Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

An Introduction to Water Systems

It might sound obvious, but according to Merriam-Webster a water system is a system of supplying water. If your city’s waste-water treatment plant is the first thing that comes to mind, that’s a great example. However, there are several other types of water systems that vary significantly in size and scope and it's a good idea to know what they are.

Public Water Systems

Researchers estimate that there are approximately 150,000 public water systems in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, has determined three different types of public systems. A Community Water System provides a year-round water supply to the same population. A Non-Transient Non-Community Water System supplies water to at least 25 people for at least six months out of the year. Transient Non-Community Water Systems supply water to places where people only occupy briefly, such as campgrounds and gas stations

Residential Irrigation

Your home’s irrigation is an example of a small system, but it’s an important one, nonetheless. Without it, your yard and plants might not survive. Also, if one of your lines starts to leak and you don’t notice it, you could waste thousands of gallons of water in minutes. You might want to familiarize yourself with some water system repair products, just so you can have them on hand.

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Drinking Fountains

Drinking water that’s supplied to the public is highly regulated and needs to be regularly tested and maintained by certified professionals. This includes everything from the water that comes through your faucets to the drinking fountains in parks. The next time you’re on a long hike and you come across an outdoor fountain in the wilderness, you might want to think about what was entailed in getting that water out there.    

Water is an easy thing to take for granted, but a lot of work is entailed in creating systems to ensure everyone has access to it. 

Thursday, June 27, 2019

How To Invest In A Greener Home Life

Our planet’s health and wellbeing is making weekly headlines around the world right now, as attention is being focused on global warming, pollution, and the desperate need for humans to stop talking about making a change and actually do it. But where do you even start? If you’re wanting to do your part and make some positive changes around your home but need a little guidance, here are a few suggestions.

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Learn How To Properly Recycle

Recycling is a great way to cut back on general waste, but many people make mistakes when sorting their recyclables that can actually lead to them being trashed instead. Different cities may have different rules and regulations on specific recycled goods, but information on how your hometown handles everything is an easy topic to search online. Many cities will have this information available on local government websites, and may even provide you with containers to sort your recyclables with at home.

Stock Up On Eco-Friendly Products

These days more and more companies are making sure to indicate if their products are better for the environment than other mass-produced options may be. If you take the time to search for eco-friendly products like natural soaps, natural cleaning products, and reusable items instead of easily disposable ones, you can consider your home that much greener. Things like natural cleaning products can often also be better for your home drainage systems, so you may be doing yourself (and your plumber) a favor as well. Also make sure to do you part by purchasing some environmentally friendly reusable items like canvas shopping bags, travel coffee mugs, and water bottles. Often, coffee shops will even give you a discount on your morning cuppa joe if you bring your own container! 

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Switch to Energy-Saving Resources

There are lots of ways you can conserve general energy usage around your house. Start small, with your light bulbs! There are LOTS of different kinds of energy-saving bulbs available, for all sizes and fittings, and what you save on power, you don’t lose in quality or brightness. There are also ways to conserve your daily water usage, like installing water flow regulators on your showers or water saving devices in your toilet cisterns. Also have a look into your local energy providers to find out if there may be a greener option for you to switch to, and possibly even save some money by doing so.

Get Into Gardening

Nothing quite makes you feel like you’re giving back to Mother Earth like literally digging your hands into some earth and growing something! Start your own backyard garden for home grown vegetables, or plant a few pots of herbs on your kitchen windowsill. In addition to saving you a little money here and there on your grocery bill, food does seem to magically taste better when you grow it yourself! Help out the local bee population (and thus, all kinds of plants that benefit from their pollination) by planting some bee-friendly flowers around your house. Add a little green inside the home too, by tending to some air-purifying house plants

Buy Local

Support your local farmers markets, restaurants, and other independent food sources around your city. Doing your part to sustain local businesses does a great deal for the economy, and ensures that you know exactly where your food is coming from, and that it has been ethically sourced.  If you eat meat, there is also a lot of research that suggests that cutting back on your general meat consumption is much better for the environment, and may even be better for your health. 

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The Power of Solar Panels

Affordable renewable energy is much more accessible than it used to be. If you’d like to make a big change to your home that could also make a big difference in your power bills, do some research on solar panels. It may be more expensive than just switching out your light bulbs, but don’t worry! You may be able to get home improvement loan, a loan from your bank, or even a so called SMS loan to help you get started. If you own your house, or have permission to install things like solar panels, it can be a fabulous investment and well worth the effort for a long-term housing situation.

Insulate Your House

Along the same lines as looking into solar panels, improving your home’s insulation is a great investment for long-term energy savings. Replacing older windows with double-glazing, and ensuring that your walls are properly insulated with something like injectable foam can really cut down on the amount of energy needed to heat and cool your house throughout the year.

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These tips might just be the tip of the iceberg that is global conservation, but every little effort helps! Taking these steps in your own home can have a positive impact on your life, your neighborhood, and in the grander scheme of things, your planet.

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Weird Facts About Natural Gas


Natural gas stands at the cusp of becoming the most used fuel source on the face of the earth. In honor of this fact, here are some interesting and weird facts about natural gas and all it stands for! 

1. Natural gas consists of methane, mainly, but there are also other ingredients as well. these other ingredients consist of propane, butane, and a few others. 

2. In its natural state, natural gas has no odor, has no color, and is highly flammable. It is also lighter than the air so it can float in the air very easily. To make it easier to detect if there is a natural gas leak, companies who use it add an additive called mercaptan which smells like rotten eggs. While this may be an unpleasant odor, it goes a long way to ensure that people do not blow themselves up if it has leaked into the environment. 

3. Natural gas has been around for quite some time. Historians state that it was first discovered back in 6000 BC in the Middle East. It was discovered by the process of lightning from the sky igniting buried reserves of natural gas that had been seeping from the ground. This was long before the ADVENT OF natural gas piping installation came to be. 

4. In fact, the very first natural gas pipes were invented in China in 500 BC and were made from bamboo. The natural gas which flowed these unique pipes was used in the production of salt brine. 

As you can see, there are some very weird and wonderful facts concerning natural gas. Not only is it an incredibly useful fuel to have available but it has a long and storied existence as well. Hopefully, this has piqued your curiosity into learning more about natural gas and its many uses.