conservation

Bidet vs. Hand Bidet Sprayer

Jeff9 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 04:58:56 -0400

vs.

There are many advantages of getting a hand bidet sprayer over the traditional bidet not the least of which is cost. Not only the cost of buying it which is substantial (for the full size bidet) but for the cost of installation also. With the hand bidet sprayer you don’t need a plumber to install it. Assuming you even have the space to fit one there are more additional compelling reasons not to.

For example stand alone bidets are simply not as effective at what they are supposed to achieve and that is cleaning your nether regions. The problem is two fold. One, they lack control as they are in a set position and mechanically controlled so you have less chance of getting to certain spots. Second the water pressure is considerably less so when cleaning your butt you may find that it has not really done the job. With the hand held sprayer you get complete control and better water flow which provides much better results.

Another often unthought-of aspect of the conventional bidet’s sprayer is that since the spray mechanism is mechanical and comes out underneath you there is the distinct possibility of residue falling on and staying on the sprayer from one use to the other, a most unpleasant thought. With the handheld sprayer not only does it NOT have to be directly beneath you (it more than likely will be held at a side angle since it’s in your hand) it is also extremely accessible for cleaning (it) and because of the greater water pressure and flow it tends to be more self-cleaning.

Then there is the maintenance aspect which I doubt many people want to try and figure out why the automated spray wand has stopped coming out on their conventional bidet whereas the potential problems with the hand sprayer are minimal and very easy to correct.

Finally there is the logistics in that most people only put a conventional bidet in their master bath whereas with the hand held bidet sprayer you can put them in all of the bathrooms so that everyone benefits. One reason for that is space, which usually only the master bath has enough room for the stand alone bidet. As you can see the hand held bathroom bidet sprayer is superior in every way to the conventional stand alone bidet, oh and I almost forgot…..who wants to get up and move from the toilet to another place to get clean anyways? That doesn’t seem like a very sanitary or efficient operation to me at all. www.bathroomsprayers.com

THE BUTT OF TOO MANY JOKES

Jeff9 — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:17:30 -0400

Americans are a very proud people, and rightly so. At times there are people who get indignant at the idea that their toilet paper is not adequate for cleaning up with because how can anyone suggest that our technology is inferior to another countries, especially some third world country?! The idea of using a Bathroom Bidet Sprayer incites furious outcries! But hear me out; nothing could be farther from the truth. Actually it is because our technology is so good, the best, that we find ourselves stuck with a method that is now antiquated and even potentially harmful. You see we have the best plumbing in the world and because of that we can flush massive amounts of toilet paper down the pipes with no problem (usually). Have you ever seen on of those vortex toilets? I swear I believe that if it got ahold of my leg it would take all of me down! Now take a look at the so-called third world toilets. The horror: a hole in the ground and no seat = the infamous “squat toilet”. Now these toilets cannot take massive amounts of toilet paper because they have no flusher, you have to poor water in them to make them work and even if there is any toilet paper (not usually) you are supposed to put it in a bin nearby, shudder. So they came up with the hand sprayer to get clean with. That way you need minimal toilet paper, or a towel since all you have to do is dry off. Now I’ve heard all the snickers and comments about walking around with a wet spot on your pants and although humorous I’m afraid that’s all they are because it’s just not the case. And with a hand bidet sprayer in the comfort of your own bathroom there is no concern whatsoever. If the French hadn’t been the one to invent the bidet and thereby tainted its image forever I believe these would be commonplace it the US and other western countries. (My apologies to any French People but we all know why you invented perfume so it's only natural that there would be a distrust of something new that sprays water up your hoohoo). But fortunately for us the less affluent countries came up with their less expensive take on the concept and as they usually do, improved on it, because the hand bidet sprayer works much better than the traditional bidet. This is an idea whose time has come. At Bathroom Sprayers.com they have the best selection and quality of hand bidet sprayers available. They provide a kit for easy installation without a plumber. You owe it to yourself, and your family, to check it out. It's your life, make it the best it can be. www.bathroomsprayers.com

Don’t Say It Spray It!

davidstanley — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:08:32 -0400

How many times have you heard someone say that they would recycle if only a bin was provided for it? Or was it you yourself that possibly announced that you believe we should all live greener, less polluting lives but can’t seem to figure out how to accomplish it? Well now you can….don’t just Say it, Spray it.

You can have an immediate positive impact on the environment and your bank account by getting a Hand Bidet Sprayer for your bathroom. It doesn’t get any easier than this. For under $50.00 you can install one without a plumber and almost eliminate the need for toilet paper….forever.

