Yep… so much so that US Environmental Protection Agencies WaterSense program (an ENERGY STAR for water) has addressed the issue by making the flushing urinal the first commercial product for which it’s developed standards. According to the EPA, “Approximately 65 percent of the estimated 12 million urinals in the United States are old and inefficient. While the current federal standard for commercial urinals is 1.0 gallon per flush (gpf ), some older urinals use as much as five times that amount!”
For 90 years, a 60,000 gallon cistern at River Forest, Illinois’ Dominican University has done its job of collecting rainwater from 1920s-era buildings. That’s great… the problem is that everyone kind of forgot about it. Dan Bulow, the school’s director of building and grounds, told Trib Local’s Patrick Rollens “We knew [the cistern] was there, we knew it collected rainwater off all these buildings here, but it had been dormant for years.” In fact, water it collected was even pumped into the sewage system at times to prevent flooding of old buildings.
With a new century, and a new vision for a more sustainable campus, the old cistern’s been called back to duty. As a part of a broader set-up to use groundwater (vs. drinking water) for landscape irrigation, the cistern will provide back-up to a newly-installed well. According to the university, the new system will save around 4-6 million gallons of water a year.
Campus greening often involves new construction and installation… you don’t hear many stories of this kind of reclamation. Know of other instances of old infrastructure being revived as part of a sustainability plan? Share them…
Yep, it’s that time again… here are this week’s green tech finds.
Fighting the downturn with rooftop windfarms:Co-op and condo building owners are exploring wind and solar energy options as a way to cut building costs during the down economy.
Apparently, “floating environmentalism” isn’t limited to Huck Finn wannabees: on September 14, the Learning Barge, a joint project of the University of Virginia School of Architecture and the Elizabeth River Project, will be christened and opened to the public. Designed as an environmental education center for teaching elementary and middle school students about water and wildlife issues facing the Elizabeth River, the Learning Barge features a living wetland nursery, a seining pool, and oyster floats. It’s also powered completely by solar and wind power.
According to the Elizabeth River Project, the river currently “does not meet safety standards for swimming or harvest of shellfish.” The Barge is designed to get students to the river, and teach them about both the environmental degradation that’s occurred, and the solutions for restoring damaged ecosystems. Students and faculty from UVA’s architecture and engineering programs designed and built the barge, and the University’s School of Education designed the curriculum used on board.
Bottled water contributes to a host of environmental challenges — you know that. But, let’s face it — bottled water is also incredibly convenient, especially if you’re on the go a lot. A refillable bottle is environmentally preferable, but if you’re out and about, and run out of water, you may also find yourself out of luck in terms of refilling it.
Elephant poop, chicken feathers, and iPhone apps… that’s the stuff of good green tech stories!
Smart water: You’ve heard all about smart electrical grids… now Rotterdam, in partnership with IBM, is working on a smart water management system. (via Fast Company)
Still have bottled water as a regular item on the grocery list? Or just pick up the occasional bottle when you’re out? It’s so convenient…
As you probably know, that convenience comes at an environmental and social price: documentaries such as FLOW and Thirst, organizations such as the Sierra Club and Environmental Defense Fund, and even a few of us lowly bloggers, have reported on the costs created by water’s transformation from a freely-available resource to a multi-billion dollar commodity. That bottle of water you buy now contributes to the world’s third-largest industry.
If our H2.0 shorts inspired you to take action to reduce your water use, check out green.tv’s new video featuring singer Natalie Imbruglia discussing water-saving tips, and the impact of wasteful water consumption on the developing world.
FORT EDWARD, New York, May 19, 2009 (ENS) – The long awaited dredging of the Upper Hudson River to remove sediment contaminated by PCBs from a General Electric factory began Friday near Roger’s Island in Fort Edward.
The six-year dredging project will be conducted by General Electric under the terms of a November 2006 consent decree. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will oversee all aspects of the work; dredging will continue through October 2009, weather permitting.
This first phase of the dredging project will be conducted 24 hours a day, six days a week and aims to remove 265,000 cubic yards of sediment and 20,300 kilograms of PCBs from a six-mile stretch of the river between Roger’s Island and Thompson Island.
Elephant poop, chicken feathers, and iPhone apps… that’s the stuff of good green tech stories!
