||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
HOW ONE GEORGIA COUNTY HANDLES RUNOFF
TREE HUGGER - Clayton County wastewater and storm water runoff are
diverted to a series of man-made, wetland ponds and channels that
eventually feed two small reservoirs. Afterward, naturally polished
wastewater can be withdrawn for human consumption via the existing
potable water treatment and distribution system.
Way better than desalination or pipes from the Great Lakes or the other
pointless punditry and prayer sessions: it works; and is apparently
quite cost effective. Other drought-impacted municipalities from around
the world are modeling their systems after the one in Clayton County
Georgia. . .
Other advantages besides having a secure water source: reportedly the
County electric bill has been cut by 60% due to the more natural, less
engineered approach to treatment. Green space has been preserved.
Wildlife has habitat.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/11/one_atlanta_sub.php
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SHIPS TO BE POWERED BY KITES
NETWORK WORLD - A kite the size of a football field will provide most of
the power for a German heavy freight ship set to launch in December. The
Beluga shipping company that owns the 460-foot Beluga said it expects
the kites to decrease fuel consumption by up to 50% in optimal cases as
well as a cutback of the emission of greenhouse gases on sea by 10 to
20%. Interestingly, the ship will be hauling windmills from Esbjerg,
Denmark to Houston, Texas.
The company that makes the kite for the German transport, SkySails, has
made kites for large yachts but is targeting commercial ships with new,
larger kites. And it has the ambitious goal of equipping 1,500 ships
with kites by 2015.
The SkySails system consists of a towing kite with rope, a launch and
recovery system and a control system for the whole operation. The
control system acts like the autopitot systems on an aircraft, the
company says. Autopilot software sends and receives data about the sail
etc to make sure the sail is set at its optimal position. . .
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/22225
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A BETTER FLUSH FOR THE FUTURE
CNN - [Scott Kelley's] Philadelphia company urges its customers to
install high-efficiency toilets, which use 20 percent less water than
the previous generation of low-flow toilets. . .
Toilets built 30 years ago guzzled 5 or more gallons of water per flush,
but in the early 1980s manufacturers designed new models that needed
only 3 1/2 gallons per flush. Congress emphasized further conservation
in 1992 when it passed the Energy Policy Act, which mandated that
regular toilets made starting in 1994 use 1.6 gallons.
Consumers weren't pleased with those early low-flow models. The first
flush didn't always clear the bowl, and subsequent flushes negated any
water savings.
But the newest generation of high-efficiency toilets -- developed in the
last two to seven years -- does the job on the first try and uses only
1.3 gallons per flush, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. . .
One high-efficiency model that's gaining in popularity is the dual-flush
toilet, in which users press one button to flush liquid waste with 0.8
or 0.9 gallon of water, or an adjacent button to flush solid waste with
1.6 gallons. The flushes amount to an average of about 1.3 gallons,
complying with the EPA's definition of a high-efficiency toilet.
While a water-friendly toilet can be several times more expensive than a
standard one, which typically costs less than $100, consumers can expect
to recoup the cost within about two years after water savings and
possible rebates from the local water company.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/homestyle/11/27/
toilet.water.save.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CHICAGO GREENS ITS ALLEYS
NY TIMES - With nearly 2,000 miles of small service streets bisecting
blocks from the North Side to the South Side, Chicago is the alley
capital of America. In its alleys, city officials say, it has the paved
equivalent of five midsize airports. Part of the landscape since the
city began, the alleys, mostly home to garbage bins and garages, make
for cleaner and less congested main streets. But Chicago's distinction
is not without disadvantages: Imagine having a duplicate set of streets,
in miniature, to maintain that are prone to flooding and to dumping
runoff into a strained sewer system.
What is an old, alley-laden city to do? Chicago has decided to retrofit
its alleys with environmentally sustainable road-building materials
under its Green Alley initiative, something experts say is among the
most ambitious public street makeover plans in the country. In a larger
sense, the city is rethinking the way it paves things.
In a green alley, water is allowed to penetrate the soil through the
pavement itself, which consists of the relatively new but little-used
technology of permeable concrete or porous asphalt. Then the water,
filtered through stone beds under the permeable surface layer, recharges
the underground water table instead of ending up as polluted runoff in
rivers and streams.
Some of that water may even end up back in Lake Michigan, from which
Chicago takes a billion gallons a year.
The new pavements are also designed to reflect heat from the sun instead
of absorbing it, helping the city stay cool on hot days. They also stay
warmer on cold days. The green alleys are given new kinds of lighting
that conserve energy and reduce glare, city officials said, and are made
with recycled materials.
