai, and plans for one that will be built around Berlin. American Teslas such as the Model 3, Model S sedans, and Model X vehicles are currently produced in the Fremont, California production facility and will continue to be produced there after developing the new factory, which does not hold a “Gigafactory” title. In Nevada, the facility stretches almost 2 million square feet and produces battery packs and electric motors for Model 3 vehicles. Whereas, New York’s Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo produces solar cells and modules.

Elon Musk long had his eye on a Chinese location to enter the lucrative market and built a factory in Shanghai that made its first shipments this January. The German factory will be producing Model 3 and Model Y vehicles for the European market. Once he chooses the right location in the east coast as a standalone production facility for the Model Y, Tesla will be mass producing in five different locations around the world hitting the North American, European, and Asian markets.

The Tesla Cybertruck

 
That leaves find a location in truck country for the Cybertruck Gigafactory. The innovative and futuristic-like electric pickup truck will fit perfectly in central USA. Musk expects a high demand for the Cybertruck and believes that Tesla will sell as many of them as it can make, but also expects that production won’t begin until 2021. Until then, Musk will be on the search for the location that has the best of available incentives, costs, and suitability of the local work force with more weight on the costs and local workforce. He has hinted his interest in Tennessee where Volkswagen has invested $800 million to expand its factory.

Here is how the energy from the sun can be maximized:

Location, Location, Location

 
In order to take advantage of the sun’s energy, it is best to set up technology were there is a lot of sun, and few cloudy days.

Also, where the land is shadowless and there is a lot of space, like the Mojave Desert in California.

Heliostats Direct the Sunlight

 
The company Heliogen has heliostats set up in the Mojave Desert. Heliostats differ from solar panels because they don’t absorb sunlight, but redirect it to stationary receivers for absorption.

Each one of these heliostats is 16 square feet and has mirrors that reflect a kilowatt of sunlight to the top of a five-story tower. On the top of the tower is a silicon carbide receiver that absorbs this sunlight.

The Sunlight is Hot Enough to be Converted into Power

 
The temperature of the sunlight from the heliostats is boosted until a little black plate receiver glows white, which means it is more than 1,800 degrees, which is a temperature that is enough to manufacture industrial products, including cement, without using the usual fossil fuels.

Using sunlight instead of fossil fuels can cut up to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Some Solar Arrays Could Use Improvement

 
Solar arrays similar to the Heliogen heliostats have been used for making electricity and have even drilled for oil. But those arrays produce up to 1,000 degrees and then peak.

This is because each of those heliostats is individually calibrated, and over time they fall out of alignment with the others, so that all of the heliostats in the arrays aren’t working as a group, diminishing performance.

How Heliogen Automated Solar Arrays Solved a Temperature Problem

 
With Heliogen, the solar arrays are automated so that cameras that are on top of the tower do a scan of the sky, and there is software that does an image analysis so that each individual mirror is in the optimal position, and can rotate in increments that are smaller than 1/160 of a degree.

With this kind of precision and efficiency, heat can be delivered 20 percent more cheaply than with fossil fuels.

Heliogen Helps Green Up the Manufacturing Process

 
Heliogen mounted a kiln on top of the tower in order to directly heat limestone, a step in the manufacture of cement, to show the application of their concept.

They hope to partner up with commercial partners with locations that Heliogen requires. Work is being done on building a receiver that can cope with temperatures above 2,700 degrees.

When looking at those kind of temperatures, synthetic hydrogen can be created. This can replace oil-based fuels.

Considering the importance of cement and steel, it is a great discovery to find a way to make it clean and green.

Renewable energy is the fastest growing energy source in the US. Renewables made up more than 17 percent of net U.S. electricity generation in 2018.

Here are some renewable energy projects that are in the works that are good news for green energy in the US:
 

1. Wind Power

 
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Texas have developed open source software called “WindView”.

“WindView” is important because power grid operators need to anticipate any wind turbine output changes, and this software is a visualization tool that allows the grid operators to make intuitive decisions about power generation more quickly because it visualizes wind power forecasts for them.

