Residential water trends for the United States

Here is a report that studied water trends from the past 50 years (pdf) and found both good/bad news. The good: A household in the 2008 billing year used 11,678 gallons less water annually than an identical household did in 1978. To investigate the causes of this decline, a local study of statistically representative households of …

Sharing my joy of visiting the farmers market

Through the crowds and into the market a world awaits me. Exotic fruits, luscious vegetables, and peculiar personalities. An uncharted world for one raised on the supermarkets of America. I learn simple things like knowing to smell a melon or mush a peach (but only on top). It is a food education and the market …

Don’t reuse floss – it’s gross

I have something terribly gross for you. Something so detestable you certainly won’t think of it like reusing a toothbrush. A bathroom act that asks you to wash and reuse. This despicable act is to reuse your floss. Floss is different from a toothbrush or comb because it goes in your mouth. It is now …

How many baths could I get from a rainstorm?

From the USGS Water Science School: Let’s say your house sits on a one-half acre lot. And let’s say you get a storm that drops 1 inch of rain. You’ve just received 13,577 gallons of water on your yard. A big bath holds about 40 gallons of water, so if you could save that inch …

The joy of bodysurfing & doing it dangerously in Tahiti

It’s not everyday that ESPN covers bodysurfing, here is Keith Malloy: When I was a kid, my friends and I would go down to the beach and kind of camp all day. When you’re a kid the experience of being at the beach is just as good as actually surfing. We would leave our boards …

Peter Jackson releases an iPhone, iPad app for The Hobbit

Peter Jackson’s behind-the-scenes extras are legendary and this new iPhone, iPad app for The Hobbit should be fun: View animated character portraits, travel through an interactive map of Middle-earth, watch Peter Jackson’s production videos, and explore the stunning narrative imagery of “The Scroll” artwork to immerse yourself in the world of Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, Orcs, deadly Wargs, …

The ‘dirty’ middle class

I propose a new way to think about the Great Recession in America. Instead of the middle class is dying, how about the dirty middle class is dying. The way of life where overconsumption and gas guzzling is more American than recycling or biking. If our energy supply can be both dirty and clean, why …

Join 600,000 global volunteers – Coastal Cleanup Day, Sep 15, 2012

For 25 years volunteers have gathered together for Coastal Cleanup Day. The annual event takes place this year on the morning of September 15, 2012. To volunteer in California visit the California Coastal Commission. For anywhere else visit International Coastal Cleanup. You can also take a pledge to keep our waters trash free, and follow …