Blogs

6,000 gal. of water to light a bulb?

Hank Green — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:31:30 PDT

We're used to calculating carbon efficiency, or how much CO2 is produced along with a unit of energy. But there's a lot more to the environmental equation than how much carbon gets produced. We've also got to consider things like heavy metals, particulate production, and habitat impacted.

Increasingly, another environmental concern is starting to pop up when considering power generation. Already, many parts of the world are experiencing serious fresh water shortages, and that isn't helped because many methods of generating power also consume massive amounts of water.

A recent study was published yesterday by researchers at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute quantifying a bunch of different factors in water use in the energy industry. Some of the figures are staggering.

Using America's current power mix, it takes up to 6,000 gallons of fresh water to keep a 60-watt lightbulb lit for 12 hours a day for a year. Most of this energy is consumed as a cooling fluid at power plants.

The most water-efficient power generating sources were wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric plants.Â Nuclear power plants, with their massive cooling towers, use the most water per watt produced.

The researchers were quick to point out that while biofuels were more carbon-efficient than fossil fuel alternatives like gasoline, they are far less water-efficient, already adding significantly to the world's water shortages.

Via Crave

Living lighter with Aveda

Trystan L. Bass — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:56:12 PDT

Beauty products company Aveda is celebrating Earth Day during the month of April, which its done for the past decade. This year's campaign supports organic farming and clean water.

Known for using sustainable ingredients and renewable energy, now the company is selling a limited-edition candle with organic lavender. All proceeds will go the Global Greengrants Fund to protect clean water around the planet.

If you're going into an Aveda store, make sure to bring your old bottle caps -- the plastic ones from soda bottles, laundry detergent, cleansers, shampoo, etc. Most of these aren't recycled by standard recycling systems, so they're tossed into the garbage.

Aveda and Shape magazine have teamed up to get those caps back. Through May 10, 2008, Aveda stores will collect hard plastic bottle caps. The company will use them to make caps for a 30th-anniversary shampoo coming out in September.

You can even get a free sample of Aveda's hair or body-care products when you bring in 25 or more caps. If there's no Aveda store nearby, you can also mail the caps in. Read all the details on Shape.com.

How the world wastes $100 billion per year

Hank Green — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:53:15 PDT

Bottled water is either the largest hoax ever pulled offÂ or a marvelous example of exactly how lazy we, as a species, really are.

The world spends $100 billion on bottled water every year. Strangely enough, this water does not get to the millions of sick and dying people who do not have access to clean drinking water.

To bring potable water to the entire world would cost around $30 billion -- less than half of the amount that people who already have clean drinking water spend on bottles of the stuff every year.

I am honestly very angry about this, and I haven't even gotten into the environmental problems. In fact, I'm not going to ... I'm just going to leave it there ... and have this be my monthly rant at EcoGeek.

Data via Earth Policy

Bottles, bottles, everywhere

Ramon Cruz — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:38:01 PDT

This post is by Ramon Cruz, Senior Policy Analyst for Living Cities at Environmental Defense Fund.

It's ironic. In many parts of the world, there is no clean drinking water. Here in the U.S., pure, drinkable water flows out of every tap, and yet Americans buy a staggering amount of bottled water. We pay big bucks for it, too â more than $15 billion a year.

Worse of all, the bottles are overflowing our landfills and contributing to global warming. Take a look at this video from Doug James:

Also illustrating the case against bottled water:Â

More than a quarter of bottled water is just processed tap water, including Pepsi's Aquafina and Coca-Cola's Dasani. Despite this, bottled water consumption is growing at 10 percent a year, faster than any other beverage. We drink 15 times more bottled water today than we did in 1976.

This doesn't mean we're healthier, despite the ads. Federal regulations for municipal water are far more stringent. Bottled water rules allow higher levels of many contaminants, with more lenient requirements for filtration, testing, and reporting. See NRDCâs bottled water report for details of contaminants by brand.

