5
votes
Accepted
Is it true that cannabis is not a sustainable recreational drug?
There are two very different ways cannibis is grown, and those have radically different environmental impacts. This is somewhat distinct from the legality differences.
Grown outdoors cannibis often is ...
- 3,875
5
votes
Is it sustainable or necessary to use potable water to wash waste before recycling?
This is not a problem if you use a basin to wash dishes. As I soap dishes it goes in an empty basin in one half the sink. I rinse the dishes in the basin one at a time and put in rack. As I do so ...
- 51
5
votes
Is it sustainable or necessary to use potable water to wash waste before recycling?
I have run into the same quandary. I resolved it by keeping a large bin in my sink that catches "grey water" or water already used for washing dishes and add a drop of biodegradable phosphate-free ...
- 51
5
votes
Does it make sense to save water in cities?
It's possible that the source was talking about a practice called jetting that municipalities use to clean their sanitary sewer systems. I know one town that cleaned their system this way every other ...
4
votes
Saving water in day-to-day life
The main thing we found is that in everything, use less. Over time you will be able to work down to quite low usage without major hassles. It sounds kinda obvious, but it works.
In Melbourne (...
- 1,307
4
votes
Is the drain-off water from water purifiers fit for gardening?
I collect water in a bucket using extension feeder pipe as shown in figure.
I reuse the water released from system for daily household cleaning purpose. I checked the TDS value at all stages and it ...
- 303
3
votes
Accepted
How would a garden adapted to drought look like?
This concept is called xeriscaping, a term coined in 1981 by the water authority of Denver, Colorado, USA, in efforts to encourage residents to reduce water usage in their gardens and yards.
...
- 11.8k
3
votes
Accepted
How to reduce evaporation of a dam/catchment water source?
Two technologies I know of are plastic balls and solar panels. Both are very visible, and may not be aesthetically acceptable.
Shade balls are used to reduce the exposed surface area and reflect ...
- 2,116
3
votes
Accepted
How can I conserve energy and water in my bathroom?
Others have already suggested low flow fixtures and reducing water usage, but here are a few other ideas, from least to most expensive:
Turn down your water heater. The U.S. Department of Energy ...
- 11.8k
3
votes
Accepted
Are there long-distance water pipelines emanating from the North American Great Lakes region? Why or why not?
I can provide an answer for the first part of the question: No new water diversions out of the Great Lakes region are allowed.
Great Lakes water agreement
The 2005 Great Lakes–Saint Lawrence River ...
- 11.8k
2
votes
Could hotels charge guests for the utilities they use to encourage conservation?
I don't know about to what extent it currently exists, but I can imagine it could be implemented successfully with a "reasonable usage" policy.
In my experience as a customer, being asked to pay very ...
- 21
2
votes
Accepted
Is shower water a healthy source of graywater to flush toilets with?
Your shower water is already going into the same waste pipe that sewage from the toilet or septic system empties into. I think if you have a lot of soap you might end up with soap suds or scum inside ...
1
vote
Could hotels charge guests for the utilities they use to encourage conservation?
Yes, hotels could implement room-based monitoring systems for electricity and water consumption, but they have no financial motivation to do so and the effects of doing so are marginal verging on ...
- 2,804
1
vote
How to prepare my home for vacation to reduce energy use?
The biggest thing by far is turning off/down heating and air conditioning.
Note that in some climates/jurisdictions, your insurance may not pay out for damage from any cause (not just frozen pipes) if ...
- 2,116
1
vote
How to prepare my home for vacation to reduce energy use?
If the heating is turned off in wintertime, the water-heater might be enough to keep the water pipes from freezing. Otherwise, the water can be turned off, the pipes drained with open faucets, and ...
- 302
1
vote
How can I conserve energy and water in my bathroom?
To save water get a low flow shower head and when using the sink use the lowest flow rate of water. If possible, spend less time in the shower.
To use less water in the laundry, consider using the ...
- 3,517
1
vote
How can I conserve energy and water in my bathroom?
Stick a water meter on your shower and bath taps. This one looks adequate
I don't know what the optimal time to spend in the shower is, or whether a long hot deep bath is more satisfying than a long ...
- 1,230
1
vote
How to reduce evaporation of a dam/catchment water source?
Each location on the globe has a wide variety of factors that will influence your answer (temperature, humidity, hours of sunlight, etc.) but there are several age-old solutions that come to mind. ...
- 412
1
vote
Could hotels charge guests for the utilities they use to encourage conservation?
One of the issues I think would be cost of installing water and electricity meters for each room, including the associated labor cost. It would add to the capital cost of the building.
The other ...
- 3,517
1
vote
Saving water in day-to-day life
Don't bathe (not a joke)
Mother Dirt (www.motherdirt.com) is a company selling an atomizer dispersing bacteria that metabolizes perspiration. (Amonia oxidizing bacteria). Replaces the natural skin ...
- 11
1
vote
Is it sustainable or necessary to use potable water to wash waste before recycling?
In areas with commingled recycling, one of the arguments made for washing plastic and metal containers is contamination of paper and cardboard in the bin. One leaking unwashed can could taint the ...
- 321
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible