What bothers me isn't so much the destruction, but the rate that it's happening. And deforestation brings a whole new set of problems, like flooding and soil erosion. Yeah, it's the simple stuff. And I don't think of recycling as a chore, since cans and bottles tend to take up space in the trash can and they don't have to be taken out as often as regular kitchen trash.
Let me get this straight. Someone makes a post about someone driving 2 SUVs simultaneously, and THIS is your response? Here's a clue. He was joking.
Hey, instead of you bashing what other people do, why don't you just ignore us less skilled posters and go worry about your posts, since you appear to do a better job. Oh wait, no you don't. Your the guy who was trolling on the Metros board saying you wanted Guevara or Gaven for Adu. Real slick buddy.
Is that for the level of finishes in the model or downgraded finishes? And how much of a difference do you think it makes?
Great stuff; graywater systems/rainwater harvesting is huge, depending on where you live...we'll be transforming one home over the next decade, which is harder; have you thought about the green aspects of the materials construction and transport to your location?
How does that rainwater harvesting work? Does it collect the water and then filters it so you can drink it?
Rainwater harvesting is the process of intercepting storm-water runoff and putting it to beneficial use. Rainwater is usually collected or harvested from rooftops, concrete patios, driveways and other impervious surfaces. Buildings and landscapes can be designed to maximize the amount of catchment area, thereby increasing rainwater harvesting possibilities. Intercepted water then can be collected, detained, retained and routed for use in evaporative coolers, toilet flushing, pet and car washing, indoor plant watering, pet and livestock watering, and for lawn and garden irrigation... More here.
If you want to go further with this, let's take it to PMs, but you're wrong here. The whole thing was some Metrotard* fans echoing Lalas' statement that Freddy would play more with Metro, and me pointing out that the only way to accomplish that would be for Metro to get rid of a player whom Freddy would then replace in the rotation. It ain't gonna be Djorkaeff, so it would have to be either Gaven or Guevara. I was just using Metrotard logic against itself. *I'm not using this word to refer to all Metro fans, many of whom are fine people. I'm specifically referring to the retarded fans. Hey, we all have 'em.
I wouldn't use rainwater runoff for consumption, but you can use it for lots of other purposes. Greywater is trickier. You might, for example, be able to use washing machine wastewater to flush toilets. There are sanitation issues at play with greywater. One thing I very much plan to address is the wastewater from my RO/DI filter. I originally installed it to provide source water for my 15 gallon saltwater aquarium, but also use it for drinking water as it's vastly superior to that coming from a PUR DI filter (our water is nearly 500ppm hardness). Currently, that wastewater is going right down the drain and that's a huge waste. I'd like to be able to push that into a rainwater collection system so I could at least find another use for it watering the gardens (via drip irrigation, btw). If I don't go with geothermal, BTW (and my ROM estimates indicate a 7-10 year payoff as well, which would make it well worth it depending on the suitibility of drilling a well here), I'll probably use tankless water heaters. With geothermal and radient floor heating (a must, IMO - I had it growing up and loved it), a hot water reservoir makes lots of sense. For daily showers, not so much.
One of the best arguments (in my opinion) as to why the US should encourage green technologies is because we can use them as a medium/long-term competitive advantage economically. Oil prices may not be stabilizing - especially as demand increases globally. People will look to reduce reliance on an economic commodity that keeps costing more. It would be wonderful if the government strongly encouraged companies to research greener technologies. Remember all the $$ we poured into the space race, and it payed off with better technologies and TANG? Face it - america cannot compete in the manufacturing sector, and we're losing ground on the computer/IT front to other countries too. We need to find something we can be best at - that the world will want. Jump on "greener" stuff. Invent better building materials, and the world will look to us to supply them. Devise better environmental controls, and overseas factories will look to them as well. With a little government help, the technologies will be fiscally advantageous, especially if the research is intelligently subsidized. Because when a company sees the choice of a) staying with existing cheap, dirty technologies b) investing their own $$$ in developing new technologies that may not pay off well....few companies take that risk and look longterm. The government should reduce the fiscal risk of research and invention - it would create high-tech and medium-tech jobs...and once again reward invention. Wasn't that what made america great? America grew by invention. We were the best at it (sorry to those scotsmen who think they invented everything), and we could be again. And we'd get a better environment, locally, and eventually globally, as another benefit. It is economically feasible. Look at all those people willing to pay extra for organic food. Look at all the idiots who pay $$$ for brand name clothes. In a nation of relatively wealthy people, if you help direct tastes towards cleaner stuff, it can payoff.
I'm not really far enough along to bother with a "worklog". We've got the land, but I currently live & work 90 miles away and my wife is finishing up school, so we aren't really in a position to start building yet. However, you can check out Our Cool House, a site detailing a geothermally heated house in Maryland. Lots of neat info, and links to other sites. He doesn't do any rainwater capture or water recycling, but it's an interesting look at geothermal, passive solar, and earth sheltering.
I'm going from concerned to paniced I've just raised my terror level. Unborn babies carry pollutants, study finds