Why Choose Bamboo For Your Home?

Choosing Bamboo in Your Home

The earth provides us with absolutely everything that we need in order to survive without damaging the planet. The problem is that we usually choose alternatives that hurt the planet. Two of the most common resources we use are cotton and timber. These two items are important to our civilization because they clothe us and provide us with housing. However, they also hurt the planet in that large areas must be cleared for cotton, and the pesticide use on cotton damages the environment. As well, cutting down timber takes away important animal habitats, and hurts the earth’s ability to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

In Asia, there is no cotton and timber is not used as extensively as it is here, so what do they use? They use bamboo and bamboo is something that the Earth provides for us that we can use without damaging the environment. Here are just some of the amazing facts about this wonder-plant.

1.   Bamboo grows at one foot per day, making it the fastest growing plant on Earth. While many think of bamboo as a tree, it is actually the world’s largest grass species.

2.   Bamboo can be harvested in only three years, versus ten years for many tree species.

3.   When bamboo is harvested, the bamboo stalk will keep growing, allowing one stalk to be harvested multiple times. Timber is a one-shot deal, once harvested, that is it for that tree.

4.   Bamboo is used to reinforce concrete in Asia, as well as the primary element of scaffolding in many Asian countries.

5.   Bamboo has the same tensile strength as steel when it is in stalk form.

6.   When converted into fabric, bamboo is as soft as silk. However, it is also hypoallergenic, which makes it perfect for baby clothes.

7.   No pesticides need to be used to grow bamboo because of its amazing growth rate.

8.   Bamboo towels are 1/3 as thick as cotton towels, but it can absorb 1.5 times as much water.

9.   Bamboo can also be used in your home to make:

1.   Counters

2.   Floors

3.   Furniture

4.   Cupboards

5.   Walls

This just shows what an amazing plant bamboo is. For thousands of years, it has been used in Asia for everything from homes to food, and it is a distinctive part of their culture these days. The Western World is beginning to catch on to the power of this plant, and many countries are not only beginning to import bamboo, but they are also growing it themselves. While China supplies about 80 percent of the bamboo in the world, places like Europe, the United States, Australia and even Canada are beginning to start growing their own bamboo. Given everything listed here, it is really no surprise that many experts feel that bamboo is going to be the most important plant resource of the 21st century. Where timber was important for the 19th and 20th centuries, bamboo is the plant of the new millennium.

Bamboo is highly environmentally-friendly, and the perfect alternative to using timber and cotton in our changing world.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Thegreenlivingblog.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to AhmedDawn.com. This article originally published on the above website on Mar 13, 2010.

My Black Coffee Journey

My Dramatic Cut on Sugar

First Published: EntrepreneurJourney.com Dec 20, 2013

Nothing is impossible as long as you decide on something, make plans, and persevere to make it happen. This is how I made it possible to switch to black coffee.

In the past, I used to take 3-4 sugars for Tim Horton or McDonald’s coffee 7-8 sugars for Starbucks’s coffee. After reading on the harmful effects of sugar and salt, I decided to cut back on both of these. It was not instantly that I gave up on sugar. Rather, I gradually decreased my sugar intake. Just about a month ago, my final sugar (before turning to black coffee or tea) intake was 1 to 2 spoons with coffee or tea.

As I felt I was ready to try going without sugar, I tested coffee and tea without sugar and cream for 2 weeks. The first week was difficult, but the second week was not that bad, as my taste buds got used to it. Then what happened next? After two weeks of going without sugar, just to see how it felt with sugar again, I started coffee with sugar and cream again.

Surprisingly enough, I found out that I did not like coffee or tea with sugar and cream anymore and it just did not feel right.

As it stands right now, I am very happy with my black coffee or tea and will continue it that way. If you would like to cut back on sugar, start gradually right now and it’s not that as hard as it may sound.

Why Choose Garmin Vivoactive HR (Over Fitbit Blaze)?

Garmin Vivoactive HR or Fitbit Blaze Smartwatch?

First Published Date : January 9, 2017 ADawnJournal.com

I have been contemplating buying an activity tracker or a smart watch for a while. However, I put it off because I did not want to pay full price and I kept an eye on them whenever they were on sale. However, this 2016 Black Friday sale presented me with an opportunity to buy a smart watch at 40 percent discount. The two major options I had were the Garmin or Fitbit smart watch. Today, I will talk about why I picked Garmin Vivoactive HR over its competitor, the Fitbit Blaze.

Author/Copyright: Ahmed Dawn www.adawnjournal.com

Here are my 2 most important reasons:

Bluetooth Concern – Smart watches or activity trackers send or sync information to a computer or smart phone via Bluetooth. Bluetooth does the job via low-level radio frequency waves. These waves are non-ionizing waves similar to those used by cell phones, which have been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Although Bluetooth EMF radiation is much lower than a cell phone’s, there is not enough information or research on the long-term health effects of activity trackers.

