Artha Sustainable Living Center llc Artha is on the Garden Walk Schedule. Come and see our gardens Tuesday, July 13 at 7pm.

Artha: View a large organic vegetable garden on which all the vegetables and herbs, for a family of three and Bed and Breakfast, are grown. We use drip irrigation, straw and leaf mulch and have large 20’ X 30’ hoop greenhouse which contains raised beds filled with tomatoes, peppers and eggplants in the summer and is used for starting all of the seedlings in the spring. There are apple, cherry, plum, pear and quince trees, and a large ever bearing strawberry bed. A small pond sits across from a Gazebo near the garden and there are a variety of flower beds scattered around the property.

Vegetable Garden Walks 2010 presented by Portage County

Garden Walk Information 

UW-Extension and Central Rivers Farmshed Join us at 7:00 P.M.
on seven Tuesday evenings throughout the gardening season for a walk
...through some of Portage County’s private vegetable gardens.

Call the Portage County UW-Extension office at 715-346-1316 for more information.

        

This is a great article on organic food and the choices we make at the grocery store. I say go organic for all of your food, but if you don't think you can, check out this article for the most important organic choices.  Be Healthy - Eat Well!


Most Important Foods to Buy Organic

Last month, the President's Cancer Panel released a troubling report: many widely used synthetic chemicals, including some of the most common pesticides used on food crops, have never been properly tested for safety, and may well cause cancer in people exposed to them. The panel urged Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables grown without the use of synthetic pesticides to prevent cancer.

Just days later, a study published by researchers at Harvard and the University of Montreal revealed that children exposed to higher levels of organophosphate pesticides appear more likely to develop ADHD.

And this month, a group of French scientists released a study linking organochlorine pesticide exposure to Parkinson's disease.

If all this bad news about the potential health problems associated with exposure to pesticides has you itching to switch to an all-organic diet, you're not alone. But in many stores, organic fruits and vegetables are still significantly more expensive than conventional produce, and especially in the midst of a recession, not everyone has a grocery budget that can accommodate all-organic food shopping, all the time.

Health conscious consumers on a budget just got a lucky break: The Environmental Working Group has released a helpful Shopper's Guide to Pesticides. EWG's science-based report lists the fruits and vegetables that are most important to buy organic. It also points out the produce that picks up the lowest pesticide loads when grown conventionally. This way shoppers with limited funds to spend on organic foods -- and who still want to limit their pesticide exposure -- can choose their fruit and vegetable purchases wisely.

Conventionally grown celery, peaches and strawberries make the list of most toxic offenders -– EWG recommends shoppers always buy organic versions of those foods. But conventionally grown onions, avocado, sweet corn and pineapple all tested with very low levels of pesticide residue, so EWG deems those foods among the safest to buy without an organic label.

The Environmental Working Group website offers a free printable wallet-sized reference card with their best and worst food lists, so you can take it with you the next time you go grocery shopping. And then you'll have a quick answer handy when you're wondering whether you should spring for the organic kiwi fruit, or pay a little extra for organic potatoes instead.

        

Bob Ramlow Honored at the MREA Fair

Local Man Honored for Environmentalism

The Midwest Sustainable Energy Fair wraps up today by honoring several local environmentalists.One man received a special dedication.

Posted: 6:36 PM Jun 20, 2010
Reporter: Jennifer Kliese
Email Address: jennifer.kliese@wsaw.com Bob Ramlow is not only the owner of a highly-rated, sustainable bed and breakfast, but he was also one of the founders of the Energy Fair more than 20 years ago.

And today, the fair honored him by dedicating a maple tree in his name. The tree sits on the energy fairgrounds in Custer.

Ramlow also wrote a book on solar water heating, and he is one of only two people certified to train professionals across the country on solar and water heating systems.

He says his bed and breakfast, Artha Sustainable Living Center, is different than others because it runs as efficiently as possible. The heat and electricity is completely solar powered, and they use organic bedding and cleaning products.

"We think about our impact on the planet. That's the big difference, that's why people come to our bed and breakfast, to see what it's like and to experience that type of thing,"Ramlow says.

Ramlow says his company is a leader in the sustainable energy industry, and others should follow suit. He says the world has reached the limits of our natural resources,and renewable energy needs to play a bigger part in the energy choices companies make.

He says Artha, which is located south of Amherst is one of Travel Green Wisconsin's most highly rated bed and breakfasts.

The website is a program sponsored by the Wisconsin DOT to support tourism businesses working to reduce their environmental impact.

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Join Artha at the Energy Fair

The Nation's Premier Energy Education Event

        

The New Revised and Expanded Solar Water Heating Book

A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Water and Space Heating Systems

By Bob Ramlow and Benjamin Nusz

has just been released

Heating water with the sun is a practice almost as old as human kind itself. Solar Water Heating, now completely revised and expanded, is the definitive guide to this clean and cost-effective technology.