The earth isnât healthier for it, either. According to the Pacific Instituteâs fact sheet (PDF), manufacturing the 30+ billion plastic water bottles we bought in 2006 required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil, produced more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, and used three times the amount of water in the bottle.

And these numbers don't include transporting the bottles. Nearly 25 percent of bottled water crosses national borders before reaching consumers.

Adding in transportation, the energy used comes to more 50 million barrels of oil equivalent -- enough to run 3 million cars for a year.

Case study: Fiji water
Fiji Water produces more than a million bottles of water a day, while more than half the people in Fiji do not have reliable drinking water (see this Fast Company article). Adding to the irony, Fiji itself uses almost no bottled water, according to a Pacific Institute report (PDF). They export it.

Shipping Fiji Water around the world increases its environmental footprint. Manufacturing and shipping a one-liter bottle produces over half a pound of greenhouse gas emissions and uses nearly 7 times the amount of water in the bottle, according to calculations by Pablo PÃ¤ster on TriplePundit.

The heavy use of water is as serious as the greenhouse gas emissions. Water is fast becoming a scarce resource.

What about recycling?
Recycling would help, but we donât usually do it. Less than 20 percent of the 28 billion single-serving water bottles that Americans buy each year are recycled. Some estimates are as low as 12 percent.

According to a Container Recycling Institute report (PDF), the national recycling rate for all beverage containers is 33 percent. In states with deposit systems, the rate jumps to 65-95 percent. But of the 11 states with deposit laws, only three include containers for non-carbonated beverages (like water), though non-carbonated beverages now comprise 27 percent of the market.

Last November, Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) introduced a national bottle bill to address global warming that includes water bottles and other non-carbonated beverage containers.

The beverage industry, which long resisted deposit laws, has started to cooperate â mainly because it sees bottled water as the answer to the soda sales slump. Following months of bad publicity, manufacturers like Coke, Pepsi, and NestlÃ© have begun making lighter-weight plastic bottles and are encouraging consumers to recycle.

Better yet, carry tap water
If you buy bottled water, recycle the bottle. But the better solution â for you and the environment â is to drink tap water, both at home and at restaurants:

Tap water is cleaner than most bottled water.
Tap water is delivered to homes and offices for $0.002 a gallon. Bottled water, which can cost as much per gallon as gasoline, is a thousand times more expensive.

The quality of municipal water in the U.S. is generally excellent. Donât let the recent reports about pharmaceuticals in tap water deter you â see this TreeHugger post for why.

But if you donât trust tap water or you have old plumbing or you think tap water tastes funny, then try a water filter like those from PUR or Brita. To learn more about water filters, check out the rated list of water filter review sites at Consumer Search.

To carry water with you, use a reusable container filled with tap water. But donât reuse single-use water bottles. This can expose you to bacterial build-up and carcinogens leached from the plastic.

Quite a few companies make reusable water bottles. Thereâs an ongoing debate about the safety of the polycarbonate plastic some use, but there are many safe reusable bottles made from other materials.

Use it or lose it
National Geographicâs Green Guide notes, "the federal share of funding for water systems has declined from 78 percent in 1973 to 3 percent today." This places the financial burden almost entirely on local governments.

Food and Water Watch also talks about how important it is to stop this trend and maintain the quality of municipal water. Its Take Back the Tap (PDF) report gives a detailed overview of the issues surrounding tap water versus bottled water.

Cleaner, but at what price?

Trystan L. Bass — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:17:02 PDT

The Olympic torch has begun its around-the-world relay to Beijing for the start of the 2008 Summer Games. Likewise, the Chinese government is racing to improve the environment in Beijing. The organizing committee is even promoting this as a "green Olympics."

But if China's record on human rights -- including the recent problems in Tibet -- are any indication, the Communist country's environmental claims merit a closer look.

The biggest issue is air quality. China's capital is notorious for brown, smoggy skies caused by coal-fired power plants, coal-burning stoves, and tons of exahust-belching traffic. This is aggravated in spring and early summer by sandstorms that shroud the city for days.

