Water

Events

Ecover – the only ethical multinational

On an industrial estate ten miles outside Antwerp, the Ecover detergent factory sticks out like a sore thumb. The other buildings are nondescript sheds with gray or beige metal roofs. Ecover’s factory is topped with a bright green lawn.

It’s not the immaculate sward beloved of suburban gardeners, more of a meadow, really. But it blends in with the surrounding fields and it is a key feature of what is still, ten years after it was built, the world’s most environmentally-friendly factory.

Its products – household cleaners and detergents — can be used in off-grid homes with no threat of pollution to groundwater or gardens when the washing water is recycled.

Truly clean soap
Truly clean soap
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Land

Solar pools

You could make use of your swimming pool (or small lake) for much longer with a solar pool heating system.

Pool

Pool solar heaters are just a set of solar panels, or ‘collectors’, through which water pumped out of the swimming pool is circulated before being poured back into the pool.…

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Energy

Micro hydro revolution

Micro hydro is the most cost-effective and efficient source of alternative energy.

Hydro
A micro hydro plant

A micro-hydro system will produce 10 to 100 times more power than photovoltaic or wind power systems for the same investment.…

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Rainwater harvesting in India

From India Today – 03/05/2004

Aurangabad is the epicentre of Maharashtra’s torrid zone. Here temperatures soar to a scorching 45 degree Celsius, turning the earth into a dust bowl. But you wouldn’t know it from the Kedia farm, a bumpy half-hour ride to the south of the city.…

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Mobile

Camping Water Filters

No matter how beautiful and unspoilt the scenery, how clear and pure it might seem, water taken from streams or springs can contain bacteria our stomachs can’t stand. These portable water purifiers let you drink water wherever you are, without getting sick.

Katadyn Pocket

Pocket Water Filter…

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Off-Grid 101

Plant reed for clean water

If water is scarce, recycling becomes essential. Off-grid water is often sent through Reed bed water treatment systems — a series of artificially created ponds with reeds growing in them, through which waste water circulates. Even sewage can be treated this way as well as washing up water and shower water.

reedbed

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Land

Recycle rainwater

Collecting rainwater is the simplest, cheapest way of getting a water supply. Rainwater harvesting is practiced all over the world. As water becomes scarcer, it is being promoted in many cities as a good way to recycle water, and cut down on utility bills.

To install a water harvesting system you might need permission. If you check with your local authority they might say no, so be careful.

harvesting

Rainwater harvesting in Africa…

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Energy

Solar Water Heaters

You don’t need to live in the tropics to heat your water with solar energy. Any sunlight will do. Different situations and climates need different types of solar water systems. There are some websites at the end of this story to help assess which suits you the best.…

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