A next-generation version of software was developed by NREL that allows wind farm turbines to interact with each other so that output is optimized.

Another thing that is currently in development at NREL in partnership with the wind solutions company WindESCo is a new way for wind farms to enhance output by means of “collective consensus control”, which is a way to enable data sharing among the many turbines on a wind farm, so that they can adjust to changing wind directions and other conditions in real time.

Currently, wind turbines on wind farms operate independently of one another, making it difficult and costly to both diagnose and address performance problems.

Strategies and methods are being looked into for reducing impact on wildlife, and other improvements.
 

2. Excess Power Production

 
Another issue being addressed is when wind or solar farms produce too much electricity at certain times, and the local grid cannot accommodate it.

With solar power, the current practice is to “curtail the output”, or, not use it. Solar power should be used in conjunction with other forms of energy, and the challenge is how to engineer systems that will allow switching around between renewable and other energy resources.

NREL has researched solar power and found that all US energy needs could be met, as long as there was sufficient curtailment and energy storage systems.
 

3. PVWatts Free Online Photovoltaic System Performance and Cost Calculator

 
Photovoltaics, or PV is the conversion of light into electricity. The PVWatts Calculator estimates the energy production and basic value of energy from grid-connected PV energy systems around the world.

PVWatts is nothing new. It was launched in 1999, but the only ones who took notice were people off the grid or do-it-yourselfers.

Now, it has become very popular because it is user friendly and empowers homeowners and others who are interested to estimate the performance of potential PV installations for a given location.

The PVWatts app has been through six updates and now reflects the current needs and capabilities of both the solar industry and individual users. Last year, the website had two million hits!

Maybe it is time for fossil fuel stakeholders to get on board with renewable energy.

But as concerns about climate change go mainstream and ordinary North Americans reckon with how their consumption links them to global systems of trade and production that contribute to unsustainable fossil fuel emissions and environmental degradation, many are starting to ask if there isn’t a better way of doing things.

These concerns are particularly prominent in relation to the consumption of plastics. But while most of the energy has been focussed on the negative effects of plastic waste on ocean ecosystems, activists who care about reducing waste and curbing our reliance on fossil fuels should also be concerned about how plastics are produced.

How Plastics Get Made

There is no one way to make plastics, in part because “plastic” is a category that includes a wide range of different raw materials, manufactured via a wide range of different methods. Plastics can be derived from cellulose, coal, natural gas, and salt, but the key ingredient in all of them is crude oil.

In order to turn these raw materials into the plastics that can be used to manufacture the goods we are familiar with, crude oil must be distilled to separate the heavy oil into lighter “fractions,” each of which is a mixture of different hydrocarbon chains. Naphtha, the compound that is necessary for making plastic, is one of these fractions.

Once the naphtha has been extracted, different catalysts are used to drive the processes of polymerization and polycondensation. Monomers like ethylene and propylene are used to create polymers, which in turn act as the basis for more complex plastics.

Subsequent processes will use the polymers to create thermoplastics, which can be softened by heating, and thermosets, which harden permanently once moulded, and it is from these two basic types of plastics that the more recognizable polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and polyurethane come.

Greening Plastic Production

Given how many steps are involved in the process, it is probably unsurprising that plastic making is energy-intensive. It also means that when it comes to greening plastic production, there are many aspects of production that can be improved.

Cleaner distillation processes are a start, as is water to air heat exchangers that can reduce the energy needed to heat and cool the bulk solids and raw materials used in plastic production. Operations can also be improved by minimizing the amount of shipping involved in the production, and by reducing the distance that crude oil needs to be delivered to get to the refinery.

Ultimately, however, greener plastic production is an essential step if we want to reduce overall emissions. Plastics are an essential part of modern life, and just about everything we use on a daily basis, from the cars we drive to work to the electronics we use to communicate and the cutlery we use to eat our lunch, is made from some kind of plastic.