And it’s not something you have to endure any pain or extra effort for, like you do with separating your plastics and paper for recycling. No, instead this makes your life easier by providing you with a more convenient and superior way to get clean after using the toilet. And for people who think this sounds too strange or don’t understand the concept I would put it to you this way; Dr. Oz on Oprah said it best: "if you had pee or poop on your hand, you wouldn't wipe it off with paper, would you? You'd wash it off”. This is not a bidet I am talking about, that is impractical and too expensive. This is a hand bidet sprayer.

It’s the best way to reach those areas you need to wash regularly and for people looking for an excuse not to get one and claiming drought as their ultimate defense sorry but this uses less water than jumping up on the sink to wash or taking a shower especially since it has an on/off trigger so it’s only spraying water when you need it. It also has an overall water saving from the fact that toilet paper manufacturers are huge water users so by lessoning the amount of toilet paper used you are saving water and lowering the pollution they cause.

Even if you are afraid of being called a tree hugger (unlikely with one of these) no one in today’s economy can turn a blind eye to saving money. Have you looked at the price of toilet paper lately? With one of these sprayers and in your own personal bathroom you actually don’t need toilet paper at all. Do you use tissues to dry your hands? No, you use a towel. And don’t say ewww, it would be your personal towel (as it should be for drying your hands and everything else too). Don’t worry, you can still leave toilet paper out for your guests. You can even make it the soft stuff and not feel too guilty because of how little you are using now.

Now we’re talking green without any pain. Available at http://www.bathroomsprayers.com/ And it has health benefits also, see; http://www.bathroomsprayers.com/info/mypage.php?page=16

How To Stop Drafts and Save on Energy Bills

batticdoor — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 12:51:38 -0500

How To Stop Drafts and Save On Energy Bills Imagine leaving a window open all winter long -- the heat loss, cold drafts and wasted energy! If your home has a folding pull-down attic stair, a whole housefan, a fireplace or clothes dryer, that may be just what is occurring in your home every day. Drafts from these often overlooked holes waste energy and cost you big in the form of higher energy bills. Drafts are the largest source of heating and cooling loss in the home. Drafts occur through the small cracks around doors, windows, pipes, etc. Most homeowners are well aware of the benefits that caulk and weatherstripping provide to minimize energy loss and drafts. But what can you do about drafts from the four largest “holes” in your home -- the folding attic stair, the whole house fan, the fireplace and the clothes dryer? Here are some tips and techniques that can easily, quickly and inexpensively seal and insulate these holes. Attic Stairs When attic stairs are installed, a large hole (approximately 10 square feet) is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to beremoved, leaving only a thin, unsealed, sheet of plywood. Your attic space is ventilated directly to the outdoors. In the winter, the attic space can be very cold, and in the summer it can be very hot. And what is separating your conditioned house from your unconditioned attic? That thin sheet of plywood. Often a gap can be observed around the perimeter of the attic door. Try this yourself: at night, turn on the attic light and shut the attic stairway door -- do you see any light coming through? If you do, heated and air-conditioned air is leaking out of these large gaps in your home 24-hours a day. This is like leaving a window or skylight open all year ‘round. An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add an insulated attic stair cover. An attic stair cover seals the stairs, stopping drafts and energy loss. Add the desired amount of insulation over the cover to restore the insulation removed from the ceiling. Whole House Fans and Air Conditioning Vents Much like attic stairs above, when whole house fans are installed, a large hole (up to 16 square feet or larger) is created in your ceiling. The ceiling and insulation that were there have to be removed, leaving only the drafty ceiling shutter between you and the outdoors. An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a whole house fan shutter seal. Made from white textured flexible insulation, the shutter seal is installed over the ceiling shutter, secured with Velcro, and trimmed to fit. The shutter seal can also be used to seal and insulate air conditioning vents, and is easily removed when desired. Fireplaces Over 100 million homes, in North America are constructed with wood or gas burning fireplaces. Unfortunately there are negative side effects that the fireplace brings to a home, especially during the winter heating season. Fireplaces are energy losers. Researchers have studied this to determine the amount of heat loss through a fireplace, and the results are amazing. One research study showed that an open damper on an unused fireplace in a well-insulated house can raise overall heating-energy consumption by 30 percent. A recent study showed that for many consumers, their heating bills may be more than $500 higher per winter due to the drafts and wasted energy caused by fireplaces. Why does a home with a fireplace have higher energy bills? Your chimney is an opening that leads directly outdoors -- just like an open window. Even if the damper is shut, it is not airtight. Glass doors don’t stop the drafts either. The fireplace is like a giant straw sucking your expensive heated or air-conditioned air right out of your house! An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a Fireplace Plug to your fireplace. Available from Battic Door, a company known for their energy conservation products, the Fireplace Plug is an inflatable pillow that seals the fireplace damper, eliminating drafts, odors, and noise. The pillow is removed whenever the fireplace is used, then reinserted after. Clothes Dryer Exhaust Ducts In many homes, the room with the clothes dryer is the coldest room in the house. Your clothes dryer is connected to an exhaust duct that is open to the outdoors. In the winter, cold drafts in through the duct, through your dryer and into your house. Dryer vents use a sheet-metal flapper to try to reduce these drafts. This is very primitive technology that does not provide a positive seal to stop the drafts. Compounding the problem is that over time, lint clogs the flapper valve causing it to stay open. An easy, low-cost solution to this problem is to add a dryer vent seal. This will reduce unwanted drafts, and also keeps out pests, bees and rodents. The vent will remain closed unless the dryer is in use. When the dryer is in use, a floating shuttle rises to allow warm air, lint and moisture to escape. For more information on Battic Door’s energy conservation solutions and products for your home, visit www.batticdoor.com or, to request a free catalog, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to P.O. Box 15, Mansfield, MA 02048. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Mark D. Tyrol is a Professional Engineer specializing in cause and origin of construction defects. He developed several residential energy conservation products including an attic stair cover and an attic access door. Battic Door is the US distributor of the fireplace plug. To learn more visit www.batticdoor.com