According to the latest U.N. report, Beijing's air is improving, but slowly. Most pollutants in the atmosphere have finally dropped below the World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines, but small particulate matter is still very high, as much as 200% over the safe levels.

Time magazine notes that reporters have found Beijing's Environmental Protection Bureau less than forthcoming about statistics. Is the government misreporting the current air quality?

Blogger Tim Johnson offers photographic evidence of not-so 'blue sky days' in Beijing this month. Judge for yourself if you'd want to run a marathon in that.

Water is another crucial issue in northern China -- Beijing already has to import water from the south and will need a lot more to support the estimated 2.5 million Olympic visitors. This is not without problems.

Neighboring Hebei province is being sucked dry by Beijing and is suffering from saline contamination. Groundwater in the coastal Qinhuangdao area has become unpotable.

Chinese news sources claim that water conservation efforts are being made. And "water from Hebei will be used as emergency supplies" during the Olympics.

But not everyone is satisfied. Another area nearby is also being drained for the Olympics, and one official is complaining. A leader in the Shaanxi province, An Qiyuan, wants compensation. He said: "In order to preserve the quality of Beijing's water we have to close all our factories." So the environmental impact is compounded by the economic impact.

The Beijing Games has personally affected the lives of people in the city. Somewhere between 14,000 to 1.25 million people have been displaced from their homes to build Olympic buildings, shopping malls, parks, etc. Beijing's Municipal Construction Committee reports the smaller number, and the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions estimates the larger one. Either way, it's a serious disruption, and not everyone has been moved by choice.

Animals have been relocated as well as people. In one of the more gruesome stories to come out of China, the U.K.'s Daily Mail reports on thousands of cats being rounded up for extermination. Beijing wants people to believe that cats carry disease, and pet owners are forced into abandoning the animals. The goal seems to be cleaning the streets in advance of the Summer Games.

So what good may be coming out China's Olympic ambitions?

To clear pollution by getting cars of the road, Beijing has expanded its public transportation. First to open was Line 5 (check out the great photos on TreeHugger), which connects multiple lines in the once-underused system. Beijing also got a new airport with additional subway lines that connect to it.

Even better, the government lowered fares on the subway to encourage ridership.

Other infrastructure upgrades in the city should be beneficial to residents long after the Games are gone. The World Watch Institute reports that Beijing now treats 90% of its wastewater (up from 42% in 2001), and solid waste treatment is at 97%.

Little things have changed for the better too. For example, as we noted earlier this year, China has banned plastic bags to cut back on litter.

Will these improvements balance out the harsh steps taken to get there? Will the Olympics open China up to a greener future after the last medal is awarded?

Hard to say. We'll just have to wait and watch this summer and beyond.

Restaurants tap into water

Trystan L. Bass — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:27:42 PDT

New York City's famed Algonquin Hotel, Zagat-rated l'Absinthe Restaurant, and flashy Ruby Foo's on Times Square all are serving up tap water. The posh A.O.C. restaurant and wine bar in Los Angeles is adding tap water to its list of potables. And San Francisco's influential Slanted Door restaurant is going with plain ol' H2O too.

Why are more than 2,000 restaurants around the U.S. selling glasses of ordinary tap water for a buck this week?

It's called the TAP Project, and this is a nationwide effort supporting UNICEF and World Water Day.

Between March 16 and March 22, participating restaurants will serve tap water at $1 a glass. For every dollar raised, a child in a developing country will have clean drinking water for 40 days.

Search on the project's website to find restaurants near you. More are still being added.

If there isn't one in your town, you can also donate directly to the TAP project.

UNICEF's water sanitation work reaches out to the 425 million children around the world who don't have access to clean water. The TAP Project makes it easy to help right now at your local restaurant.

A cool, clean drink of water

Trystan L. Bass — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:00:21 PDT

In the U.S., we often take clean water for granted. Turn on the tap and - ta-da! - drinkable H₂O. But across huge swaths of the planet, it's not that simple.

According to the United Nations, 2.6 billion people - that's 41% of the global population - lack access to clean water.