The city will have completed 46 green alleys by the end of the year, and
it has deemed the models so attractive that now every alley it
refurbishes will be a green alley.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/us/26chicago.html?em&ex=
1196226000&en=870df72e8b744c4c&ei=5087%0A
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
HOW ONE GEORGIA COUNTY HANDLES RUNOFF
TREE HUGGER - Clayton County wastewater and storm water runoff are
diverted to a series of man-made, wetland ponds and channels that
eventually feed two small reservoirs. Afterward, naturally polished
wastewater can be withdrawn for human consumption via the existing
potable water treatment and distribution system.
Way better than desalination or pipes from the Great Lakes or the other
pointless punditry and prayer sessions: it works; and is apparently
quite cost effective. Other drought-impacted municipalities from around
the world are modeling their systems after the one in Clayton County
Georgia. . .
Other advantages besides having a secure water source: reportedly the
County electric bill has been cut by 60% due to the more natural, less
engineered approach to treatment. Green space has been preserved.
Wildlife has habitat.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/11/one_atlanta_sub.php
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SHIPS TO BE POWERED BY KITES
NETWORK WORLD - A kite the size of a football field will provide most of
the power for a German heavy freight ship set to launch in December. The
Beluga shipping company that owns the 460-foot Beluga said it expects
the kites to decrease fuel consumption by up to 50% in optimal cases as
well as a cutback of the emission of greenhouse gases on sea by 10 to
20%. Interestingly, the ship will be hauling windmills from Esbjerg,
Denmark to Houston, Texas.
The company that makes the kite for the German transport, SkySails, has
made kites for large yachts but is targeting commercial ships with new,
larger kites. And it has the ambitious goal of equipping 1,500 ships
with kites by 2015.
The SkySails system consists of a towing kite with rope, a launch and
recovery system and a control system for the whole operation. The
control system acts like the autopitot systems on an aircraft, the
company says. Autopilot software sends and receives data about the sail
etc to make sure the sail is set at its optimal position. . .
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/22225
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A BETTER FLUSH FOR THE FUTURE
CNN - [Scott Kelley's] Philadelphia company urges its customers to
install high-efficiency toilets, which use 20 percent less water than
the previous generation of low-flow toilets. . .
Toilets built 30 years ago guzzled 5 or more gallons of water per flush,
but in the early 1980s manufacturers designed new models that needed
only 3 1/2 gallons per flush. Congress emphasized further conservation
in 1992 when it passed the Energy Policy Act, which mandated that
regular toilets made starting in 1994 use 1.6 gallons.
Consumers weren't pleased with those early low-flow models. The first
flush didn't always clear the bowl, and subsequent flushes negated any
water savings.
But the newest generation of high-efficiency toilets -- developed in the
last two to seven years -- does the job on the first try and uses only
1.3 gallons per flush, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. . .
One high-efficiency model that's gaining in popularity is the dual-flush
toilet, in which users press one button to flush liquid waste with 0.8
or 0.9 gallon of water, or an adjacent button to flush solid waste with
1.6 gallons. The flushes amount to an average of about 1.3 gallons,
complying with the EPA's definition of a high-efficiency toilet.
While a water-friendly toilet can be several times more expensive than a
standard one, which typically costs less than $100, consumers can expect
to recoup the cost within about two years after water savings and
possible rebates from the local water company.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/homestyle/11/27/
toilet.water.save.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CHICAGO GREENS ITS ALLEYS
NY TIMES - With nearly 2,000 miles of small service streets bisecting
blocks from the North Side to the South Side, Chicago is the alley
capital of America. In its alleys, city officials say, it has the paved
equivalent of five midsize airports. Part of the landscape since the
city began, the alleys, mostly home to garbage bins and garages, make
for cleaner and less congested main streets. But Chicago's distinction
is not without disadvantages: Imagine having a duplicate set of streets,
in miniature, to maintain that are prone to flooding and to dumping
runoff into a strained sewer system.
What is an old, alley-laden city to do? Chicago has decided to retrofit
its alleys with environmentally sustainable road-building materials
under its Green Alley initiative, something experts say is among the
most ambitious public street makeover plans in the country. In a larger
sense, the city is rethinking the way it paves things.
In a green alley, water is allowed to penetrate the soil through the
pavement itself, which consists of the relatively new but little-used
technology of permeable concrete or porous asphalt. Then the water,
filtered through stone beds under the permeable surface layer, recharges
the underground water table instead of ending up as polluted runoff in
rivers and streams.
Some of that water may even end up back in Lake Michigan, from which
Chicago takes a billion gallons a year.
The new pavements are also designed to reflect heat from the sun instead
of absorbing it, helping the city stay cool on hot days. They also stay
warmer on cold days. The green alleys are given new kinds of lighting
that conserve energy and reduce glare, city officials said, and are made
with recycled materials.
The city will have completed 46 green alleys by the end of the year, and
it has deemed the models so attractive that now every alley it
refurbishes will be a green alley.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/26/us/26chicago.html?em&ex=
1196226000&en=870df72e8b744c4c&ei=5087%0A
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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