We’ve heard the stories of everything from rising sea levels to huricanes being caused by Global Warming, but being singularly focused on climate change as the single most important reason things are happening may be short-sighted.

CNN has an article today in their Planet in Peril series that makes this point very clearly. The current drought in the United States that has been ongoing for the past 3 years, has nothing to do with global warming or even a lack of rainfall.

It has to do with us.

Population migration in many areas of the country are occurring without the infrastructure and reservoirs to hold the necessary water supply for rapidly growing metropolitan areas. Atlanta is a prime example.

We are trying to grow food in the desert southwest. A desert means you have to pump the water in from another location, taking water that was adequate for the source location and now reducing their supply for the desert’s agricultural industry. Just because we can do it, does not mean we should do it.

Here in Cincinnati, we’ve been blessed with a good supply of fresh water so our concern may not be lack of water currently, but the continued access to clean water. We need to make sure that we support and encourage good public infrastructure to treat our water supply and keep it safe to drink.

However, in the future, states and cities in need of water, may look at us and our water supply as their source too. Which isn’t as far fetched as it may seem.

Want to reduce your water usage?

Here are a few easy things you can do:

• Drink tap water instead of bottled water
• Use low-flow shower heads and faucets
• Use low-flow or dual-flush toilets

What can your business do?

• Create low-water use ways of manufacturing products
• Install low-flow fixtures in your office

If you think this is nice but not necessary in your life, you might want to rethink that position. One guarantee in the future is that water is going to cost us all more. So saving water will also save you money.

Read More

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/12/11/drought.problem/index.html

It was recently reported here and here that P&G’s offices are creating 21% less waste than a year ago.  In the last year alone, water and energy use were reduced by 6-8%.

P&G has been working hard around the office and has decreased waste in their facilities by 50% over the last 6 years.  That’s a really impressive footprint reduction.

P&G has released improved products recently with environmental benefits like Tide Coldwater.  Read more about the P&G sustainability initiatives here.  We all look forward to increased sustainable considerations from the consumer products giant - to help decrease waste creation and water usage in our own homes.

You may have seen our post on the University of Cincinnati’s permeable walkways a year or so ago, and you may have heard that downtown Cincinnati now has the first permeable parking lot. Both are designed in a similar way to allow storm runoff and rainwater to seep into the ground and travel through soil to eventually, over time, end up in underground aquifers and the Ohio River.

This natural process allows the ground to filter the water of any polluted runoff rather than the storm water running into the storm water runoff systems and out into the Ohio River untreated. Reducing storm water in the system will also help Cincinnati meet its need to keep from having to spend billions reconstructing the current sewer system.

Chicago’s Green Alleys

The New York Times reported last year that Chicago has begun a program called the “Green Alley Initiative” where they use permeable concrete and porous asphalt to repave alleys. In effect, doing the same thing as the parking lot and the UC walkway, but using a little known material that is easy for the city to implement quickly.

Other benefits of the new materials include reflecting sun rather than absorbing it which will help reduce the heat-island effect of the city.

Cincinnati can do this too

We have hundreds of alleys in Cincinnati where we could be taking advantage of this same material. As a matter of fact, there are still a few in downtown where you can see that this idea isn’t a new one. The first permeable alleys were of bricks in the 1800’s. In a way, they were trying to do the same thing, take water off the street and keep their buggies from bogging down in the mud.

You don’t necessarily need to use complex technology to help control storm water runoff, consider using porous pavement.

Read More

New York Times Article

Technical Information on Pervious Concrete

A trip to Turpin Farms this weekend for a turn in the Corn Maize was the perfect way to spend an amazing early Autumn day.  It also turned up a few interesting green Cincinnati finds.

How about this traditional-looking rain barrel, connected to the downspout of a small shed near one of the green houses?  Just add rain and wow - watering the plants just got a whole lot free-er.

Since it’s been so dry lately, you may be looking for a way to keep your plants watered without running the hose or sprinkler constantly.  Start at the Civic Garden Center, they regularly offer classes to make your own rain barrels.

This sign on the side of the rain-barrel equipped shed really sums up the Cincinnati green movement.

Want to know more and get inspired? Check out the Turpin Farms website and plan a visit.

We’ve mentioned these local green houses before, but here are some photos of the Northside LEED green residences taken during the EcoBags Lunch Series organized by ENCORE.  Both homes are under contract, but it’s still worth an inside look at what makes these places unique.