That's why the U.N. has set aside March 22 as World Water Day, which calls on governments and individuals to recognize how crucial water is to our health, economy, and environment.

While the numbers can be staggering - 6,000 children die each day from diseases that could have been prevented by having access to clean water and sanitation - the solutions are surprisingly simple.

A mere one-dollar investment in providing access to clean water will return seven dollars in economic productivity, because people don't get sick, don't miss work and school, and live longer.

Folks like you and I can help those in the developing world get access to sanitation.

One way is through the Give PÅªRÂ® Water campaign. For every P&GbrandSAVERÂ® coupon you redeem during March and April 2008, Procter & Gamble will donate one liter of safer, cleaner drinking water to needy children in developing countries. Look for these coupons in your Sunday newspaper.

You can also give directly to a nonprofit like WaterAid America, which works in communities around the world to build clean water systems. A donation of just $30 can train a mason to build latrines in Nepal, while a contribution of $120 can buy a rope-pulley water pump in Uganda.

You can also donate your time, either in person or online, through WaterPartners International, a nonprofit group that helps provide safe drinking water and sanitation around the world. It also works with U.S. schools to raise awareness, create unique fundraisers, and inspire the next generation to help the planet.

On March 22, you can participate in live or virtual water marches sponsored by Starbucks. In New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Las Vegas, and other cities, people will walk miles to draw attention to water issues. These marches are inspired by the 3-6-mile journey women and children in many countries make every day just to get water.

Dip your toes in these great opportunities to help the world to a cleaner drink of water!

Low-cost ways to conserve water at home

Kendra Tupper — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:15:18 PDT

"When the well's dry, we know the worth of water."

-Benjamin Franklin

If you live in an area where water shortages are not an issue, consider yourself lucky. Nearly 450 million people in 29 countries face severe water shortages. Predictions indicate that within 5 years, at least 36 U.S. states will face water shortages due to a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, and waste.Â

But there is hope -- research has shown that residential water use could be reduced by as much as 50 percent through efficiency. Here are a few simple, low-cost suggestions for reducing your family's water consumption.Â

Reduce water use from showers and faucets
Although it's often the smallest room in the house, the bathroom is where 75 percent of indoor household water consumption occurs. Seem impossible? Consider this: The average 6-minute shower uses about 20 gallons of water! Reduce this amount with the following tips:Â

No cost: Limit shower time to 5 minutes or less.
Less than $10: Install an on/off valve between the shower arm and showerhead. This temporarily shuts off the flow while maintaining the temperature, and can be a useful water-saver while soaping up or shaving.
$10-$50: Install a low-flow (less than 2 gallons per minute) showerhead. Previous low-flow showerheads sacrificed water pressure for efficiency, but now there are many options (GAIAM and Delta make two of my favorites) that don't simulate a dripping faucet.
$20-$50: Insulate all accessible hot-water pipes, especially those within 3 feet of the water heater. You'll get hot water faster, avoid wasting H₂O while it heats up, and save energy in the process.

Finally, fit all household faucets with low-flow aerators (less than two gallons per minute). This is the best in-home water conservation method, and it's also the cheapest.Â

Toilets are the enemy
Each day, the U.S. uses 5.8 billion gallons of fresh water to flush waste. If you're in the market for a new porcelain throne, check out options with either a very low (less than 1.6) gallon per flush (gpf) rating, or dual flush controls.

This new technology provides 2 buttons for flushing: one at 1.6 gpf for solid waste, and another at only 0.8 gpf for liquids. These double-duty flushers can reduce water usage by up to 67 percent compared with traditional toilets.Â

Feeling even earthier? Go for a waterless composting toilet and be the envy of all your neighbors!Â

And if you haven't budgeted for a new toilet, try these quick fixes:Â

Check for leaks: Put a little food coloring in your toilet tank. If the color begins to appear in the bowl within 30 minutes, you have a leak that should be repaired. Most replacement parts are inexpensive and easy to install.
Displace water: Most older toilets don't require nearly as much water as they use (3.5-5 gallons) to flush properly. To "trick" your toilet into using less water, place a half-gallon plastic bottle inside your toilet tank to displace water volume. (Be sure at least 2.5 gallons of water remain in the tank so it will flush properly.) Ideally, weigh down the bottle with sand or pebbles so it doesn't interfere with the tank mechanisms. This simple retrofit could save a three-person family 225 gallons of water per month! Not a do-it-yourselfer? For only a few dollars, you can purchase a prepared toilet bag designed to displace 0.8 gallons of water with every flush.

