water & energy
Energy Efficient Rebates for the Homeowner
Dan Harding
As homeowners work hard to make their homes more energy efficient, many are surprised to discover the length and breadth of available resources for recouping a portion of the costs for energy efficient upgrades. I think you will be surprised at all of the possibilities, especially for small upgrades that may not seem like they warrant any attention.
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Greywater: Dont Let it Go Down the Drain
Greg Peterson
Every day we are letting a valuable resource flow right down our drains. Greywater is defined as any water that runs down the drain of your sinks, showers and washer, but does not include ‘blackwater’ from your toilet or kitchen sink.
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Production vs. Efficiency
Greg Peterson
I have an electrical power plant on my roof. The technical term for the plant is Photovoltaics or PV. My system here at my Urban Farm home, was installed in April 2006 and originally was designed to offset 40% of my electric bill. I was already conserving and kept my average cost of electricity for my 2,000 square-foot-home and office to $1200 per year.
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Living Sustainably?
Kathleen Davidson
It seems that explaining sustainability is more challenging than actually living it. Sustainability is broadly defined as living and conducting business and commerce in a resource-conservative and resource-efficient manner to meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Although it sounds a bit abstract, it turns out that putting sustainability into practice is pretty straightforward.
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Abundant Skies: 8 Principles for Successful Rainwater Harvesting - Part Two
Brad Lancaster
Last week author Brad Lancaster gave us the background on his journey to expertise in rainwater harvesting. This week he gives us the specifics on his eight principles for successful rainwater harvesting.
Abundant Skies: 8 Principles for Successful Rainwater Harvesting - Part One
Brad Lancaster
My interest in water harvesting arose from a desire both to reduce my cost of living and to be part of the solution rather than the problem in my desert city of Tucson, Arizona. One of Tucson’s biggest problems is its mismanagement of water resources, pulling more each year from the water table than nature can replace. This is a practice that has dried out the Santa Cruz River, killed countless springs and wells, and severely depleted available groundwater resources.
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Solar Inspiration
Jean Eisenhower
I've used a solar oven now for two decades, and there was one year of my life when a solar oven was the only real way I had to cook my food. I could use my fireplace, but even in the winter, the fireplace wasn't nearly as easy. It needed constant tending, and it coated my shiny steel cookware solid black with soot.
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Get That Stuff Outta My Water
Maura Yates
Recently, the Associated Press (AP) released a report detailing its findings of an investigation into pharmaceuticals and contaminants detected in our drinking water supply. The report states that 41 million Americans are exposed to contaminated drinking water supplies.
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Energy Vampires Surround Us - Cut them off and save!
Maura Yates
Energy Vampires are those electronic devices that we leave in the standby mode. In order to be ready to operate at all times, the electronic device, gadget or appliance maintains a slow, reduced draw of electricity. This is where the reference to vampire is rooted: it still sucks energy when turned ‘off.’ Even though the device’s draw is reduced, you are still paying for energy you aren’t using. The bills can add up, particularly now with the rising cost of energy.
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Wary of Your Water?
Maura Yates
When doctors recommend drinking eight glasses of water a day, they certainly don't expect us to put our health at risk in the process! You see, our water is far from pure. In fact, sometimes it contains many different toxins, chemicals, pesticides and organic material that may jeopardize our health, even if it is just absorbed by our skin in the shower.
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Sun-kissed cooking
Kathleen Davidson & Amy Godfrey
Imagine, not having to heat up the kitchen or consume fuels to make a great meal -- simple, safe and convenient solar cooking can do the trick. Sun-baked foods stay moist; the natural internal juices do not bake out, resulting in a superior, moist taste and much less shrinkage.
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Greywater Turned Green!
Maura Yates
Chances are you have heard the term "greywater" but never been quite sure what it means. Greywater is all the water in your home that goes down a drain, excluding your toilet and kitchen sink water. Picture a color scale with white on the left and black on the right: if white represents fresh drinking water and black represents dirty waste water (toilet water or black water), greywater is in the middle because it’s not clean enough to drink, but it certainly isn’t polluted enough to flush down the drain. Because of its unique make-up greywater offers many versatile options for use in outdoor landscaping.
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Biocompatible Soaps
Maura Yates
Essential to life, our water is a precious resource and we often forget how important it is to use it wisely.
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Go Solar!
Maura Yates
Photovoltaic (PV) systems use solar cells to capture electrons from the sun and direct them into electrical wiring, forming a direct current (DC). This is the same kind of current that flows from a regular battery. It can be used to power a variety of devices as-is, or it can be converted to alternating current (AC) for standard household use.
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