The homes from the front yard on a beautiful summer day.  Notice the drought tolerant and native plants in the landscaping.

Insulation is key to high energy efficiency.

Quality HVAC systems are designed to use minimal power.

My personal favorite: a dual flush toilet to save water where you use the most.  Choose a half flush for #1 and whole flush for #2.

High windows provide natural light for the room and a way out for hot air when opened.

Jami and Libby, the realtors who put together ENCORE in the kitchen of the second house.  Check out the bamboo floors, responsible cabinetry, Energy Star appliances, and the recycled material countertops.

At a rest stop along I-71 South about 40 miles North of Cincinnati, there are a few small examples of greening in Ohio. Instead of all business as usual, the park benches at the rest stop are made of recycled plastic.

Even the sign describing some of the state’s recycling initiatives is made of 95% recycled content.

It’s always seemed that rest stops would be a perfect place to display the benefits of alternative energy. With these facilities being so far from “civilization”, why not save the trouble of conducting electricity along long distances and utilize solar or wind power? A 1-2 kilowatt array ought to be enough to power some vending machines and the LED lights and energy star hand dryers in the restrooms. A rainwater catchment and filtration system could provide a good source of potable water. And what’s wrong with installing waterless urinals or composting toilets? Maybe there is a farmer nearby who could use the products of composted waste to help the crops.

One of the wonderful things about trees is the cooling effect that their shade can create for us people on the ground. A few weeks ago we took a walk up to Mt. Adams to see a local pottery show. It was a beautiful sunny day that would have been incredibly hot on that blacktop were it not for the shade generated by one great old tree that covered nearly the entire driveway loop.

A hot parking lot in the sun is a good example of what’s called the Urban Heat Island effect. The combination of trapped heat and solid, heat-storing elements like concrete and blacktop often creates surface air temperatures of up to 10 degrees higher than nearby rural areas. Grassy or tree-shaded areas tend to avoid the urban heat island effect and stay cooler. Green roofs will help reduce the urban heat island effect in a city, as well as reduce storm water runoff.

One of the artists had love for the trees too. Funny how you never see concrete, blacktop, and the urban heat island effect celebrated at pottery shows. We do hope to start seeing more and more green roofs in Cincinnati though, and rumor has it that there’s a perfect patch of flat roof right outside the Mayor’s office on Cincinnati’s City Hall.

A green roof is an interesting idea that may seem exotic to many. Not so! Anyone can have a green roof and it can do you a world of good.

Courtesy of Jeff and Christine of Newport, KY

Why a green roof?

• Reduces the temperature of the surrounding air, reducing the Urban Heat Island effect (I’m planning to go into a bit more detail about this in a few days, but suffice to say that cities are often hotter than the surrounding rural areas because of the building materials, lack of green space, and density).
• Reduces storm water runoff. Sewers backing up around you after a few days of rain? The ones on my street are. If your roof was absorbing it’s share of that water instead of redirecting it down the drain spout and into the sewer, there’s a significantly lower chance for overflow and backing-up.
• You can breathe easier with a green roof around because plants = oxygen.
• Urban gardening is a way to bring the farmer out of any city dweller. You can read more about that at this Low Impact Man post.
• Check out this Live Green Cincinnati video pod about dream green roof.

Want to see a green roof?

• Jeff and Christine in Newport have installed their own green roof.
• The Civic Garden Center also has plans for their own green roof.

Want to learn to design a green roof?

Register for the Green Roof Design 101 course offered by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities at the Drake Center on Wednesday June 11. It’s an excellent opportunity to learn from Virginia Russell, a Registered Landscape Architect and LEED AP who also teaches at UC. CEU credits are offered.

See you there!

Soapbox Cincinnati features an article this week about the Queensgate area and how it’s planning and working to green the traditional industrial ways. The creation of an eco-industrial manufacturing park in the Queensgate/southern Mill Creek area is one of the suggestions made by the Brookings Institution on ways to take advantage of growth opportunities in Cincinnati.

Zero emissions created, LEED certified buildings, and the restoration of the Mill Creek are all contributors to the overall plan. Sounds like an incredible plan and a great place to work. We hope that the city and the mayor will back this recommendation and make it a priority.

Read more about the GO Cincinnati recommendations on the city’s website.