Minimize appliance water consumption
Outside the bathroom, most water is used to wash clothes and dishes. Rather than wearing dirty clothes and using paper plates, keep these tips in mind while tackling daily chores:Â

Fully loaded: Dishwashers and clothes washers should be operated when full for optimum water conservation. If you must wash partial loads, adjust the water levels as appropriate.
The dishwasher is your friend: Even old-school dishwashers don't use as much water per dish as hand-washing. Newer, more efficient dishwashers use only 1/6 of the water used during hand-washing, and save 230 hours of yourtime each year.
Scrape, don't rinse: Pre-rinsing dishes before loading the dishwasher is unnecessary. Scrape off food and then trust that bad boy to do its job.
Pass on permanent press: Avoid the permanent press cycle when washing clothes, which uses an additional 5 gallons for the extra rinse.
Upgrade your equipment: Consider buying a water-saving front-loading clothes washer, or a top-loading one with no central agitator. Check ENERGY STAR for ideas and ratings.

Kendra Tupper is a consultant with the Energy & Resources Team at Rocky Mountain Institute.Â

China going 'toilet to tap' by 2010

Hank Green — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:57:59 PST

Envirovore just got finished dissecting one of China's more questionable environmental policies (feeding pollution to fish and then the fish to people).

Well here's another environmental decision that, while more sound, still gives me the willies...

Converting waste water to drinkable water has long been the holy grail of water treatment. Generally, we can only get the water just clean enough to dump it into some body of water without causing too much harm to the system.

Cleaning it to the point where it is once again safe to drink is possible, but has remained prohibitively expensive.

Tongji University's Siqing Xia is both lead researcher and champion for his small-scale water-reclamation facility. Right now, the facility creates "gray water" that is suitable for things like flushing toilets and irrigation.

But after a bit of further treatment through ion-exchange and reverse osmosis filtration, the facility could produce tasty drinkable water.

Xia hopes to have a full-scale toilet-to-tap project operating in time for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. We can't help but wish him luck.

Unfortunately, it seems that convincing the population that they should drink this water might be even more difficult than making it economically viable. But when a country grows like China and demands for water are ever-increasing, these sorts of technologies will be vital to keeping those pressures off the rivers and aquifers.

Via TreeHugger

Environmentally and technologically advanced crappers

Gavin D.J. Harper — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 10:40:50 PST

Europe is beating the pants off America when it comes to low-flow toilets. One pint of water per flush might be something to write home about on your side of the pond, but here in Europe, we've already seen our fair share of water-less urinals.

It turns out that the two main problems with not having water run around your loo after each pee are odor and blockage. Odor isn't as much of a problem as you would think, as specially designed traps can pretty much eliminate smells escaping. The other problem is blockage -- solids and salts accumulate in the traps of waterless urinals -- however, two litres of hot water a week poured down them is enough to ensure they stay clear.

Furthermore, the people at IFO have solutions for times when you just have to sit down. Some of their loos will clear the bowl using as little as two litres of water for less serious matters -- whilst effectively clearing the bowl using as little as four litres -- a shade over a U.S. gallon.

Furthermore, you can take water out of the equation altogether. This may seem a little extreme to the average U.S. consumer but might appeal to EcoGeeks -- the 'composting toilet' is now being carried at Home Depot. A compost toilet biologically digests waste to produce harmless compost as a waste product. If the balance of biological functions in a composting toilet is maintained at the correct levels then it should emit no odor at all!

