Green Options » water http://greenoptions.com/tag/water Posts tagged 'water' Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:28:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Electric Mole Takes a Bite Out of Energy Costs, with Help from Solar Power http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/07/electric-mole-takes-a-bite-out-of-energy-costs-with-help-from-solar-power/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/07/electric-mole-takes-a-bite-out-of-energy-costs-with-help-from-solar-power/#comments Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:28:51 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/07/electric-mole-takes-a-bite-out-of-energy-costs-with-help-from-solar-power/ Parkson Corporation will combine a stainless steel Electric Mole with a solar drying chamber to cut energy costs at wastewater treatment plant.Veteran solar installer Parkson Corporation is lending its expertise to a new wastewater treatment plant upgrade for the town of Berlin near the Maryland coast.  When it’s finished, the new plant will almost eliminate the use of fossil fuels for drying and converting biosolids, also known as sludge, into a lightweight Class A soil amendment or sustainable fuel.  The process is pushed along by a stainless steel “Electric Mole” that automaticaly mixes, aerates, and granulates the sludge as it dries.

The $16 million upgrade project is funded by ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act).  Parkson’s Thermo-System Active Solar Sludge Drying Chambers will enable the sludge conversion process to operate under more than 90% solar power rather than using gas or oil.  For disposing sludge in landfills, that translates into a significant savings in preparation and transportation costs.  Even better, it makes sludge products more cost-competitive with conventional soil amendments and fossil fuels, effectively taking the “waste” out of wastewater.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/07/electric-mole-takes-a-bite-out-of-energy-costs-with-help-from-solar-power/feed/ See a Battery, Pick It Up http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/11/06/see-a-battery-pick-it-up/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/11/06/see-a-battery-pick-it-up/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:08:07 +0000 Rhonda Winter http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/11/06/see-a-battery-pick-it-up/ See a battery, pick it up, and all the day you’ll have good luck. Especially if you take the battery that you found and safely recycle it, keeping dangerous toxic poisons out of our seas and drinking water.
batteryI found this used battery near the ocean in Pacifica, right across from our friend Rick’s Salada Beach Cafe. It has since been safely recycled, and kept from polluting our waterways.

Our oceans are already turning into acid. We have to start today to try to make things better. Keeping one more toxic battery or piece of plastic out of our oceans, collectively, will make a difference. Once you start looking, you may be really surprised just how many “disposable” batteries litter our streets and sewers. Next time you see one, pick it up; what you do matters.

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]]> http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/11/06/see-a-battery-pick-it-up/feed/ U.S. Water Use Declines Despite 30% Population Increase http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/06/us-water-use-declines-despite-30-population-increase/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/06/us-water-use-declines-despite-30-population-increase/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:57:28 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/06/us-water-use-declines-despite-30-population-increase/ Water consumption in the U.S. has declined over the past 25 years, despite a 30% increase in population.The U.S. Department of the Interior reports that overall water consumption in the United States has declined in the past 25 years, even though the population has increased 30% and use by individual American households has increased.  The statistics were compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey.

What’s the secret?  The 25-year patterns of water consumption revealed in the DOI report provide tantalizing clues about the ability of the U.S. to sustain its legendarily consumer-centric lifestyle while stabilizing and ultimately decreasing its contribution to carbon emissions and other greenhouse gasses.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/06/us-water-use-declines-despite-30-population-increase/feed/ Robot Fish to Better Monitor Water Quality http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/03/robot-fish-to-better-monitor-water-quality/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/03/robot-fish-to-better-monitor-water-quality/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:32:10 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/03/robot-fish-to-better-monitor-water-quality/
An ecologist and an engineer at Michigan State University are working together to create robot fish that can better monitor various factors in aquatic environments.

Combining the brilliance of nature with some top-notch engineering, these two scientists are on to something and getting the funding for it.

The researchers are breaking ground with this and looking to raise water monitoring to another level.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/03/robot-fish-to-better-monitor-water-quality/feed/ Great Lakes Get $475 Million in New Money, Questions Persist http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/10/30/great-lakes-get-475-million-in-new-money-questions-persist/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/10/30/great-lakes-get-475-million-in-new-money-questions-persist/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:18:24 +0000 Dave Dempsey http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/10/30/great-lakes-get-475-million-in-new-money-questions-persist/

Pollution from industrial facilities like this one at East Harbor in Indiana up to the 1970s left a legacy of contamination still in need of cleanup from new Great Lakes restoration funding.