Lack of information does not translate to evidence of safety and I wouldn’t be comfortable wearing something with Bluetooth always on. Here is where Garmin comes in handy, as it gives the option to turn off Bluetooth as I wish, which Fitbit is lacking. With Fitbit, Bluetooth has to be always on and there is no option to turn it off. For that reason, Garmin is my choice.

Waterproof – Garmin is waterproof to 50 meters. I can swim or shower wearing my Vivoactive HR and it’s no problem. On the other hand, Fitbit is only water resistant, not waterproof. You cannot swim or shower with Fitbit but it’s OK to splash slight water on it like in the rain or washing hands, etc.

There are other aspects where Garmin does better than Fitbit, such as having a GPS, better notifications, and so on. But the above two factors I described are more important and they are the deciding factors for me buying the Garmin.

Eagle Creek Load Hauler Expandable Carry-On Duffle

Eagle Creek Load Hauler Review

As my 4-country, 1-month trip is approaching fast, I was looking for a hybrid convertible carry-on that could serve me for one month traveling without any other bulky luggage. Whenever I travel, I do not check any luggage. So my carry-on has to be a versatile piece that can work as a backpack, briefcase, or something that can be carried over the shoulder.

After searching frantically online and watching many reviews on convertible carry-on bags, I decided on the Eagle Creek Load Hauler Expandable for these reasons:

- Ultra lightweight & water-repellent Geo Ripstop ballistic fabric. Weighs only 1 lb 13 oz or 0.83 kg

- Regular capacity is 49 L, but can be expanded to 57 L

- Quick access pockets that makes airport security checking a breeze

- Good looking and attractive price point. I have seen similar luggage at $300 - $400, but at $150 the Load Hauler is fairly priced.

Now my challenge is to fit everything for my one-month Australia-New Zealand-Singapore-Malaysia trip in this Eagle Creek travel hybrid bag. I will be carrying a Chromebook and 2 or 3 cameras for my YouTube Channel Travel Videos  

I will make several videos on how I pack everything and how comfortable or not so comfortable it is carrying my gear in this travel bag. You can also track my full trip on my channel. There will be business class flight reviews, airport lounge reviews, and travel videos. If you haven’t subscribed already, please subscribe now to track this trip.

I have made a review video on the Eagle Creek Load Hauler Expandable, which you can view by following the highlighted link.

Dubai - The World Most Dividing City

Dubai – City of Choice

The city of Dubai has become one of the world’s favourite topics of conversation, in a way that no-one could possibly have foreseen a decade or two ago. This remarkable part of the world has surely caught the attention of us all at one time or another, for reasons that may be considered good or bad, but which nonetheless provoke debate. It has to be asked – is Dubai the world’s most dividing city in terms of opinion?

To begin with, it is worth looking at a reason why people love Dubai. There are many reasons, and among them is the blatant ostentation of the city. Although liable to turn off as many people as it attracts, the immediacy of Dubai as an attention-grabbing city cannot be denied. Huge towers like the Burj al-Arab and the soon to be completed Burj Dubai are not, to put a fine point on it, necessary. But then, the same could be said of a lot of smaller, less opulent buildings. These towers astound, and captivate, a great number of people. They make us talk about Dubai, so they serve a hugely important purpose.

However, there are many who complain about the processes that get buildings like these built. Dubai was not a busy, glittering metropolis in the middle of the 20th century. This has happened at very short notice, and the way it has been done is always going to raise a question or two. A lot of people who visit Dubai for a holiday come back and say “well, the room was comfortable, the food was great and the entertainment was marvellous – but that construction noise spoiled the whole thing!”. Dubai is still building – and that is not without its problems for those who enjoy the quiet life. Murmurs about the working conditions on these sites also abound.

However, if working practices in a construction industry are now reason enough to hate a city, you might say that London, New York and other major destinations should be boycotted. There are very few places in the world that were built using altruistic processes by benevolent construction companies. That there are questions about Dubai even today is not encouraging, without question, but there is also justification in the claims of the people of Dubai who consider much of the criticism to be due to envy.

At the heels of the hunt, you are either going to love Dubai or hate it. There are clear reasons for both conclusions, including the fact that ostentation is something that draws strong reactions. If you like glitter, a buzz and an experience that will astound you, Dubai is a place to go. If you want peace and quiet in a centre of cultured gentility, then it may be best avoided. Either way, people are not going to stop talking about this fascinating city any time soon. Any city, after all, which makes it snow inside when the temperatures outdoors are shooting to uncomfortable levels, as seen at Ski Dubai, is worth taking notice of.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Travelnowsimply.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to ahmeddawn.com. This article originally published on the above website on June 13, 2009.