The topic du jour of most of the forums and the most politically correct thing to take action on these days is the “green” revolution. Local governments are mandating water conserving appliances and fixtures, sometimes out of pure necessity as mentioned in my comments below. The thing that seems to be troubling most people in the forums is getting used to the low CFM toilets and whether they flush well without stopping up. This problem gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “anal retentive” and it seems that the toilet manufacturer that has the lead in this technology is TOTO. As I discuss, below, briefly in my subject thread, the Atlanta area has suffered with a long term drought situation. The State of Georgia has enacted a sales tax revenue holiday once a year to abate the tax that would normally have to be paid on any product that is energy or water saving. This abatement also applies to the best of the “Energy Star” appliances. Local governments in Georgia and across the country have enacted new code restrictions which require new construction and renovations utilize low CFM toilets and fixtures. If you sell your home you have to retrofit it with these new fixtures before closing.
In December I proposed a thread in a popular DIY discussion group and although I received another posting just yesterday, I was disappointed that I wasn’t absolutely covered up with opinions. Here is my thread question and the responses I received.
Q. Are you in on the "Green Revolution”?
This is not politically motivated, strictly for discussion and curiosity. We in the Atlanta area are now into our second year of drought and the effects of water rationing and out and out loss of water resources. Lawns have died and more importantly we are losing scores of small businesses, landscapers, nurseries etc due to the problem. I would be interested in hearing from the forum members how important it is to them , personally, to seek out and use plumbing fixtures not just low flush toilets but showerheads, faucets etc that are designed for smart water useage. Is lowering your footprint as important as how the faucet looks? How has your family and community been affected of late by the loss of water resources?thanks Richard
Answer: The fact is you should be able to have low-flow fixtures, toilets, faucets and shower heads while still keeping the exact same aesthetics. I was in Atlanta just over a year ago, and the drought was effecting me just for the week I was there. I think water conservation is something that many homeowners and builders don't really think about. Hopefully the word will spread nationwide
My Response: I hope so also. Thanks for the support. We are really suffering here in Atlanta and what triggered my thread question was that so many people seem to be hung up on the esthetics as you mention. I like a pretty bathroom or Kitchen faucet as much as the next guy but you know I like one that puts out water when you turn it on no matter what it looks like.
Answer: Seems like if everyone's lawn is dying, it's time to start selling alternatives that are drought resistant...traditional lawns are huge water suckers, and there are a lot of alternatives that are less work and require less water. Granted, for us, lowering our footprint is more important. However, I've not yet had a problem finding fixtures that also look good, and I'm pretty finicky about this stuff. We replaced the shower head as soon as we moved in, and our new low-flow one looks nicer and works better than the old one. We're considering replacing the old toilet, and I've seen several low flows that look nice.PA has had way too much water this year...my basil actually drowned last May in a raised bed because we had 3 times our normal amount of rain. It's doing terrible things to the old sewage and storm water drains that weren't meant to handle this much water. Here's hoping the balance gets restored soon.
Answer: the only real way to get people to use less water is to charge more money, if like most utility companies, the Atlanta area water companies are unable to raise rates to match this new environment, then other draconian efforts by governments usually end up being enacted and often not working. That said I'm a big fan of the green revolution, as long as people really understand what going green is. Going green doesn't mean tearing out your kitchen and replacing all those products with "environmentally friendly" products unless you were going to remodel your kitchen anyway, and even then, its probably greener not to remodel. I've read lots of articles about supposed green buildings using lots of glass, glass has a horrible R rating and would suck a lot of energy out of the building during the cold months. Answer: Are the bamboo floors really environmentally friendly if they have to be shipped from china? Anything wrong using renewable Pine? Although questions will have more hype than good answers over the next few years. I'm going to do my best to reduce my waste starting with solid wastes (trash & recycling) and then energy with gas & electricity, and lastly water. With the price of water, and abundance in my part of the country, it doesn't make sense to place much priority on it.
Answer: We haven't had many problems with water shortages up here in Michigan except a couple times during the year when we aren’t suppose to water our lawns everyday only every other day. We try to conserve anyways though. Some LED lighting I've seen is something that can help conserve large amounts of electricity doesn't really help with the water.
Answer: I bought a low flow shower head about 10 years ago when we lived in a house with low water pressure. I like a shower head that's close to a fire hose and this little European model delivered. It was $9 at Home Depot. Is it pretty? Maybe not, but then again, I don't think shower heads are a pretty item anyway. So now we have a low flow toilet, low flow shower and sinks....and a washer that only puts in the water necessary for the load I'm doing without having to select small, medium or large.
Answer: I never water my lawn Just makes it grow then I have to mow it Of course it doesn't get that hot around here I also l have a stream on the property At some point I will put in a well for irrigation. My garden is located down low near the river It gets watered very rarely & the tomatoes grow 8' tall I have (5) 55g barrels to catch rainwater for my flower gardens. Other than that I don't use water outside. We use 1700g of water every 3 months for a family of 3. I'm actually looking for lower flow shower heads - 1.5 -1.89gpm. As soon as I find one I like I'll buy it. I take long showers so that could save 5-10g per day.