Not so fantastic plastic

Trystan L. Bass — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 09:23:05 PST

Green New Year's resolution: B.Y.O.B.

Bring your own bottle and bag in 2008, so you can avoid adding to the endless pile of plastic in our landfills and oceans.

Sure, some plastics are almost impossible to avoid, and a few types can be recycled into useful new materials. But the ubiquitous water bottle and plastic grocery bag are pretty darn wasteful, plus they're very easy to replace with things we can reuse for years.

Buy a sturdy water bottle to fill and take with you. Get some canvas or nylon shopping bags to use at stores -- more supermarkets are giving a couple cents' rebate for each reusable bag you bring too.

Much of the bottled water sold in the U.S. is no better than tap water. Corporate Accountability International points out the water bottling industry is less regulated than the U.S. municipal water supply.

And in blind taste tests, people can't really tell the difference between tap water and fancy so-called springwater. So why pay a markup of 240 to 10,000 times more for bottled H20?

If you don't like the taste of the water in your home, check out filters. These are a more sustainable solution and cheaper in the long run.

Like bottled water, plastic grocery bags are a recent phenomenon. They've only been with us since the late 1970s and early 1980s, but now Americans throw away at least 100 billion every year. Only 2% are recycled, and the plastic isn't a great quality for recycling anyway.

Ireland's plastic bag tax in 2002 has been a big success, reducing use by 90%. Other countries around the world have banned plastic bags, or businesses charge extra for plastic bags.

San Francisco, CA, recently passed a law banning plastic bags at large stores. In Austin, TX, Whole Foods Market started phasing out plastic bags entirely.

Once you get in the habit of taking your own bags to the store, you'll love how convenient they are. Fabric bags don't rip like paper or plastic, and the handles on many of the models make these bags much easier to carry.

Water's all bottled up

David Price — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:16:53 PST

It used to be that drinking water came out of a tap. It was fresh, cold, pure, and (one would hope) straight from a nearby mountain spring. Bottled water was for foreign travel and fancy-pants dining. Then something changed. Maybe it was the bad taste, maybe it was the fluoride, maybe it was that hunky Sparkletts delivery guy, but somewhere along the way we decided tap water was bad. And if tap water was bad for us, then bottled water had to be a healthy and cost-efficient option -- right? Not so fast.

Several studies have shown that bottled water is no healthier than good ol' tap water. Critics note that the bottled stuff costs more and with all that plastic actually does more harm to the environment.

But despite those concerns, business isn't too bad. Bottled water is more popular than ever. Wily entrepreneurs are opening specialized water bars and some parched rich folks are shelling out big bucks for bejeweled bling. We guess the Swarovski crystals help the flavor.

Maybe we'll just buy a water filter and stick with the free stuff from the tap.

Suggested sites:

Bottled Water: The Corporate Cover Up - is the bottled water industry taking advantage of us all?
International Bottled Water Association - bringing water to the people.
All Plastic Bottles - be sure to recycle those bottles.
Mesage in a Bottle - why do Americans spend more on bottled water than iPods?

Directory categories: Bottled Water, Bottled Water Brand Names, Promotional Bottled Water, Water

Originally posted on The Spark, a daily blog where Yahoo! Directory editors highlight new and interesting content on the Web.

Every little bit counts

Sheryl Canter — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:00:07 PST

This post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense.

Have you ever been on a diet, gone to a function with delicious-looking desserts, and told yourself, "One cookie isn't going to make me fat"?

One cookie may not make you fat, but how many "cookie moments" occur during your day, your week? If your answer is always that this one little cookie can't hurt, you will not lose weight.

Conserving energy is sort of like going on a group diet where every person, dozens of times a day, has a "cookie moment."

Does it really matter if I leave on the lights in my home when I go out? Does it really matter if I don't recycle this container? Does it really matter if I keep my chargers plugged in when not in use?

The short answer is yes, it matters. There are myriad things you can do to conserve energy and fight global warming. Each action by itself is small and painless, but taken together the effect can be huge.

Here's a list of easy things you can do that will make a big difference.