In The Blue

scleaver — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:43:40 -0400

You want your barista’s latte spoon clean, sure, but recent news reports accuse Starbucks of wasting as many as six million gallons of water each day. All that water runs down the tap because of a company policy that requires stores to keep water running in the sink constantly, so germs don’t build up.

As Eat.Drink.Better. discussed, all that water would be enough to provide water for two million people in Namibia. In fact, “a single Starbucks tap left running for just over three minutes wastes the amount of water one African needs to survive for a day in drought conditions.”

And, as Eat.Drink.Better. points out, this isn’t just about wasting water, but about corporate responsibility—Starbucks owns Ethos Water that donates money to help water programs around the world and Starbucks itself touts environmentalism as a company policy.

If you want to avoid Starbucks next time you need a cup of coffee, try CoffeeShopFind.com or IndieCoffeeShops.com to find and add your own.

Photo from Big Marketing Blog.

Calculate Your 'Water Footprint'

jplatt — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:09:44 -0400

Do you or any of your family members spend too much time in the shower? Are your toilets designed to save water? How about your faucets, are they installed with conservation in mind? How about your lawn...

Okay, let's just get to the real questions: How much water do you use on a daily basis? And how much can you conserve?

A group called H2O Conserve wants to help you answer those questions. Their new online water calculator not takes you through your direct water usage, but the water used to produce your food and other goods, to come up with what they call your Water Footprint.

It's this later side that many people don't think about. Says H2O Conserve: "Your water footprint includes other factors such as water utilized to cool power plants that provide your electricity, and water saved when you recycle. You may not drink, feel or see this water, but it makes up the great majority of your water footprint."

The water calculator is great fun, and takes about 5 minutes or less. When you're done, the site will present not only your water footprint (mine came up at over 1,000 gallons per day!), but what you can do to reduce it. The site contains dozens of great tips, any one of which can save you tens of gallons every single day.

Give it a try. You might be shocked by what you come up with.

Books vs. eBooks: Which Are Greener?

jplatt — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:39:56 -0400

Amazon.com has sold nearly 300,000 of its Kindle eBook readers since it introduced the device earlier this year. Rumors of a Kindle 2.0 release before year-end have been squashed, but that doesn't mean that the interest in electronic books is fading. If anything, it continues to grow and hit new markets.

But is an eBook really greener than a regular, paper book?

Let's examine some of the issues:

Books are printed on paper. Paper requires trees and extensive chemical processing. But paper can be recycled, and a paper book can be read more than once, by more than one person. The more times a book is read, the "greener" it becomes. (Libraries, gotta love 'em!)

Books are heavy. Paper weighs a lot, especially if we're talking about hardcover books, books printed on glossy paper (say, graphic novels), textbooks, etc. The more a book weighs, the more expensive (and less green) it is to deliver it to a retailer or to your mailbox.

eBooks need energy. Every time you read an electronic book, you need to use some electricity. This need will be minimized as electronic paper technologies improve, but no matter what, you can't search for, buy, deliver or read an eBook without the "e."

eBooks have no resale value. Once you've read a paper book, you can keep it, discard it or sell it. Some used books are barely worth 25 cents; others can become collectors' items and be worth a fair amount of change. Any time an object can be re-used or re-sold, it is greener than something that can not.

eBooks = eWaste. eBook reader technologies are still developing. Early adopters are going to end up trading in their devices for new ones, and that creates the possibility that the old devices will just create electronic waste.