 

Beginning with a review of the history of solar water and space heating systems from prehistory to the present, Solar Water Heating presents an introduction to modern solar energy systems,energy conservation and energy economics. Drawing on the authors' experiences as designers and installers of these systems, the book goes on to cover:

• Types of solar collectors, solar water and space heating systems and solar pool heating systems, including their advantages and disadvantages
• System components, their installation, operation, and maintenance
• System sizing and siting
• Choosing the appropriate system.

This book focuses on the financial aspects of solar water or space heating systems, clearly showing that such systems generate significant savings in the long run. With many diagrams and illustrations to complement the clearly-written text, this book is designed for a wide readership ranging from the curious homeowner to the serious student or professional.   Purchase

        

        

Artha Sustainable Living Center llc

The Midwest Renewable Energy Association will be planting a tree on the Avenue of Advocates in Bob Ramlow's honor this year, on Sunday June, 20at 1:00 at the Energy Fair, in front of the keynote
speaker. Citing Bob's life-time work in the Solar Thermal Industry, and the publication of the book, "Solar Water Heating,
A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Water and Space Heating Systems"

        

"antithesis of lace doilies"

Artha Sustainable Living Center Bed and Breakfast is simple and green. We want to give people a place where they can stay that is peaceful, quiet, and clutter free. Many visitors are here for an education course in renewable energy or to attend a yoga retreat. They come to our oasis in the country, not for the antiques, but for the organic gardens, wooded trails and breakfasts consisting of local, vegetarian fair. The walls are adorned with abstract art from local artists and the rooms have simple organic linens to sink into with a cup of our Artha Organics Tea. We don’t always attract the usual B&B folks, many of our guests are first timers, and they leave wondering why they had not stayed at a B&B before.

        

Solar Works for Me, You, and the Whole U.S.A

 

Running a business in this economy isn’t easy. That’s why I’m glad we’re in the solar industry as a solar thermal educator and sustainable Bed and Breakfast. Our energy source is clean, reliable and cost-effective. Most importantly, it is creating jobs that are helping pull our country out of recession and providing opportunities right here in our own community. These are jobs that pay well, provide good benefits and cannot be outsourced.

 

Our company, Artha Sustainable Living Center, grew last year despite a recession, and we weren’t alone. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the national trade association for the U.S. solar industry, recently released its 2009 Solar Industry Year in Review, and in the last year alone, the solar industry created 17,000 new American jobs and grew despite the recession. Industry revenues increased 36 percent in 2009 over the 2008 growth rates.

 

The solar electric sector grew by 37 percent, adding 481 megawatts of new capacity. This includes photovoltaic (PV) panels that convert sunlight directly into electricity and concentrating solar power (CSP) that concentrates the sun’s heat on receiver tubes that power a turbine creating electricity. The solar water heating sector, which uses the sun for hot water or space heating and cooling systems, grew by 10 percent.

 

SEIA expects 2010 to be even better with residential and commercial rooftop installations growing in demand, numerous utility-scale projects coming online and increasing political and public support for high-quality, clean energy alternatives. We also have 22 gigawatts of more utility-scale projects in the pipeline - enough to power 4.4 million households. 

Politicians talk a lot about green jobs, but let me tell you what this really means. Solar jobs range from material suppliers, manufacturing, construction, plumbing and electrical work to engineering, sales, and many more professions including educators. At Artha we teach many professionals how to install solar thermal systems, these are people moving into a new profession or plumbers/HVAC professionals looking to expand their business.  

I am proud that we’re doing our part to power America with clean, domestic energy. We want to do more, but government policies that favor the fossil fuel industry are holding us back.

 

The fossil fuel industry spends millions of dollars lobbying the government to protect their antiquated, dirty industry. Unfortunately, this has paid off. Fossil fuels receive more government assistance than does solar by a factor of 30 to 1. They have successfully fought to keep regulations in place that favor their polluting industry over more modern, cleaner, domestic renewable technologies like solar.

 

That is why I urge you to sign on to the “Solar Bill of Rights” www.SolarBillofRights.org. These eight rights will give the solar industry a level playing field with fossil fuels and allow the American people to decide which energy sources they think are best. We are confident solar will be one of the top choices. According to a poll conducted by Kelton Research, 92 percent of Americans think it’s important to develop and use solar energy.

The demand for solar is growing at a much faster rate and creating more jobs than fossil fuels. According to SEIA’s 2009 Year in Review, residential solar installations more than doubled last year as prices continued to decrease and more Americans saw how satisfied their neighbors are with reliable solar. It’s a good investment that pays dividends to homeowners by cutting their utility bills, raising their property value, and paying back the upfront cost in just a few years.

 

Imagine what we could do on a level playing field. By signing the Solar Bill of Rights, you will be telling our government that it is time we put more solar energy to work creating jobs and growing our economy.

        

Bob Ramlow received the Outstanding Alumnus Award 2010 from the College of Natural Resources of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Congratulations Bob!