January 7, 2005

Land

Rainwater harvesting once common, needed again to promote conservation

By Mike Mecke

For thousands of years, the world has relied upon rainwater harvesting to supply water for household, landscape and agricultural uses.

harvesting diagram
How to harvest rainwater

Before city water systems were developed, rainwater was collected (mostly from roofs) and stored in cisterns or storage tanks. Rainwater is a free source of nearly pure water and too valuable to waste.…

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Alternative Energy Bangladesh: Reaching Where the Grid Can’t

[Via Alternative Energy Blog]

Bangladesh is experiencing a severe energy delivery crisis. The Financial Express of Bangladesh says load shedding and suspension of production in industrial zones due to low gas pressure is a daily occurrence. the Government is turning to solar energy to remedy the shortfall.

Access to electricity in Bangladesh is one of the lowest in the world. The coverage stands around 30 per cent of the total population. However, the rural areas of Bangladesh, where nearly 80 per cent of the population live, only have about 10% coverage.…

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Mobile

DARYL HANNAH: Eco Friendly Cars

Hollywood actress Daryl Hannah insists millions of people could follow her example and drive a car fueled by vegetable oil; they just need a diesel engine.

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Hannah talks sense on cars

Based primarily in Colorado, Hannah lives an environmentally-friendly existence with a solar-powered home. When she leaves the confines of her house, she drives around in her 1983 EL CAMINO, which has had no special work done to it to get it running on bio-diesel.

She says, “Basically, in 1900 at the World Fair, RUDOLPH DIESEL invented the diesel engine to run on peanut oil so farmers could grow their own fuel. So any diesel engine can still run on vegetable oil. It doesn’t cause greenhouse gases and has lower carbon dioxide and all the other emissions.

“There are about 250 (gas) stations in the country now that sell it, but you can also order it online. I get it in my little town in the mountains from our local fast food restaurants. They donate it to us and my caretaker makes it. But when I’m in LA, I order it online and it’s delivered in 55 hours with a pump just like you get at a gas station.”

Hannah admits her car often smells of French fries or donuts because of the oil.
More info

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