Giving President Obama a major victory, Congress on Thursday sent him a spending bill containing $475 million in new funding to help restore the Great Lakes. During his 2008 campaign, candidate Obama committed to a multi-year effort to combat Great Lakes invasive species, habitat loss, climate change impacts and threats to water quality. The Great Lakes contain almost one-fifth of the world’s available surface freshwater.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/10/30/great-lakes-get-475-million-in-new-money-questions-persist/feed/ Our Oceans Are Turning into Acid http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/10/26/our-oceans-are-turning-to-acid/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/10/26/our-oceans-are-turning-to-acid/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:59:16 +0000 Rhonda Winter http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/10/26/our-oceans-are-turning-to-acid/ Sigourney Weaver narrates “Acid Test“, an illuminating and terrifying NRDC documentary that explains how quickly our planet’s oceans are acidifying due to all of the carbon dioxide that we are pumping into our air. This pollution is causing rapid changes in our oceans’ chemistry that will completely disrupt all life on the planet as we know it on a scale that has not been seen for tens of millions of years.

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]]> http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/10/26/our-oceans-are-turning-to-acid/feed/ Solar Water Disinfection Could Kill Even More Germs with New High-Tech Coating http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/23/solar-water-disinfection-could-kill-even-more-germs-with-new-high-tech-coating/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/23/solar-water-disinfection-could-kill-even-more-germs-with-new-high-tech-coating/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:19:40 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/23/solar-water-disinfection-could-kill-even-more-germs-with-new-high-tech-coating/ A Georgia Tech scientist is developing a high tech coating for water bottles that could make solar disinfection more quick and effective.Solar water disinfection is an idea so simple, it hurts.  Now a Georgia Tech scientist may be on to a new high-tech twist that could make this no-cost, zero emission ultraviolet (UV) water disinfection method even more quick and effective.

Solar disinfection is a proven method of killing germs in drinking water by exposing it to direct sunlight in a clear plastic or glass bottle.  Dr. Jaehong Kim of the Georgia Institute of Technology has just been awarded a $100,000 innovation grant by the Water Environment Research Foundation for his work in developing a new coating that could be applied to bottles to shorten the solar disinfection process and improve its effectiveness.  Though not (yet) practical for large volumes of water, solar disinfection has proven to be a sustainable answer for people in remote locations or impoverished areas that lack the resources to disinfect their drinking water through other means.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/23/solar-water-disinfection-could-kill-even-more-germs-with-new-high-tech-coating/feed/ Show Your Support for Water Recycling in SF http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/10/21/show-your-support-for-water-recycling-in-sf/ http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/10/21/show-your-support-for-water-recycling-in-sf/#comments Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:23:15 +0000 Rhonda Winter http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/10/21/show-your-support-for-water-recycling-in-sf/ If you are going to be anywhere near San Francisco City Hall this afternoon, please consider going to the fourth floor to voice your support for greywater recycling. There will be a meeting at the Building Inspection Commission today to vote on a SF city amendment which is attempting to make it more complicated for city residents to recycle and conserve our own water.

Time: Wed, Oct 21, pm @ 2pm

Where: SF City Hall, Room 416

greywater barrelRain barrels made from recycled food grade containers for water conservation.

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]]> http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/10/21/show-your-support-for-water-recycling-in-sf/feed/ The Water Crisis and How “Water is Life” Saves Children in Africa http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/19/the-water-crisis-and-how-water-is-life-saves-children-in-africa/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/19/the-water-crisis-and-how-water-is-life-saves-children-in-africa/#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:18:40 +0000 Lucille Chi http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/19/the-water-crisis-and-how-water-is-life-saves-children-in-africa/

Yearly, 1.8 million people will die due to waterborne diseases.  Sadly, most of these deaths are children under the age of 5, at rate of 5000 children a day.  There is a way to reverse and end this tragedy. The Water Solution is available and saving lives in Africa.  Imagine a small, portable, straw-like device that hangs around the neck of a child and each straw can save a child’s life for one year.

“WATER IS LIFE!” a child exclaims as he sees his siblings live instead of die. Genius inventions like these are changing the world on a global scale — saving lives and bringing children and families back into healthier states.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/19/the-water-crisis-and-how-water-is-life-saves-children-in-africa/feed/ Renew Blue Uses Ocean to Desalinate Itself http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/16/renew-blue-uses-ocean-to-desalinate-itself/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/16/renew-blue-uses-ocean-to-desalinate-itself/#comments Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:37:09 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/16/renew-blue-uses-ocean-to-desalinate-itself/ Ocean waves will power a new desalination plant in Texas.In an elegant piece of sustainable engineering, the company Renew Blue, Inc. will use wave power to run a desalination plant in Freeport, Texas, then bottle the results in corn-based biodegradable plastic for sale under the Renew Blue brand.  The wave power system, called SEADOG, will employ a buoy-and-piston mechanism combined with a water wheel to generate electricity at an offshore platform, enough to power operations at the plant.