Plastic isn’t going anywhere, and more responsible production of plastics is an important step to take if we want to reduce the overall environmental impact of plastic.

More energy-efficient production methods for plastics may seem like a small step, but it can have a major impact if embraced on a large scale.

Considering that gardening is about harnessing natural processes, it’s always a good idea to keep your gardening practices as eco-friendly as possible. It saves you money and is healthier for your garden — it’s a win all around.

If you are seeking eco-conscious tips for cleaning your yard this spring, start with making your own compost. The rest — pruning, yard waste removal, etc. — will come after.

You can always enlist the help of professional junk removal services to get rid of amalgamated yard waste — but when it comes to your compost, that’s something you can take into your own hands.

The Environmental Protection Agency defines compost as an “organic material that can be added to soil to help plants grow.”

There are a lot of benefits to creating your own fertilizer for your garden — it’ll save you the cost of buying the materials and is altogether more satisfying:

It Will Save You Money

Making your own compost will cost you nothing — you already have all the things you need. When you make your own compost, you get more use out of things you already paid for and save the money you’d spend on fertilizer.

It’s Easy

Making your own compost doesn’t require any work. It’s just a matter of taking compostable items like old vegetables, peels and other organic materials and putting them aside for composting — instead of tossing them in the garbage.

Avoid using any bones, dead plants, fats, fish, dairy products, meat, weeds or sauces in your compost pile.  According to Live Science, things you can use include:

You Can Use Things You’d Get Rid of Anyways

Consider how much waste you discard of daily. Food scraps and yard waste make up 30 percent of what we throw away regularly according to Good Housekeeping, so why not direct that waste to something useful?

Say Goodbye to Chemicals

Why use a store-bought fertilizer with chemicals when you can make your own? There is something to be said about using a product and knowing exactly what went into it — no hidden additives, no snake-oil promises.

You’ll Keep the Environment Clean

When you re-use these bio-degradable materials, you are preventing them from getting wrongfully sentenced to a landfill.

Using your own materials is a lot better for your garden than a store-bought chemical fertilizer; it is actually a lot easier on your landscape and will remove the risk of soil contamination.

Use it for Any Gardening Purpose!

When you make your own compost and know what’s in it, you will feel comfortable using it for just about anything. You can use it to fill in holes in your garden, integrate it into your existing soil, put it in potted plants, and basically use it for any gardening or landscaping needs.

The local food movement arose in response to growing concerns about industrial food, and over the past twenty years has become a powerful force shaping how North Americans raise, shop for, and consume food. Here are three reasons why:

1. Local Food is Better

Large farming operations tend to be part of international processing networks, but when you buy local, you are much more likely to be supporting a smaller-scale farming operation that raises a more artisanal product that is less processed.

For example, if you want to find out what brand of bacon is nitrate free you will probably have to do some research. But if you do your shopping through a local meat delivery service, this information will be readily available, and local meat services can delivery nitrate free bacon straight to your door as part of your regular order.

Non-processed or minimally processed foods are much healthier and taste better, so if you want to make sure you’re getting the best quality, buying local is a good idea.

2. Local Food is More Environmentally Friendly

As it becomes increasingly clear that climate change represents an existential threat to human life on the planet, many North Americans are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Because it is so intensive, and because it requires cattle and beef to be shipped across long distances, factory farming is a major driver of climate change emissions, and in countries like Brazil, the beef industry is also driving deforestation of the Amazon.

For these reasons, buying local beef from farmers committed to environmentally friendly practices is a great way to cut back on how much carbon you use without having to drastically change your lifestyle.

3. Local Food Supports Local Farmers

Much has been written about the impact industrial agriculture has had on the family farm, and if you want to support local operations that are embedded in your community and committed to its flourishing, buying local is one of the easiest ways to do so.

Buying local doesn’t just support local farms, however; it also plays a vital role in keeping rural communities alive, providing more opportunities for young people to find work close to home.

