Tuesday, November 27, 2007

My number one super-enviro soap box!




Everybody should be doing it:




The next step:


One particularly beautiful way to treat sewage is through Eco-Machines – organic landscape elements that serve as on-site water treatment systems. Recently featured at Greenbuild, John Todd Ecological Design is able to restore natural environments as well as treat effluence (http://www.toddecological.com/). They have also incorporated an agricultural element into some projects – very interesting.

Also check out Pliny Fisk’s Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems (http://www.cmpbs.org/) – they have a beautiful living machine that treats sewage on site.





If It's Yellow Let it Mellow said...

I was talking to my inlaws about dual flush toilets at thanksgiving dinner (maybe not a great food time conversation given that you have to reference #1 and #2)...they basically said that they wouldn't consider using them, that it was a stupid idea. Now I'm not sure if this was just to get under my skin, or what, but still....how do we convince people that this isn't a terrible idea, and in fact is a very good one?!

Green-A said...

Well, I think people are more used to dual flush toilets in a commercial application than residential - and in commercial applications if people choose not to use them then they just flush the lever down the same way they normally would and they will get a full flush. So they won't be saving any water themselves but others will still have the choice to do so. In contrast to low-flow models, dual flush toilets offer choice - which is one of the reasons they are so popular.

In residential applications, you have two buttons instead of an up-or-down lever. I am not sure why anyone would be dead-set against using one of these, but a low-flow option can also achieve water savings. If you have a perfectly good toilet and don't want to go out to buy a new one, you can change your existing model into a low-flow through displacement (and for free!), such as illustrated here: http://www.wikihow.com/Convert-Any-Toilet-to-a-Low-Flush-Toilet

If you're interested in converting your residential toilet into a system that reuses grey water from your sink to flush the toilet (after it is cleaned, of course), look here at WaterSaver Technologies Aqus system: http://www.watersavertech.com/AQUS-Diagram.html

In terms of reasoning with your in-laws, hopefully they have seen some of the conflicts already occuring in states like Arizona, Nevada, Georgia etc. where potable water supply -and lack thereof - has become a big issue. Ask them if they really think it would be okay to run out of drinking water because we used it all up to flush sewage down the toilet. And if they can't imagine running out of potable water, I would remind them that whether they think global warming is caused by humans or not, we do have data to support climate change is occurring. And the rising of temperatures is melting the potable water supplies for many regions (such as the Pacific northwest which rely on snowpack in the Cascades) and many coastal cities are facing a potable water supply that will be under sea level when that level rises, and therefore contaminated and undrinkable.

Just because it seems infinite (like oil!) doesn't mean that it is.

So it makes sense to conserve drinking water primarily for drinking and eating only and to flush the toilet with water that we don't need to conserve.

Anonymous said...


I just went thru your fabulous cyber space and I am amazed at your mind.

I'd like to get in touch with you regarding a project that I have right now with regards to a Green Building - its in the design phase and if its ok - I'd like you to work as the Green Consultant on this project.

Do let me know?

You can write me at bobbydamenon@gmail.com or bobby@newgenimaging.com

Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.

My best to you


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