Though disposable bottled water is a thorn in the side of sustainability, the reality is that disposable bottles will be with us, at least for some limited uses, far into the foreseeable future.  The Renew Blue solution offers a way to provide the convenience with a lower carbon footprint.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/16/renew-blue-uses-ocean-to-desalinate-itself/feed/ Is Great Lakes Shoreline Public or Private? http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/10/11/is-great-lakes-shoreline-public-or-private/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/10/11/is-great-lakes-shoreline-public-or-private/#comments Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:32:01 +0000 Dave Dempsey http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/10/11/is-great-lakes-shoreline-public-or-private/

Legal skirmishes in Ohio and Michigan are reviving debates over whether those who own Great Lakes shoreline properties exclusively control their waterfront land or whether the public can access and travel along the coast.  The same legal doctrine at issue in these battles is a central focus in current debates about n a time of potential c ommercialization of Great Lakes water.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/10/11/is-great-lakes-shoreline-public-or-private/feed/ Sisters on the Planet United Against Climate Change http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/07/sisters-on-the-planet-united-against-climate-change/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/07/sisters-on-the-planet-united-against-climate-change/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:46:44 +0000 Susanna Schick http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/07/sisters-on-the-planet-united-against-climate-change/ Coastal Women for Change\'s Sharon Hanshaw

A Woman’s Work…

The Governor’s Global Climate Summit ended with Oxfam America’s inaugural Sisters on the Planet Climate Leader Awards. Thanks to Karen Solomon at Opportunity Green, I was able to attend. The event showcased the work that women all over the world are doing to adapt to climate change. Sisters on the Planet is committed to exposing how livelihoods of the majority of the planet’s women are the most severely impacted by climate change. To quote the brochure:

“But if you remember one thing about Sisters on the Planet, make it this: Climate change is already having a disproportionate impact on poor people in the US and abroad, and it’s hitting women hardest.”

Oxfam is working with women all over the world to develop low-cost adaptation techniques relevant to the regions they’re in. Adapting to global warming requires a range of tactics, from helping families in flood-prone regions elevate their homes, build floating vegetable gardens, and store seeds and other necessities safely to helping farmers in drought-prone areas plant trees, drill wells and improve their irrigation techniques. Oxfam’s publication, Adaptation 101, shows the overall cost of some of these projects, and at what level they need to be carried out- in the community or nationally.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/07/sisters-on-the-planet-united-against-climate-change/feed/ WATER: #1 Global Security & Health Concern http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/07/1-global-security-health-concern-water/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/07/1-global-security-health-concern-water/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:56:31 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/07/1-global-security-health-concern-water/

Water scarcity resulting from climate change is the number one issue the world will have to grapple with in the future, according to chief climate scientist and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri.

On the one hand, we will have more water around us with sea level rising. On the other hand, though, drought caused by climate change will leave possibly billions of people without clean water.

This will cause great health and global security issues. Most of these problems will be caused by water imbalances.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/10/07/1-global-security-health-concern-water/feed/ Green Talk Radio: Intelligent Irrigation with Hydropoint http://sustainablog.org/2009/10/06/green-talk-radio-intelligent-irrigation-with-hydropoint/ http://sustainablog.org/2009/10/06/green-talk-radio-intelligent-irrigation-with-hydropoint/#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:00:40 +0000 Sean Daily http://sustainablog.org/2009/10/06/green-talk-radio-intelligent-irrigation-with-hydropoint/ GreenTalk Radio

Hydropoint
Sean Daily, Green Living Ideas‘ Editor-In-Chief, discusses the use of intelligent irrigation technologies to save water and green your landscaping with Chris Spain, CEO of Hydropoint.

[Courtesy of our friends at GreenLivingIdeas.com]

Click Play Below,Right-Click and Choose Save Link/Target As.. to Download Podcast in MP3 FormatorSubscribe to Podcast via iTunes

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]]> http://sustainablog.org/2009/10/06/green-talk-radio-intelligent-irrigation-with-hydropoint/feed/ U.S. Navy Has the Solution to Rising Sea Levels: Drink It http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/05/us-navy-has-the-solution-to-rising-sea-levels-drink-it/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/05/us-navy-has-the-solution-to-rising-sea-levels-drink-it/#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:52:28 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/05/us-navy-has-the-solution-to-rising-sea-levels-drink-it/ New U.S. Navy EUWP Gen II desalination unit uses 65% less energy than conventional systems.

In its search for more fuel efficient ways to provide drinking water for long sea voyages and remote bases, the U.S. Navy has developed a second-generation desalination unit that use 65% less energy than conventional technology.  It’s only in the prototype stage but the Navy is already looking beyond seagoing use, and has deployed an earlier version of the technology to provide emergency water supply to disaster areas.