The good news is that eating local doesn’t need to be difficult. A growing number of companies are building a name for themselves by offering local food delivery that connects customers eager to support more sustainable farming practices with farms that are committed to a more environmentally friendly approach.

If you want to improve your diet while helping the local economy and reducing your carbon footprint, consider making a commitment to spend the summer exploring local food options. You’ll be very happy you did!

Never underestimate the nasty side-effects of a storm. If you want to make sure your plumbing is ready for everything the rainy season has to throw at it, you should follow these tips:

Inspect your drains

As you can see, spring is an important time for your drains to get checked by a professional plumbing repair company — they will have camera inspection services that can reveal any breaks or clogs hiding right under your nose.

For instance, you could have a cracked main sewer line. Many older constructions have main lines made with clay pipes that are much more porous than other plumbing materials. Nearby tree roots can penetrate the clay in order to get to the water inside, turning into a massive clog.

A stubborn blockage or break will leave your plumbing system vulnerable during a storm. Even if the back-up doesn’t reach your basement, it has to go somewhere: the nearest spot is your yard. Hiring an expert for a drain clean-out and a sewer line repair will be much easier to deal with than the damage that could happen when you ignore these plumbing red flags.

If the plumbers spot a forming clog, you should get them to clear out the obstruction as soon as possible. If they spot a break or disjoint, you need to ask them for a sewer line repair.

Get a backwater valve

A professionally installed backwater valve is the ultimate plumbing tool that can stop any sewer back-up from coming through your basement drains. It turns your sewer line into a one-way passage during everyday use, allowing the household waste to go into the municipal sewer system. During a storm, it detects content coming from the other end and blocks it from entering the house. 

Clean your gutters

One of the sure-fire ways to prevent flooding in your basement is to clear out your gutters and downspouts. Clogged gutters will stop rainwater from being directed through the downspout and away from the home’s foundation. Instead of diverting the water to a safer spot, a blocked drainage system will fill up with water, forcing it to spill down the siding and allowing it to pool right beside the house.

You’ll be thankful you completed the simple chore of checking your gutters and cleaning up any dirt, leaves and twigs out. The afternoon of hard work will be worth it when the next thunderstorm blows in.

Always be prepared for basement flooding. Even if you have taken plumbing precautions, you could be a victim of overland flooding or an unexpected pipe break. Make sure to talk to your insurance provider about different types of flooding and water damage coverage, and to keep your valuables out of the basement just in case.

Once you have a full arsenal of cleaning supplies, this can add up. If you don’t want to sacrifice your hard-earned dollars for the sake of a clean house, check in with this list of bargain cleaning options.

Borrow larger items

A certified clean freak will look forward to the day they have a walk-in closet stocked with a carpet cleaner, steam cleaner, tile and grout cleaner, plus any other gadget they can get their hands on. This may be a far-off future for you, but that doesn’t mean you have to do without costly cleaning equipment.

The sharing economy is a budget-friendly way to get your hands on tools and other devices otherwise too expensive for you right now. Check to see if your city has a Library of Things or a Tool Library. For a low annual membership, these groups share access to an inventory of items that would cost a small fortune to buy on your own.

Just remember most of these services apply a late fee just like any other library. They will also hold you responsible for any damages, so make sure you use borrowed items with care.

What happens in the worst-case scenario, when you may have to replace something? If this cost is more than you can handle on your own, you can find alternatives to payday loans like installment loans and personal lines of credit to help.

Check here to get informed about the latest loan options that work well in an emergency. When you understand your short-term options, you’ll be able to take on unexpected repairs faster.

Make your own cleaner

If you believe the commercials, you need a separate cleaner for wood, stainless steel, kitchen counters, bathroom counters, porcelain, and tile. With each of these cleaners running between $2 and $5 per bottle, you could run up quite a tab filling your cupboards with the appropriate detergent for each room of your home.

In reality, you don’t need most of these things to keep your home spic and span. A homemade all-purpose cleaner can replace most of these so-called necessities for a fraction of the price.

