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Aug
24
Posted by Mark Clawson
Green Links Las Vegas starts the week off by taking a look at fuel cell technology. Are mushrooms the answer? You can find out by clicking on this link to an article by Tina Casey writing for CleanTechnica.
Are we letting our guard down it our search for killer astroids? Seth Borenstein’s article in the Tacoma News Tribune suggests that it might be the case. Congress is not getting the funds to NASA and this research is what I would consider fairly essential. Stuff does happen!
Here is some more news on toilet technology from Consumer Reports; video included at the link. For more information on Green Toilets you can check out the post that I wrote a few weeks back.
Did you know that under a 1944 treaty, Mexico receives 1.5 million acre-feet of water a year from the Colorado River. That’s five times more than Nevada’s share, but only about one third of what California gets and about half of what Arizona receives. An article in the Las Vegas Review Journal written by Henry Brean discusses the possibility of desalination plants in Mexico.
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Jun
10
Posted by Mark Clawson
I’m hoping that this photo caught your attention!
This post is about dual flow toilets; I never imagined writing a post on toilets. We have definitely come a long way from the flushing devices of the mid- nineteenth century. Toilets of that era would use about seven gallons of water to flush away our waste.
When the low flow technology came out in the mid 1990’s they were unpredictable and rather inefficient. They just used less water and in many cases that just wasn’t enough to move it along. The gravity assisted toilets of the past worked best with more water; since the force of the water, with the help of gravity, worked pretty well. The new water conservation laws in the 1990’s mandated lower water usage and that became a problem.
Adjustments were made to widen the passage ways into the bowl and out of the toilets. Different materials were used to reduce the friction working against the water and its’ waste. Then there were pressure assisted flush toilets; using pressurized air to push the waste along. However, they are a little noisy and some required an energy source.
Now Carmona, an Australian company, has come up with a dual flush model that does the job very well.
Their Sidney Smart model has one button that uses only .89 gallons of water and is used for liquid wastes. The second button uses 1.28 gallons of water; this is used for the heavier stuff. The company wanted to conserve water and make it efficient at the same time. The trap way at the bottom of the bowl has been expanded to 4 inches; almost double the size of conventional toilets.
They have a wash down gravity system and this keeps the bowl cleaner. This is more effective than the siphon system which pulls the waste down after the water. Since there is less water and it is further away from you the splash back is reduced significantly. They also offer removable toilet seat models making cleaning much easier.
The toilet is something that we use everyday. You can make a positive impact on the environment! The Carmona website has a calculator that shows you how much water and money you can save. This is definitely something to have installed when you are doing new construction.