Most of the electricity in this country comes from coal-fired plants that emit huge amounts of carbon, so:

Turn off the light when you leave a room, and turn off all the lights when you leave your home.
Change your bulbs to compact fluorescents (now - don't wait for the old bulbs to burn out).
Don't leave chargers plugged in when not in use. They suck up electricity just sitting there.
Buy energy-efficient appliances.
Turn off your computer at night rather than leaving it in stand-by mode.
Many appliances, such as televisions, can't be completely turned off except by unplugging them. Appliances in stand-by mode account for 5 percent of the electricity used in the U.S. To turn them off completely, use a power strip.

Paper comes from trees, which suck up carbon, so:

Buy recycled paper products. Visit our Paper Calculator to learn more about why this helps.
Use only the paper towels and toilet paper that you need.
Only print out emails and articles when you really need to.
Recycle paper -- newspapers, magazines, scratch paper, junk mail, everything you can.
Cancel unwanted catalogs at Catalog Choice.
Bring a reusable shopping bag with you to the store.

Manufacturing products of any kind uses energy and creates emissions, so:

Don't buy things you don't need and won't use.
Borrow from your local library instead of buying books you'll read only once.
Give away or recycle what you no longer want.
Give old eyeglasses to your local eyeglass store -- they can pass them onto people in need.
Bring your old cell phone back to the cell phone store for recycling.
Give away old appliances, computers, clothes, etc.
Earth 911 can help you find recycling resources.

It takes a significant amount of electricity to supply municipal water, so:

Take showers instead of baths, and don't linger in the shower.
Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.
Don't run dish washers and clothes washers half full.
Don't water your lawn unnecessarily.
Fix leaky faucets, and install low-flow faucets and shower heads.
Check out more water conservation tips from the EPA.

Heating and cooling use a lot of electricity, so:

Make sure your house is adequately insulated. If snow melts quickly off your roof, you need more insulation in the attic.
Wrap your water heater in insulation.
Wash clothes in cold water -- they will still be clean, and they'll last longer, too.
Line-dry clothes if you can, instead of using a clothes dryer.
Keep your thermostat down in winter and up in summer -- don't overheat or overcool your home.

Cars are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, so:

Group your errands so you only drive into town once for all the things you need to buy and do.
Have your car tuned regularly, and check tire pressure. An
untuned engine burns more gas, as do cars with underpressurized tires.
When buying a new car, buy the vehicle with the best mileage that meets your needs.
Walk, bike, or use public transportation instead of driving whenever possible. If you have to drive, carpool where possible.
See our previous post for more tips for cleaner driving.

If you're willing to go to greater lengths, that's wonderful. Many homeowners are finding that lowered costs and state subsidies are making solar panels much more affordable. See "No Impact Man" for how a New Yorker eliminated his carbon footprint altogether.Â

But you don't have to do the hard stuff to make a difference. Every little bit counts.

You can find more tips and ideas on our Fight Global Warming Web site.

Save energy by saving water, and vice versa

Mary Kelly — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 13:46:20 PST

This post is by Mary Kelly, Attorney and Co-Director, Land, Water, and Wildlife Program at Environmental Defense.

If you've been watching the news, you know we have a climate problem, and you may also know we have a drinking water problem in some parts of the country.

What you may not realize is that these two problems are related.

Yes, global warming can impact rainfall, but that's not all. The water-supply sector uses large amounts of energy to transport, treat, and deliver water. On the flip side, vast quantities of water are required to generate power.

Every year, the U.S. thermoelectric industry uses 3.3 billion gallons of water [PDF]. That's 20 percent of all the water used in the country, excluding agriculture. And this number is projected to more than double to 7.3 billion gallons by 2030.

Water is used in all stages in the creation of energy: extracting, processing, refining, and transporting fuel to power generation plants. Power plants themselves also uses vast amounts of water, particularly for the towers that cool the water heated in the generators.

Then there's the energy used to treat and deliver water.

California was among the first states to take a close look at this, and they discovered that supplying municipal water accounted for almost 20 percent of the electricity used in the state [PDF].

