Becoming environmentally friendly

Earlier this year, I made myself feel good by buying and using four or five of the new flourescent bulbs. It was good for the environment becuase they have a longer lifespan and use less electricity. They lower our electricity bill. Forget that I haven't a clue what our electricity bill is.

Not long thereafter, we started filling the recycling bin with empty bottles, cans and milk jugs. Long overdue, I know. Soon we'll start separating paper, including the mounds of junk mail we get every day. Baby steps, you know?

I've also been looking into other environmentally friendly things. I've learned a little about solar power, wind power and floating grids of buoys that use the motion of the ocean to generate power. There are skyscrapers that use giant blocks of ice in the basement with fans to generate air conditioning. Small step to reduce demand on the power grid during peak demand hours. They refreeze the blocks at night. There's another method to do that which involves releasing water through a dam to generate power during peak periods and then pumping it back up to the reservoir above during times of less demand.

My latest study project, which I actually hope to use, are rain barrels. The standard formula is that you could collect up to 6,000 gallons of water from an inch of rain falling on a 1,000 square foot roof. If you can lay your hands on a 55-gallon drum, they are cheap and easy to make. Pre-made ones go for $75-300, depending on size and some other factors.

I may ask for a rain barrel for my birthday or Christmas.

There will be more posts on water and environmental issues at some point. Lots of interesting things to be learned about reusing shower or sink water for flushing toilets and other ways to reduce or reuse water. Even if I can't or don't take advantage of them, the science or creativity is pretty cool.