Hippie Dabble Digest 8: Window Swap, Ecosia, the Azolla Foundation, the Climate Foundation, and Humane Tech

The Hippie Dabble Digest started September 7, 2021 on Substack.  We have since transitioned over to the blog and a newsletter that encompasses more than just the digest.  As part of this transition,  Hippie Dabble is bringing over all the old digests for you to enjoy.  This one is week 8 from October 26, 2021.  The links from the Hippie Dabble Digests get put into the Directory and can be found here: https://hippiedabble.com/directory/.


Welcome to week 8 of the Hippie Dabble Digest! First up is our just for fun feature. Ever wonder what other people from around the world see out their window? Or maybe you’d like to imagine yourself living in another country, looking out your kitchen window to the city or landscape below. Maybe you’re itching to travel but you’re stuck at home like the rest of us. Go to https://www.window-swap.com/Window to check out the view (and sounds) from another country. At the top left is whose window you are looking out, at the top right is the location, and down at the bottom you can move on to the next window. Each video is about 10 minutes long and will change on its own if you don’t click the next window button. I’ve already been to the Netherlands, Australia, Argentina, the Czech Republic, and New Zealand. Go to the main website to find out more about the project or submit your own window view: https://www.window-swap.com/.

Now on to the main stuff. This week’s theme seems to be nonprofits that benefit the earth and society.

Ecosia Search Engine

As part of writing this newsletter and because I’m endlessly curious, I do a lot of internet searching. I’ve just discovered a search engine that will one plant tree for every search you make. So far the nonprofit has planted over 136 million trees as of this writing. That by itself is wonderful news, but I’ve also found that some of the search results it comes up with are much more useful than the ones I’m getting in Google. Try it out here: https://www.ecosia.org/.

Azolla and the Azolla Foundation

Have you ever heard of the Arctic Azolla Event? It turns out that a little fern called azolla changed our planet’s climate 50 million years ago to what we now live in today. It did this by sequestering so much CO2 in order to grow that it cooled the planet and caused an ice age. Many now think that this little plant could be the key to saving life as we know it on earth since the cause of our current global warming is excess CO2. Find out more about the Arctic Azolla Event here: http://theazollafoundation.org/azolla/the-arctic-azolla-event-2/. Additionally, azolla can provide livestock feed, food, biofertilizer, and biofuel. The Azolla Foundation is a nonprofit working to make it all happen. Find out more about the Azolla Foundation here: http://theazollafoundation.org/.

The Climate Foundation

The Climate Foundation is also working on carbon balance and has information on azolla. You can find the azolla information here: https://www.climatefoundation.org/azolla.html. In addition to carbon balance, the Climate Foundation focuses on food security and ecosystem survival. Find out what they’re doing to help here: https://www.climatefoundation.org/

Humane Tech

Humane Tech is working to make technology more human and humane. When technology contributes to things ranging from low self esteem and suicide all the way to genocide, there’s a problem, and Humane Tech is working to fix it. Their site is loaded with information and tools along with a podcast and film. I haven’t gotten to the documentary yet, but the podcast is excellent. Find out more at https://www.humanetech.com/.

On the Website

Week four and half of week five links are up in the directory. Visit the website at https://hippiedabble.com/ and if you would like to read any of the back issues of the Hippie Dabble Digest, you can find them at hippiedabble.substack.com.

Quote of the Week

The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.  -Robert Swan

 What’s on my to read list?  

(I’m a slow reader so this could get pretty long.)

  1. Food Politics – What Everyone Needs to Know by Robert Paarlberg (found at a library book sale)
  2. Tightrope – Americans Reaching for Hope by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (past Book of the Month Club book)
  3. Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery (See the Ezra Klein Show Podcast in the Hippie Dabble Digest: Week 1)
  4. Plants for Your Food Forest: 500 Plants for Temperate Food Forests and Permaculture Gardens Published by Plants for a Future (See the website in the Hippie Dabble Digest: Week 1)
  5. Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions by Johann Hari (see TED Talks Daily Podcast in the Hippie Dabble Digest: Week 2)
  6. Chasing the Scream: The Inspiration for the Feature Film “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” (The Opposite of Addiction is Connection) by Johann Hari (see TED Talks Daily Podcast in the Hippie Dabble Digest: Week 2)
  7. The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World by Peter Wohlleben (found by accident when searching for the Secret Language of Trees video, see link in the Hippie Dabble Digest: Week 3)
  8. 10 Minute Boosts for Your Body, Mind & Beauty: Quick and Easy Tips to Help You Feel Good, Look Good and Live Good by Susan Wildes (free ebook from Freebooksy daily email)
  9. The Mushroom Medicine Cabinet: 12 Medicinal Mushrooms and Their Healing Powers by Kris Rowsan (Suggested for me in Kindle Unlimited)
  10. Nature’s Silent Message  by Scott Stillman (admittedly I clicked on an ad)
  11. Raising Goats for Beginners by Max Barnes (free ebook from Freebooksy daily email – I have a goat obsession so I just couldn’t resist!)
  12. Mushroom Cultivation Book for Beginners: 21 Step-by-Step Methods to Master Your Skills with this Mushroom Growing Book by Kris Rowsan (Suggested for me in Kindle Unlimited)

Hope you enjoyed this back issue of the Hippie Dabble Digest! I’ll keep posting them every Thursday until we’re all caught up. See you next week!

Comments are closed.