Called the EUWP (Expeditionary Unit Water Purification Program) Gen 2, the new unit also offers a significant secondary benefit that applies to land operations.  By providing an on-site source for potable water, it eliminates the need to run convoys of tanker trucks.  The generators that power the EUWP units still use conventional fuel, but that could change.  If they could be adapted to run cost-effectively on solar power and other sustainable energy, the door is open to desalination on a mass scale.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/05/us-navy-has-the-solution-to-rising-sea-levels-drink-it/feed/ Algae Blooms in Lake Erie Bring Back Bad Memories http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/10/05/algae-blooms-in-lake-erie-bring-back-bad-memories/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/10/05/algae-blooms-in-lake-erie-bring-back-bad-memories/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:39:08 +0000 Dave Dempsey http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/10/05/algae-blooms-in-lake-erie-bring-back-bad-memories/

Lyngbya wollei, south shore Maumee Bay in Ohio, September 23, 2009.

Lake Erie, declared dead by the news media in the 1960s because of widespread, repulsive algae blooms, is once again marred, this time by both old and new causes. Some scientists and lake advocates worry that the unsightly algae is a warning of a lake once again in decline.

Tom Bridgeman, a lake scientist with the University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center, said, “I’ve never seen the water as green as it was this year — and it’s not showing any signs of dying off yet. This is a growing problem.” Increased phosphorus runoff from farms and city streets, coupled with the feeding and excretion habits of non-native mussels introduced through ballast water, is believed to be associated with the resurgent blooms.

The western end of the lake has suffered from a surge in microsystis algae this summer. Bridgeman hypothesizes that in addition to phosphorus, underwater sediment shifts are culpable.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/10/05/algae-blooms-in-lake-erie-bring-back-bad-memories/feed/ Solar Energy Breakthrough: Goal of MIT Team http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/29/solar-energy-breakthrough-goal-of-mit-team/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/29/solar-energy-breakthrough-goal-of-mit-team/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:32:02 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/29/solar-energy-breakthrough-goal-of-mit-team/

MIT professor Daniel Nocera formed a company earlier this year to commercialize a new technology that can “split water” and store solar energy. The company’s key objective now: achieve a solar energy breakthrough.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/29/solar-energy-breakthrough-goal-of-mit-team/feed/ Qatar to Green the Desert, Opening Agriculture and Pastoral Lands http://ecoworldly.com/2009/09/29/qatar-to-green-the-desert-opening-agriculture-and-pastoral-lands/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/09/29/qatar-to-green-the-desert-opening-agriculture-and-pastoral-lands/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:00:08 +0000 Amiel Blajchman http://ecoworldly.com/2009/09/29/qatar-to-green-the-desert-opening-agriculture-and-pastoral-lands/ GemsbokQatar’s Ministry of the Environment is working with Damascus-based Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD) to convert Qatar’s desert regions into pastoral and agricultural lands. Greening the Qatari desert is a priority for the government, attempting to undo the effects of modern rangeland management techniques.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/09/29/qatar-to-green-the-desert-opening-agriculture-and-pastoral-lands/feed/ Dog Death Caps Summer of Blue-Green Algae in MN http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/09/28/dog-death-caps-summer-of-blue-green-algae-in-mn/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/09/28/dog-death-caps-summer-of-blue-green-algae-in-mn/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:12:39 +0000 Dave Dempsey http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/09/28/dog-death-caps-summer-of-blue-green-algae-in-mn/

Blue-green algae blooms on Minnesota lakes are linked to a dog death and illnesses, and apparently caused by runoff pollution.

The death of a dog after it frolicked in a Minnesota lake plagued with blue-green algae was a sad coda for a late summer in the state. Although no necropsy was done, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said  “the circumstances and manner of death were consistent with exposure to algal toxins.” He added that the MPCA had received reports of several other sick dogs likely exposed to the algae.

Compounding the sadness, the dog that died after exposure in Fox Lake, a black Lab named Sady, was a wedding gift to the dog’s owners from a friend and soldier killed in Iraq.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/09/28/dog-death-caps-summer-of-blue-green-algae-in-mn/feed/ ROTEC’s Reverse Osmosis System Desalinates Brackish Groundwater http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/28/rotecs-reverse-osmosis-system-desalinates-brackish-groundwater/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/28/rotecs-reverse-osmosis-system-desalinates-brackish-groundwater/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:42:45 +0000 Amiel Blajchman http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/28/rotecs-reverse-osmosis-system-desalinates-brackish-groundwater/ IBM has introduced a new set of products and services designed to support smarter water use.Traditionally, if you are in a water-poor region that has access to desalination technology and seawater, you were in luck. Israeli cleantechnology company ROTEC has developed a reverse osmosis system designed to remove salts from brackish groundwater. In other words, nowhere near the sea.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/28/rotecs-reverse-osmosis-system-desalinates-brackish-groundwater/feed/