Monday, May 30, 2005

Individual Efforts

Been meaning to get several stories up about interesting, even inspriring individual efforts to promote sustainability:

  • From Treehugger, a a brief story on Scott Hite's wind-powered pond aerator:
    It is suitable for ponds up to 8 feet deep and is capable of 0.15 CFM. About his invention, Hite remarks: "It is a good aerator for small ponds of 1/4 acre or smaller. It is also an excellent aerator to be used in any pond to prevent winter fishkill. The aerator works very well and the wind speed for start-up is less than 5 mph."
  • Also from Treehugger, the story of Tim Benneker, a Tacoma, WA, man who has installed a 1700-gallon cistern in his front yard:
    He plans on using the water to flush his toilets, wash his clothes and irrigate his lawn. The tank cost $1900 and the excavation cost him $3000. This kind of installation may never pay for itself. However, Bennecker said he set out to be a “test bed” to encourage such systems in new homes.
  • Finally, from baloghblog, Stephen Balogh sent me an essay on his response to James Howard Kunstler's The Long Emergency just over a week ago -- sorry for not getting this posted sooner, Stephen. Kunstler's book on peak oil has inspired Balogh to take stock of his own lifestyle:
    So I have been thinking, what should I be doing about it? The first is to educate my friends and family about this short-term possibility, I guess. I figure those who I care about the most should have the information available. And, shit, I don’t want to be the only one worrying about this happening! I digress though… I came up with some ideas that we will be working on in our home, and figured that along with the bad news, I would share some of the “bright ideas” that I have. Most are not novel; most are not difficult or expensive. All are things that we can start thinking about now.
It's great to see what individuals are thinking and doing in regards to the seeming insurmountable environmental problems we face. My hat's off to these three innovative thinkers!

Technorati tags: , , , ,

Shop Solar and Rewewable Energy Items at Gaiam.com!