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Re: Shorter showers
2008-04-11 03:24:27 UTC
You might also suggest that people use the shower in their home that is closest to the hot water tank. In our home there is more than 40 feet of horizontal length plus ten vertical feet between the shower that is closest to the water heater and the shower that is furthest from the water heater. We all now use the shower on the first floor next to the guest room rather than the upstairs showers near our bedrooms. So the total volume of water in 50 feet of pipe is saved for each person that showers each day. (because less water is wasted while waiting for the hot water to reach the shower head) Most US indoor plumbing pipes are 3/8 inch in diameter. So we save 5.3 cubic inches of water for each foot of pipe. In our case thats 5.3ci x 50ft x 4 people x 365 days = 386,900 cubic inches (1,674.89 US Gallons) of water saved annually simply by using a different shower. We also use a five gallon bucket in the tub to capture the water that flows before the shower water is warm enough to enter. That water is then used on plants both inside and outside so we do not need to run the drip irrigation system for landscaping. It can also be used to refill the toilet tank reservoir after flushing. Another water saving tactic we have used is to start a CD playing right when the kids enter the shower. They know they are supposed to be done before the end of the same song every time. We had used a cooking timer but they seemed to drift off and lose track of time. By using a CD they can monitor the music and develop a consistent pace that works better than an unmonitored visual timer.
Toward zero waste,
Bob Hollis
Robert W. Hollis,
CEO Carnegie Partners, LLC
Ph (916) 717-8108
eFax (916) 290-0312
[email protected]
www.CarnegiePartners.com
www.RecyclingJobs.com
www.GreenTechnologyJobs.com -
WiserEarth Enviro Community
2007-06-22 13:08:18 UTC
I recently came across an online community web site created by Paul Hawken that might interest a lot of people on the FSB and GreenYes Listservs. The site is: http://WiserEarth.org/. I have heard it described as a "MySpace" for environmentalists. Here is a link to an article on the site from the San Francisco Bay Guardian: http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=3903
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Re: Graduate programs in sustainability
2007-06-22 12:43:58 UTC
I am currently taking classes through the Harvard distance learning program that will eventually lead to a Masters in Environmental Management with a concentration in sustainability. All but one of the classes needed for a masters degree can be completed online, so in addition to the students who attend in person the classes often include students from all over the world participating over the internet. Harvard also offers an environmental management graduate certificate program that can be completed entirely online. The class sessions are video recorded each week and can be viewed online by registered students. Information can be found at: http://www.extension.harvard.edu/envr/default.jsp. Duke also has a great program that can be completed online, http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/del/del-mem/.
All the best,
Bob Hollis
Robert W. Hollis,
CEO Carnegie Partners, LLC
Ph (916) 717-8108
eFax (916) 290-0312
[email protected]
www.CarnegiePartners.com
www.RecyclingJobs.com -
RE: Zero Waste Music Festivals?
2007-05-23 11:55:13 UTC
Thank you Scottie,
I actually have several friends who go to Burning Man every year and I am on the "JackRabbitSpeaks" mailing list. I am greatly appreciative of the FSB and the GreenYes lists for ALL of the responses I have received!!! (most of them were off-list) Over the next few months I hope to pull all of the information I can gather into one document and will post it to one of my web sites for free distribution. It will also include a section specifically for road-tripping music fans who tour following "jam" bands. I currently serve as an advisory board member for RocktheEarth and as the Summer Tour Coordinator for HeadCount I worked with The Dead, Phish and Dave Mathews Band managing their voter registration programs. I also serve on the boards of a few other music related non-profits and have some good connections to numerous touring bands throughout the US. Once vetted by some of my friends with zero waste and sustainability expertise, I will provide whatever I can pull together to all of my friends in the music industry to post on their web sites as well. I think it would be great to have a repository for a "Living" document on greening festivals specifically and the music industry in general that could be continually updated with contributions of "best practices" and new ideas submitted by festival organizers, musicians, sustainability experts and fans. Another possibility would be to create a web site with links to the "greening" section of each of the major festival web sites with an agreement that they will update their pages each year w/o changing the url. That might help keep new organic and independent ideas flowing without the need to compile everything. Whatever I ultimately pull together will include "Thank You's" acknowledging everybody who has provided suggestions, information, or links to good reference sources.
Most gratefully,
In the key of green,
Bob
Robert W. Hollis,
CEO Carnegie Partners, LLC
Ph (916) 717-8108
eFax (916) 290-0312
[email protected]
www.CarnegiePartners.com
www.RecyclingJobs.com -
Zero Waste Music Festivals?
