| Published: May 12, 2010 – 9:15 am
My neighbor Ed thinks he’s got an edge on me right now because he installed a “gray water” reclamation system. Gray water is the term civil engineers use to describe wastewater that is dirty, but not too dirty. We’re talking about water from the dishwasher, the clothes washer, and maybe the shower. Well, not so Read More >
| Published: February 2, 2010 – 2:20 pm
It’s dry in Southern California. Even when it’s raining, it’s a dry Mediterranean or semi-arid climate. So, we do what we can to conserve water. By long tradition, humans in our culture want a front yard. Well, setting up a water-gulping grass lawn is not going to help things around here, and of course, it Read More >
| Published: November 10, 2009 – 11:41 am
I happen to live up the street from one Ed Begley Jr. Oh yes, he’s a big time Hollywood actor. I say Hollywood, even though he, like me, lives in the great bit less prestigious Studio City. And oh yes, he’s been a green-living guy for many years. Ah, but I’m right behind him.
Since the early 1990′s, Ed has had solar panels, photovoltaic thin sheets of specially prepared silicon that convert sunlight directly into electricity. Oh yes, Ed’s got a brand new integrated solar heating and solar drinkable hot water system. Oh yes, Ed’s got a garden from which he gets plenty of vegetables. He’s got an on-site composter, too. And oh yes, Ed’s got a drought tolerant, what we like to call “xeriscaped,” yard. In Greek, “xeri” is “dry.” But I too, have all (well almost all) of these things. Ha! Begley; take that! Read More >