What's the bottom line? It's still a decision that should be made by the individual reader. If you read books more than once, collect them, trade them, or just enjoy the feel of a paper book in your hand, traditional books are still the way to go. But if you read books once, don't want to worry about disposing of them, read a lot for business or school, and want to avoid shipping costs (include greenhouse gases), then an eBook reader might be the best thing ever.

Free Mobile Phone Game Aims to Save Gorillas

jplatt — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Mobile games are the fastest growing segment of the electronic gaming market. Now, a new cell-phone game promises fun gameplay while teaching users about the challenges faced by Rwanda's endangered mountain gorillas.

"Silverback," a free mobile game produced for the conservation group Flora & Fauna International, offers game-play that mimics the struggles mountain gorillas face in the wild. The game follows a gorilla through his entire lifecycle. In the first level, you're a young gorilla separated from his family. Later, you have to defend yourself against rival silverbacks, find a mate, start a family, avoid poachers and snares, and find safe food and habitat.

The game is free to download (although your cell provider may charge for the data download). The developers hope that users will donate £5 (about $10) or more to help fund gorilla conservation efforts.

Mountain gorillas are one of the world's most endangered primate species, with only an estimated 700 members left.

Send an Instant Message, Fight Global Warming

jplatt — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

How many instant messages do you send every day? What if each time you sent an IM, you ended up contributing money to fight global warming or protect the environment?

Microsoft's i'm Initiative does just that. The program's name is short for "I'm making a difference," and it does just that. By using Windows Live Messenger as your IM client, and by adding a special code to your screen name, you end up contributing to one of ten charities every time you start an IM conversation.

The money comes from advertising revenue (the ads appear on Live Messenger, just like with any other IM client), and Microsoft has promised that each of its ten "partner" charities will receive at least $100,000. (The program has already raised more than $1,400,000 -- so they've obviously already past that point!)

You can choose from three different conservation organizations -- StopGlobalWarming.org, the Sierra Club, or the Humane Society of the United State -- as well as other worthy causes like the Susan G. Komen Foundation or the American Red Cross.

I like this system because it takes something people are already doing and turns it into an instant act of activism. So if you're already IMing, why not use it to do some good?

Want to learn more about global warming?

Top 10 Lesser-Known Myths About Global Warming

New Report: Doubts Grow About Global Warming

Top 10 Ways to Prevent Global Warming

Global Warming Cartoons

Jared Leto Pushes Back on Global Warming

Clean, Renewable Energy: The Answer to Global Warming

What You Eat Can Affect Global Warming, New Study Shows

A Bird in Hand-- the Food Chain in Order

jchatraw — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

When it comes to learning to appreciate the all-too-familiar, just leave it to a toddler to bring the familiar wide-eyed wonderment. In looking for something fun and interactive to take my one-year-old daughter to this weekend, I stumbled across the Bald Eagle Day exhibit at a nearby park in the paper's activity listings.

After bundling up my daughter, Faith, to the point that she looked like a pink marshmallow with legs, I found myself anticipating the impending experience. After all, I had never really seen a Bald Eagle up close.

Upon arriving at the snow blanketed park, we walked toward the exhibit area and never quite made it inside the Bald Eagle show. It was too exciting outside, where my daughter was enthralled by the bird handlers' hawk and falcon. As I held Faith near the birds, she was initially a little frightened, burying her head into my shoulder whenever the Peregrine Falcon looked in her direction. But after a few moments, she began to warm up to the birds.

It wasn't long before she noticed that the falcon's eyes looked strangely similar to her baby doll's eyes ... eyes she likes to poke. (I guess beady eyes all look alike to toddlers.) That's when I saw her finger emerge and began moving directly toward a collision course with the falcon's eye. I quickly stepped backward to avoid disaster, like a talon to the face.

What I learned in between closely studying the falcon and keeping my daughter from gouging out the falcon's eye was fascinating. The art of falconry has been around for more than 2,500 years and is uniquely tied to conservation efforts today. As ironic as it may seem, falconers are as passionate about making sure birds of prey are around to keep the food chain in proper working order as they are about training their birds. The Peregrine Fund is a great organization that is working hard to ensure these birds' survival.

In the end, I never did get to see a Bald Eagle up close, but I have a new appreciation for these birds that swoop down and snatch little rodents off the ground. They're as regal and majestic on the ground as they are in the air—and I hope they never find themselves on the brink of extinction.