I had a total of 6 responses over a 7 week period. If we used my thread as a barometer of the American public’s regard for the “green revolution” then there would be no revolution at all. It wouldn’t even qualify as a minor protest. The police wouldn’t even have to be there to break up the action, hell, we wouldn’t even block a sidewalk with the protesters. The other 235,000,000 folks in the U.S. couldn't care less or at least the ones that read this particular forum.
In December I proposed a thread in a popular DIY discussion group and although I received another posting just yesterday, I was disappointed that I wasn’t absolutely covered up with opinions. Here is my thread question and the responses I received.
Q. Are you in on the "Green Revolution”?
This is not politically motivated, strictly for discussion and curiosity. We in the Atlanta area are now into our second year of drought and the effects of water rationing and out and out loss of water resources. Lawns have died and more importantly we are losing scores of small businesses, landscapers, nurseries etc due to the problem. I would be interested in hearing from the forum members how important it is to them , personally, to seek out and use plumbing fixtures not just low flush toilets but showerheads, faucets etc that are designed for smart water useage. Is lowering your footprint as important as how the faucet looks? How has your family and community been affected of late by the loss of water resources?thanks Richard
Answer: The fact is you should be able to have low-flow fixtures, toilets, faucets and shower heads while still keeping the exact same aesthetics. I was in Atlanta just over a year ago, and the drought was effecting me just for the week I was there. I think water conservation is something that many homeowners and builders don't really think about. Hopefully the word will spread nationwide
My Response: I hope so also. Thanks for the support. We are really suffering here in Atlanta and what triggered my thread question was that so many people seem to be hung up on the esthetics as you mention. I like a pretty bathroom or Kitchen faucet as much as the next guy but you know I like one that puts out water when you turn it on no matter what it looks like.
Answer: Seems like if everyone's lawn is dying, it's time to start selling alternatives that are drought resistant...traditional lawns are huge water suckers, and there are a lot of alternatives that are less work and require less water. Granted, for us, lowering our footprint is more important. However, I've not yet had a problem finding fixtures that also look good, and I'm pretty finicky about this stuff. We replaced the shower head as soon as we moved in, and our new low-flow one looks nicer and works better than the old one. We're considering replacing the old toilet, and I've seen several low flows that look nice.PA has had way too much water this year...my basil actually drowned last May in a raised bed because we had 3 times our normal amount of rain. It's doing terrible things to the old sewage and storm water drains that weren't meant to handle this much water. Here's hoping the balance gets restored soon.
Answer: the only real way to get people to use less water is to charge more money, if like most utility companies, the Atlanta area water companies are unable to raise rates to match this new environment, then other draconian efforts by governments usually end up being enacted and often not working. That said I'm a big fan of the green revolution, as long as people really understand what going green is. Going green doesn't mean tearing out your kitchen and replacing all those products with "environmentally friendly" products unless you were going to remodel your kitchen anyway, and even then, its probably greener not to remodel. I've read lots of articles about supposed green buildings using lots of glass, glass has a horrible R rating and would suck a lot of energy out of the building during the cold months. Answer: Are the bamboo floors really environmentally friendly if they have to be shipped from china? Anything wrong using renewable Pine? Although questions will have more hype than good answers over the next few years. I'm going to do my best to reduce my waste starting with solid wastes (trash & recycling) and then energy with gas & electricity, and lastly water. With the price of water, and abundance in my part of the country, it doesn't make sense to place much priority on it.
Answer: We haven't had many problems with water shortages up here in Michigan except a couple times during the year when we aren’t suppose to water our lawns everyday only every other day. We try to conserve anyways though. Some LED lighting I've seen is something that can help conserve large amounts of electricity doesn't really help with the water.
Answer: I bought a low flow shower head about 10 years ago when we lived in a house with low water pressure. I like a shower head that's close to a fire hose and this little European model delivered. It was $9 at Home Depot. Is it pretty? Maybe not, but then again, I don't think shower heads are a pretty item anyway. So now we have a low flow toilet, low flow shower and sinks....and a washer that only puts in the water necessary for the load I'm doing without having to select small, medium or large.
Answer: I never water my lawn Just makes it grow then I have to mow it Of course it doesn't get that hot around here I also l have a stream on the property At some point I will put in a well for irrigation. My garden is located down low near the river It gets watered very rarely & the tomatoes grow 8' tall I have (5) 55g barrels to catch rainwater for my flower gardens. Other than that I don't use water outside. We use 1700g of water every 3 months for a family of 3. I'm actually looking for lower flow shower heads - 1.5 -1.89gpm. As soon as I find one I like I'll buy it. I take long showers so that could save 5-10g per day.
I had a total of 6 responses over a 7 week period. If we used my thread as a barometer of the American public’s regard for the “green revolution” then there would be no revolution at all. It wouldn’t even qualify as a minor protest. The police wouldn’t even have to be there to break up the action, hell, we wouldn’t even block a sidewalk with the protesters. The other 235,000,000 folks in the U.S. couldn't care less or at least the ones that read this particular forum.
To say the least, as a person who has lived with the effects of a drought and the precursors to global warming, I was disappointed. Tell me what you think.
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