Just to go a bit further into the argument to harvest rain - although hard numbers on how it can positively impact the environment would help make a stronger case, I think the following videos and links provide some pretty solid first hand evidence that it can make a difference environmentally.

Basically, we’re using water faster than Mother Nature can replenish it naturally. So we’re depleting our aquifers and a lesser proportion of water is being returned to them. Typically the water is discharged into rivers and streams carrying with it various levels of pollution, rather than recharging the aquifer it came from.

Anyone questioning the practice of rain harvesting first needs to have a solid understanding of the hydrologic cycle or more simply put, the water cycle. I prefer simple explanations so the Groundwater Foundation’s Groundwater and the Water Cycle article for kids works for me, but they also have a more detailed adult section as well.

Then there is this excerpt from Sustainability of semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA), an NSF science and technology center that really gets at the question, “Why should we conserve water?”

Excessive use of water has the following adverse effects on our society, economy, and environment:

· More dams must be built, destroying wilderness areas and reducing streamflow.
· The water infrastructure requires increased maintenance for pipes, sewers, and treatment facilities.
· Agricultural uses can contribute to erosion, salinity and increased desertification.
· Water bodies such as rivers, wetlands, and bays are degraded from the high levels of water extracted and from the polluted runoff that feeds into them.

And here’s a video of Dr. Kent Butler from University of Texas explaining the benefits of rainwater harvesting:

Finally, a couple links (here and here) on Garden Rant (one of the best garden blogs out there by the way) that focus on the use of rain barrels and their effectiveness. The first includes a large number of first hand testimonials worth reading.

I’ll be digging even deeper into the rain collection issue and will attempt to post some research on the topic in the near future.

Oh, WAIT! Can’t forget this video that breaks down the basics of groundwater…man, this is how all education should be delivered…reminds me of Schoolhouse Rock from back when I was a kid.

Over seven billion gallons per day. That’s how much the EPA estimates is used nationwide on landscape irrigation. Now, no matter how you spin that, it’s far too much water. And the scary thing is most people don’t even think about it. I’ve got a friend who has a large, lush green lawn and I asked him what he did to make it look so nice.

“Man, I just get home, turn the water on and let it run most of the night,” he said.

“How often do you do that?” I asked.

“Mmm…’bout every day.”

All I could think was, “Every day? C’mon, man. That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?”

If you break that seven billion figure down into family use what you’ll find is that of the 400 gallons of water a family of four can use per day, almost a third of it is used outdoors. And of that water, over half is used to water lawns and gardens. The other half goes toward other outdoor uses such as washing cars, cleaning driveways and pool maintenance.

So what’s the big deal? Well, not only is too much water being used, but some experts say that more than half of the water that is used for residential landscape irrigation is wasted on things such as overwatering, evaporation and wind, and inefficient irrigation design. So you have far too many people out there watering their lawns too often and too long and spraying water all over pavement and other areas that waste the water supply.

It’s sad, really, but not hopeless and harvesting the natural form of the one thing we often waste can not only help preserve our water but also save us a few bucks as well. Rainwater collection can be incredibly easy (and doesn’t have to look like you live next to a toxic waste dump - see above photo) - rain falls on your roof, runs down your gutter and into your rain barrel. The barrel includes a spigot that you connect a hose to and by way of gravity you water your plants using the water you collected. It can get a bit more complicated if you implement a more advanced system that incorporates pumps, flow controls and such, but it doesn’t have to be. So here you have it - three easy steps to begin harvesting rain:

1. Buy a rain collection barrel (and a downspout attachment).

2. Place it beneath a downspout.

3. Wait for rain (or do a rain dance if it’s not filling as quick as you’d like)

4. (Optional) Buy a pump (electric or battery powered), allowing you to water your lawn from the rain barrel.

Wanna know how much you could potentially collect using a rain barrel? Rainbarrelguide does the math for us. Still wondering if you should invest in the practice of harvesting rain? Do the math yourself…it’s elementary.

Far from traditional, this 6-sided luxury home has Craftsman style touches both inside and out. Sylvain Côté, owner of Absolute Remodeling in South Salem, New York moved into this home with his family in March 2006 and spent nearly two years on extensive renovation. One look at the photos makes it clear that the hard work payed off. Just last year it was awarded Professional Remodeler magazine Best of the Best Award in 2007.

A few of the renovation highlights include the addition of a third story along with a cupola, the stone chimney that was extended through all three floors stretching a total of 48 feet and each level of the house having a different type of re-milled wood flooring - hickory, chestnut and pine. Sylvain also pushed many “green” elements into the new home design including solar panels and a cooling system that utilizes the cupola.

Well done, Sylvain. This is nothing short of fabulous.

Oh, and the kitchen…well, just take a look. Very cool. A few too many track lights for my taste, but everything else is spot on.

By now everyone should know that green is in. It’s trendy, hip, happenin’ and is slowly creeping its way toward mainstream. Getting to this point hasn’t been easy, but among those becoming environmentally conscious there’s no need to feel shameful or dirty (see photo to the left) for not having yet adopted the tree hugger ways. That being said, there’s no reason you can’t get off your butt and start making some changes to your home right now.