2007-05-22 01:30:40 UTC
I have been asked to help make an annual music festival a "zero waste" event. The event is held on a county fairgrounds site and attracts approximately 5,000 campers for four days. I am looking for a list of event "best practices" that might help us accomplish this goal. If any of you have anything you can share I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks,
Bob Hollis
Robert W. Hollis,
CEO Carnegie Partners, LLC
Ph (916) 717-8108
eFax (916) 290-0312
[email protected]
www.CarnegiePartners.com
www.RecyclingJobs.com
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Re: giveaways that encourage UN-sustainable behavior
2006-01-31 17:17:33 UTC
Are any of you aware of organizations researching the problem of business models that create direct economic incentive for increased waste? I am referring specifically to the concept of giving away a primary product in order to sell more expensive add-ons, refills, etc that are included with the primary product. The term "razor blade business" is commonly used to describe such business models; based on the concept of "give away the razor at or below cost to profit on the sale of proprietary blades for the life of the product". For example, printer companies will sell a printer for $50 knowing that each ink refill will generate $75 in revenue. Much to my dismay, I recently learned that some people are THROWING PRINTERS IN THE TRASH and buying new ones because it is cheaper to buy a new printer with an ink cartridge inside than it is to buy a new ink cartridge. I also saw a recent example of this with electric razors. A consumer commented that the replacement head for his electric razor would cost more than a brand new unit with a head attached. Therefore his intent was to buy a new electric razor and throw away the old one even though it still worked perfectly. I would hope that at least 99% of the consumers of such products would have higher moral values that outweigh the economic incentive to create unnecessary waste. But the success of big-box retail (i.e. consumers putting personal economics ahead of long-term societal interests) indicates that this might be a big problem that nobody is talking about, or possibly even aware of. If any of you are aware of any organizations or individuals studying this problem please let me know.
Thanks,
Bob Hollis
Robert W. Hollis Carnegie Partners, LLC
Ph 916 941-9053
eFax 916 290-0312
[email protected]
www.CarnegiePartners.com -
New Taiwan Recycling Policies Begin in January 2006
2005-12-06 17:26:52 UTC
Includes potential application of RFID technology. For more info on RFID Recycling Applications and Impact see www.RecyclingTech.org
New (Taiwan) EPA policies set to begin in January
The new year will usher in environmental policies that the government hopes will deal more efficiently with garbage nationwide and help track waste disposal vehicles to prevent illegal dumping. The key measure announced this past week by the Environmental Protection Administration will be the extension of the garbage separation policy to all corners of Taiwan on January 1, 2006. The program, requiring residents to sort their garbage into three categories -- ordinary garbage, recyclables and food scraps -- has been enforced in ten cities and counties since the beginning of 2005. Garbage that is not properly separated will be rejected, and offenders will be fined between NT$1,200 to NT$6,000. Local EPA staffers will make random checks of garbage bags to ensure that residents are abiding by the new policy. EPA officials noted that in the ten areas using garbage separation, the amount of garbage collected between January and October of this year declined by 10 percent compared to the same period last year, when the policy was not yet in effect. Thirty percent more recyclables and 65 percent more food scraps were collected under the new program during the same 2005 period than through more random collection efforts in 2004. Besides extending the policy to all parts of the country, the EPA is also hoping to more efficiently recycle food scraps, which account for nearly one-quarter of all garbage collected. Burying them in landfills or incinerating create unnecessary burdens, the agency believes. In landfills, the water that seeps from the scraps can potentially taint water management systems, while in incinerators, that same moisture hinders the burning facility from reaching its most efficient operating temperature, the EPA said. Up to now, 75 percent of the food scraps recycled are used as pig feed, with the remainder turned into fertilizer. With recent concerns over diseases spread through animals, however, the EPA, together with the Council of Agriculture, decided to restrict pig farm owners from using food scraps to feed their animals. Instead, most of the organic waste will be exploited as fertilizer, but to do so, factors such as land, the environment, quality, and product approach need to be further reviewed, the EPA said. Members of the ROC Swine Association and several scholars objected to the proposal at a forum last week, asserting that food scraps were more expensive as fertilizers than their chemical rivals and, therefore, would not be commercially successful. The association also complained that the policy reversal was unfair to pig owners because it would deprive its members of their most accessible feed source after they had cooperated with the government to consume a high percentage of the food scraps collected. The EPA seemed ready to proceed with their new policy, however, despite the pig owners' objections. In another new initiative, the EPA will try to improve the efficiency of garbage collection in rural areas. The agency is considering leaving one garbage truck in every area and adding recycling bins specifically for food scraps. Another notable innovation by the EPA last week was adding a tracking mechanism for its online waste management declaration system. The improvement was designed to track waste collecting vehicles and keep a close eye on where the waste is disposed. Combining the global positioning system with a mobile communication apparatus, system operators get thirty-second updates on the vehicles' latest positions. Over 1,300 waste collecting vehicles are currently equipped with GPS devices, and inspectors have PDAs that can track suspicious vehicles. The EPA is also looking into a waste disposal logistics management tracking system, in which the vehicles would have barcode readers and a radio frequency identification device (RFID) installed. They would serve as an identification card, recording in the EPA database the time of each entry and exit of the vehicle into a disposal facility. "Once these technologies are functioning appropriately, (the EPA) will promote it to other government departments and local businesses that would be helped by a tracking system like this," said Chen Hsiung-wen (), director of the EPA's Waste Management Department. The EPA hopes that by capitalizing on these technologies, the waste disposal process can be more transparent and lower the frequency of illegal dumping around the country. Source:Taiwan News(2005/12/05 14:50:16) Find this article at: http://english.www.gov.tw//TaiwanHeadlines/index.jsp?categid=10
Robert W. Hollis
Carnegie Partners, Inc.
Ph 916 941-9053
eFax 916 290-0312
[email protected]
www.CarnegiePartners.com
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