Water

warning: Creating default object from empty value in /home/ecodaddyo/public_html/modules/taxonomy/taxonomy.pages.inc on line 33.

Tuesday Night Plumbing Club

Submitted by TimJFowler on Thu, 2010/01/14 - 1:57pm
in
My scraped head

How do you have fun on a Tuesday night? I like to unwind with a little amateur plumbing repair. This Tuesday I dismantled the kitchen faucet assembly, rushed over to the hardware store minutes before closing time and pawed madly through the plumbing section for valves and bits. Then I ran back home to reassemble the whole mess and I only had to reverse one valve body! In the process I also banged my head under the sink. All of this so I can stop a maddening drip at the kitchen faucet. Yep, good times at our house.

Coal Ash Waste - In Our Backyard

Submitted by TimJFowler on Wed, 2009/09/02 - 10:12am
in
TVA Kingston TN Coal Ash Pond Failure

0n December 22, 2008 a 'storage pond' dam broke in Harriman, TN flooding the Tennessee River Valley with over 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash sludge. What wasn't known at the time of this man-made disaster is how many more Coal Ash dump sites exist in the U.S.A. Thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice and the Sierra Club the EPA released a list of 584 coal ash dump sites across the country. 35 states, including New Mexico, have coal ash dumps containing arsenic, lead, mercury and other toxins.

Roll out the Rain Barrel for Colorado

Submitted by TimJFowler on Tue, 2009/06/30 - 1:18pm
in
Wine Barrel to Rain Barrel

Colorado has just begun a new program to allow rainwater harvesting. Strangely enough, due to the complexities of Colorado's water laws, it had been illegal to catch and hold the rain that fell on your roof! On June 2, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed the rain water collection bill into law. While there are many restrictions as to who can harvest the rain in Colorado, it is definitely a good step towards sustainability. Congratulations Colorado, starting July 1st you will no longer have to hide your rain barrels! Next, we have to work on Utah.

More Info:

Free Water Testing for S.Fe County

Submitted by TimJFowler on Wed, 2009/06/17 - 4:23pm
in
Boris Karloff in the laboratory

Ever wonder what is REALLY in your water? If you drink water from a private well, you should test that water to find out. Santa Fe County, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), the City of Santa Fe, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and the Good Water Company to jointly test private domestic water wells June 23 through 25 at no charge to residents or owners. Water tests will include field and laboratory analyses for approximately 50 chemical parameters, including nitrate, fluoride, heavy metals including uranium, and organic vapor such as from gasoline and degreasing solvent.

Powerful Thirst - Future of Water in the Southwest

Submitted by TimJFowler on Mon, 2009/02/23 - 4:48pm
in
Rio Grande near Albuquerque, NM at Sunrise

The local newspaper recently ran an article headlined 'Water experts: Southern N.M. has ample supply'. That headline is grossly misleading and is contradicted twice within the first 4 sentences of the article.

The $15 Water Heater Upgrade

Submitted by TimJFowler on Thu, 2008/11/13 - 4:28pm
in
Water Heater Insulating Blanket

I have a cheap, inefficient water heater. Why? When I had the old water heater replaced I wasn't thinking about efficiency. So, the plumber installed an average, natural gas water heater. Buying a new, more efficient water heater can cost at least $500, plus installation. Being a creative and frugal guy (read: cheap) I found a way to upgrade my water heater for only $15.

Happiness is a Full Rain Barrel

Submitted by TimJFowler on Tue, 2008/10/14 - 11:35am
in
Rain Barrel overflowing with rain water

I love living in the Desert Southwest. We have hundred-mile views, low-humidity and 300 days of sunshine per year. But, the other side of all that sunshine is an average of 14 inches of rain per year. Unfortunately, the rains come mostly during the late summer monsoons, not evenly throughout the year. What little rain we do get is precious and worth saving. The easiest way to harvest our irregular, seasonal rains is with rain barrels.

Food for Thought

Submitted by TimJFowler on Mon, 2008/09/22 - 4:15pm
in

A discussion on how to feed the world at Zeitgeist '08: The Google Partner Forum titled 'Body 2.0 - Creating a World that can Feed Itself'.

Larry Brilliant the Executive Director of Google.org moderates a panel discussion including:

Santa Fe River Tree Planting Day

Submitted by TimJFowler on Tue, 2008/03/25 - 5:38pm
in
Wild Earth Guardians Stream Team

What: Stream Team Santa Fe River Tree Planting Day
When: Saturday, April 5, 2008, 10am-3pm
Where: On the Santa Fe River near Santa Fe, NM

On Saturday, April 5th join with WildEarth Guardians' members, supporters and volunteers to become a Stream Team Activist by gathering pledges and planting trees for each pledge. These trees become restored streamside habitat for wildlife such as endangered Southwest Willow Flycatchers and beavers.

Why Do Rivers Need to Be Restored?

Flush With Pride!

Submitted by TimJFowler on Thu, 2007/11/15 - 3:16pm
in
High Rise (High Flow) Toilet

Fresh water is a precious, highly valuable resource, doubly so in the American Southwest. The last thing in the world we should do with it is to pour it down the drain. But outdated plumbing fixtures do just that by wasting many gallons of water when only one or two are needed. If you don't have low-flow toilets and plumbing fixtures in your house yet, then now is the time to swap them out.

Syndicate content