Let’s take your kitchen for example - one of the areas that could benefit most by going green. There’s so much going on in that part of the house in terms of materials, chemicals and more energy being used than a family of hamsters on crack, but so much can be done to transform an environmentally unfriendly kitchen into a sort of tree hugger utopian chuck wagon. Of course, there’s a price to all of this happy earth kind of living. I mean, it’s not called “green” for nothing. Depending on how far you’re willing to go, you may need to expend a wad of green to get the green kitchen you’re longing for - though don’t take my word for it, just check out Gwendolyn Bounds from the Wall Street Journal.

Her Eco-kitchen challenge shows how far people can go with green design - $83,000 and 484 days after the water line of her refrigerator sprung a leak causing major damage, she had a new environmentally friendly kitchen. Now I don’t have a problem with people who spend lavishly on home renovations especially when they have that sort of expendable income (I should note that a portion of the cost was covered by her insurance) and she did have a pretty large kitchen to contend with, but I believe you can be equally as green and just as stylish for a lower cost. It would be great to see a breakdown of that $83,000 to see where that money was spent. Having to replace windows, drywall and such could add up quick so an itemized list would help clear up what I consider to be a fairly expensive renovation.

I loved the part of the article that basically said $83,000 was a good price in comparison to the average cost of other kitchens of the same quality, which happen to be about 20% more than what she paid for hers. After spending 83 grand I know that would make me feel better. I also loved her “didn’t break the bank” comment in the video. Clearly, Wall Street Journal readers are a more affluent crowd than the folks I hang with. But that’s okay. I have a great appreciation for what she did and the statement she made in creating her green kitchen.

And for some general background on eco-friendly kitchens I found Kirsten Ritchie, Director of sustainable design at Gensler, who did an interview with GreenHomeGuide back in 2005 where she spoke of making a greener kitchen. I found her list of environmental problems associated with conventional kitchens thought provoking and her answer to the last question about her favorite innovations or design ideas for a green kitchen gave me some practical ideas on what to include in a green kitchen design. Her mention of a “cold box” sent me searching on the web for someone who makes or sells this product but I can’t find anything on the topic. I’m assuming it’s something similar to a cooler you’d take on a camping trip or an ice box from the old days, though not quite as cold. But I’ve got nothing to go on so if anyone has a clue, please fill me in.

And finally, there is Michele Foley from CHOW who put together a comprehensive guide to building the ultimate green kitchen. It breaks down the many green options for floors, cabinets, countertops, appliances and other miscellaneous kitchen items and provides links for more information on each of the examples. I especially liked seeing all the options available for countertops. I had never even heard of some of those materials, which just goes to show that a little research can go a long way to turning the thought of going green into reality.

Oh, man…home gadgets can be so cool. Just take a look at Lucid Design Group’s Building Dashboard system for your home computer. It’s a piece of software for those tech nerds out there who also happen to be environmentally conscious tree hugger types. It allows homeowners to track their home energy consumption in several areas. From electricity and water use to solar electricity production and the amount of water collected from rainwater systems. “The interactive display shows how the home is performing at any given moment and how current performance compares to performance over the last month.” It can also calculate your cost of consumption and even provide you with the current and forecasted weather reports.

Their system was featured in Wired magazine’s recently introduced Home of the Future, which is a 4 million dollar LEED certified home meant to combine the best luxury and environmentally sound products on the homebuilding market today.

Clearly, you need to have a fat wallet to get this up and running, but how cool would it be to marry the old with the new? Renovate or build a vintage home and include this type of cutting edge technology…when I get there I’ll let you know.

Oh, and if you want a cheaper way to do some energy monitoring, check out what DIY Kyoto has put together. It’s called Wattson and it’s designed to pick up home electrical use within roughly 30 meters of the transmitter you install near the home’s electrical supply. A stylish digital readout on the top of the wireless display can show how much electricity it takes to run, say your TV or microwave, and switching off items in your home will result in the display showing what it costs to keep that item running. Another cool feature are the lights on the underbelly of the display. They turn blue when your electrical use is low and red when high. You can also connect Wattson to your computer, upload your energy consumption data and analyze it further or compare it to other Wattson users. Cost is about $300 though when I tried to place an order there was no option for folks in the U.S.

I was watching Living with Ed on HGTV last night and saw two products I never knew existed - first was the water powered garbage disposal. Invented by a NASA engineer and produced by Hydromaid, this disposal acts like a food processor, grinding all types of food into small bits. It consists of “five stainless steel blades, driven by a water-powered piston, [that] oscillate back and forth, mincing the food waste.” This baby will butcher nuts, bones, and practically all other food items that are usually tossed in the trash instead. What I find truly amazing is that this thing has been around since 1998 and it still seems to be barely known.

Makers of the Hydromaid disposal claim that the product is 20 decibals quieter than other disposals and that it uses about the same amount of water. Not surprisingly, back in 1998, after this product got a lot of attention at the National Housewares Show, In Sink erator, the disposal company goliath, claimed that “It uses an enormous amount of water…and takes five times as long as an electric disposer to grind the same amount of food.

For $300 it’s one of those things I’d really love to see in action before I would consider purchasing it. They definitely need a youtube video - something like this.

The second product I saw was the Vertex 90% efficient storage tank water heater. This just blows my whole tank vs. tankless water heater debate out of the water. I believe most tankless water heaters top out at 80-85% efficiency, so I’ve gotta talk to my neighborly engineer about this. He has some serious explaining to do.

Did I mention that Jay Leno owns one of these? God, now I really have to get one.

Thanks Ed, you made my day.

Useful links:

HGTV’s step-by-step guide to installing the water-powered disposal.