Derek Markham

I dig singlespeed bicycles, simple living, organic gardening, sustainable lifestyle design, slacklining, bouldering, and baking with sourdough. My blog about fatherhood and natural living can be found at Natural Papa. We just finished our own family experiment in lifestyle design, living for almost six years in one 8 by 15 foot room. We hauled all of our water, used a sawdust toilet, had a solar shower for washing up, and we had two unassisted births during that time (one under the stars, and one in a tipi). Don’t try it. (Just kidding- you’ll never truly understand cabin fever until you’ve experienced 2 adults, two kids, and a cat in 120 square feet, during single digit temps in January!) I love good food; Colorado peaches are my all-time favorite. I really enjoy conversations with three year olds. I love being in the wilderness with my family; it feels like home. I love positive thinking and big audacious dreams. I like to skip rope, and yes, I do have a tiny rubber chicken (vegan) that lives with my flash drive.

Derek's articles:

10 Tips for Better Gas Mileage

Posted on January 15, 2009 by Derek Markham .

With the volatility of the global oil market and a recession creeping up on us, we’re all looking for ways to pinch pennies. Getting better gas mileage from our vehicles not only saves us money, but will also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions due to less fossil fuel use. It’s a step in the right [...]

Sky Vegetables will Farm Supermarket Rooftops

Posted on January 12, 2009 by Derek Markham .

A Berkeley company called Sky Vegetables says the sky is the limit when it comes to local food. Their business is farming the rooftops of grocery stores. They plan to harvest ripe vegetables and sell them downstairs in the supermarket, eliminating up to 80% of the cost of production and distribution. The model calls for [...]

Put Your Laptop On a Carbon Neutral Diet with PoweredGreen

Posted on January 8, 2009 by Derek Markham .

What’s the carbon diet of your laptop? How does 1000 pounds of CO2 sound? Buying a renewable energy offset credit might be just the ticket to green your web-surfing and support wind energy, and buying one from PoweredGreen won’t break the bank.

Help Green the White House with an Organic Farm

Posted on January 6, 2009 by Derek Markham .

Eat the View is a campaign to turn part of the White House’s 18 acre lawn back into an edible landscape. The Garden of Eatin’ video tells the story of the “America’s Garden” from 1800 when President John Adams planted the first “first vegetables” to feed his own family to the present day. It ends [...]

Recycled Electronics Sculptures Fusing Art and Technology Together

Posted on January 4, 2009 by Derek Markham .

Artist Stewart Webb takes high tech recycled materials from computers, electronics, industrial, and aerospace industries and transforms them into functional art. His pieces are all handmade using repurposed materials, and include clocks, sculptures, and jewelry. Any self respecting eco-geek will want to collect at least a couple of his works.

Fantastic Tables from Recycled Car Hoods

Posted on January 3, 2009 by Derek Markham .

Dallas welder and furniture maker Joel Hester is breathing new life into our American car culture with his line of tables made from the sheetmetal hoods of junkyard cars. The colorful rusted hoods will make a big visual impact in any home, and with some of the materials being repurposed and upcycled, you can feel [...]

Venture Snowboards Green Up the Slopes

Posted on January 2, 2009 by Derek Markham .

In the market for a new ride, but looking for a company that uses environmentally friendly manufacturing? Venture Snowboards might be the one you’re searching for. They make buying your new board a “green-guilt”-free experience. Venture is located in Silverton Colorado, one of the coolest high-country towns that hasn’t become completely gentrified yet, and they’re [...]

Where’s the Beef?

Posted on December 27, 2008 by Derek Markham .

I’ve been a vegetarian for over 10 years, but most of my friends are not. I don’t go out preaching to them about giving up meat, but I do get asked pretty regularly what I eat, why I became a vegetarian, and how they can start going meatless.
As an environmentalist, I believe that our diets [...]

Green Guru Gear’s Billboard Bike Bags Upcycle Advertising Castoffs

Posted on December 26, 2008 by Derek Markham .

Highway billboards usually end up polluting the landfill after the end of their ad cycle. Made from PVC sheeting with a long life-cycle, these discards are now being upcycled into stylish bags by the folks at Green Guru Gear. Ecologic Designs reclaims, processes and sews them into great products that would pass as pieces of [...]

Conference Bikes Increase the Peace

Posted on December 20, 2008 by Derek Markham .

The ConferenceBike is a radical concept: a community-building bike. Eric Staller’s invention brings people together, as it is pedaled by 7 riders sitting in a circle, with one steering while the other 6 pedal. It has been used as a corporate team-building tool, a tour bike, a way for blind people to bike, a human-powered [...]

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