Using all-natural ingredients you might already have in your cupboards, you’ll be able to make this DIY cleaner for less than the cost of one store-bought cleanser:

• One-part distilled white vinegar (it’s a natural disinfectant)
• One-part distilled water
• 15 drops essential oils of your choice (optional — this helps mask the smell of vinegar)

Mix well and place in a spray bottle before using around the house and remember to wipe clean with a damp cloth. For added savings, reuse an old spray bottle from another cleaner, making sure to rinse it out before you use it.

Reuse old clothes

Plain old elbow grease is a remarkable tool against the messes in your home. The act of scrubbing is just as important as your detergent when cleaning bacteria-prone places in your home, like the kitchen and the bathroom.

So is your choice of scrubber. Research shows kitchen sponges are a hotbed of bacteria, sporting as much bacteria as your toilet. Cleaning them by boiling them in water or nuking them in the microwave isn’t enough — researchers suggest replacing these sponges every week to avoid transmitting bacteria from one surface to the next.

That’s pretty wasteful when you think about it. Rather than relying on a new sponge fresh from its package every time you want to clean, look around your house for old clothes you can turn into rags.

Old t-shirts, sweatshirts, and even pyjama pants act as good cleaning cloths once you cut them down into manageable sizes. Pre-soak them in bleach before tossing them into a load of laundry, and choose the sanitize setting if you have one. If you don’t, try hanging them up to dry in the sun. UV rays are a disinfectant.

The spring gives you the perfect opportunity to unleash your inner clean freak, but it doesn’t give you the excuse to bust your budget in the name of a sparkling home. Luckily, you can clear out the cobwebs and bring out the shine on every surface without investing a fortune in your cleaning equipment.

Well, while consumers are trying to do their best, many companies are doing their best to make it look like they’re doing anything besides looking for loopholes.

Most people don’t have time to research every single green label they put in the shopping cart, so they’re putting their faith into these companies telling the truth. However, that trust is often betrayed.

Here are a few ways that companies lie to us about being green.

Classic Misdirection

It’s a classic trick used by the oldest of magicians. Do something flashy with the left hand while the right one does something you don’t want people to see.

One company that has been accused of doing this is LUSH Cosmetics. They are well known for their aggressive ways of marketing the fact that they don’t test their products on animals, using provocative ad campaigns of testing on naked women.

With such a memorable impression tied to this brand, you can only assume that a brand this committed to cruelty testing is good across the board and also environmentally-friendly, right?

Not necessarily. They have also been criticized for vague ingredient lists that have been known to contain parabens.

Weasel Words and Loopholes

Say everything, but promise nothing. This is another tactic as old as marketing itself. Let the audience hear what they want to hear, but always include an exit strategy in the sales copy. In previous generations ads were full of weasel words that may have included:

Help: “This can help you lower your cholesterol.” Help, but, definitely not by itself

Fight: “Help fight acne.” Fight, but, definitely not cure

Today, however, green weasel words are more specific but just as empty. For example, take the word “natural.” What would you assume that word promises if you see it on a piece of meat at the grocery store?

Well, it turns out that:

• About 68% of consumers believe that meat should come from animals fed no artificial growth hormones
• Another 60% would assume it means no GMOs

When in fact the FDA’s strict definition of this word is vague at best, and nowhere in line with what the average consumer assumes it means.

A shocking report from Consumer Reports also shed some light on other words that we may trust, including that the words “Humanely Raised” have no actual definition.

As a rule of thumb, the word “organic” is more trustworthy than the word “natural.” For meat to be labeled organic, it has to stay true to being raised without being given any sort of antibiotics or growth hormones. The true definition of “natural” does not make these promises.

So what is an average consumer to do today? Research the foods that you buy the most often so you can know that you’re buying something legit. You can also turn the label around and read the ingredient list to see what is really being used in an “all natural” product.

Do you want to warn us about any “fake green” products? Let us know in the comments below.