On average, 75 percent of the cost of municipal water comes from the electricity used to capture, treat, distribute, and use the water. After the water is used, more energy is required to treat the wastewater.

As cities grow, particularly in water-scarce areas, supplying municipal water uses increasingly more energy. Understanding this relationship highlights the importance of conserving water and practicing energy efficiency.

For every kilowatt saved, water also is saved. For every gallon of water not used, energy usage is reduced. Investments in and incentives for energy and water conservation must be our highest priority.

In addition to bolstering our conservation efforts at all levels, states and the federal government need to better integrate water and energy supply planning. Other states should follow Californiaâs example and quantify the local relationship between energy and water.

Environmental Defense is partnering with the Jackson School at the University of Texas to quantify this relationship in Texas. This information will help the state evaluate water and power projects to ensure that these resources are available to citizens in the future.

Dry to the bone

Trystan L. Bass — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:49:03 PDT

Parts of the U.S. are learning about water conservation the hard way right now. Georgia has declared a state of emergency due to drought.

Much of the southern U.S. is suffering -- Alabama, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Florida also have below- normal rainfall to near drought conditions this year.

And other parts of the country are historically dry anyway, so conservation is a good idea year-round.

Arizona's Water â Use It Wisely site overflows with good tips to reduce water use around the house. Some you may have heard about, like don't let the water run while brushing your teeth.

Others may be new.

Instead of using the garbage disposal, compost to save water. Put a bucket in the shower to catch excess water, then use that to flush toilets or water plants. Get inspired by the monthly calendar of seasonal tips.

Want to go a bit farther? Check out Conserve Water Georgia's links for creative ideas like reusing water from your air conditioning unit or collecting rain water.

The same site also notes that leaking faucets and toilets waste about 8 percent of water in an average house. But you don't have to call a plumber.

Start by finding leaks for yourself. The Southern Nevada Water Authority has a series of handy videos about leaks in your house's plumbing, plus videos about smart irrigation and indoor water-saving tips.

Got a leaky faucet? Count the number of drips in a minute, and the WaterWiser Drip Calculator will estimate how much H2O that fixture is wasting. You'll want to fix it fast!

I like Expert Village's video showing how to change out a worn washer that's usually the cause of the drippy faucet. HowStuffWorks has good step-by-step instructions, if you prefer learning that way.

I've fixed this problem at my own kitchen sink. It's pretty fast and very cheap. Less expensive than the water bill, that's for sure.

That's the most obvious kind of leak, but something may be lurking in the bathroom too. Toiletology will show you how to test if your loo is leaking. Go to the site's Lesson Plan to see if you can fix it yourself (not as hard as you think!) or if you really should call a plumber.

Speaking of toilets, hearken back to the '70s and remember the old hippie conservation slogan: if it's yellow, let it mellow / if it's brown, flush it down. Consider that a short-term fix before you can install a low-flow toilet.

Grey water for flushing

Hank Green — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 10:22:00 PDT

Large-scale LEED projects sometimes install massive systems to treat and re-use grey water (water from sinks that has been used for washing, as opposed to sewage waste, which is termed black water) for flushing toilets. Now, you can do the same thing in your very own home!

The Aqus system collects the water from a bathroom sink and filters and disinfects it before it gets re-used as flush water for an adjacent toilet. (There is nothing that would prevent this from being used in a large-scale LEED project either.)

"Our system is expected to save between 10 and 20 gallons of fresh water per day for two person bathrooms with normal activities. This represents between 3,650 and 7,300 gallons of fresh water saved per year. An equal amount of wastewater cost is also saved." This would mean an annual savings of $40.88 to $81.76 (based on an average rate of $5.60 per 1,000 gallons) from using a device like this.

The Aqus system can be retrofitted to an existing toilet without great difficulty (the company likens it to the difficulty of installing a new toilet and/or an over-the-stove microwave oven). It can be connected to a standard 1.6 gallon two-piece toilet.

via: Architectural Products magazine