Energy From Drinking Water

Drinkable water right from a tap in your home is a relatively new and amazing thing. Just when you thought water delivery systems couldn’t get any better a company has converted pipes into energy generators. Their new pipes can capture energy from water as it flows to its destination to provide a small amount of energy for communities.

“We have a project in Riverside, California, where they’re using it to power streetlights at night,” Semler says. “During the day, when electricity prices are high, they can use it to offset some of their operating costs.”

In Portland, one of the city’s main pipelines now uses Lucid’s pipes to make power that’s sent into the grid. Though the system can’t generate enough energy for an entire city, the pipes can power individual buildings like a school or library, or help offset a city’s total energy bill. Unlike wind or solar power, the system can generate electricity at any time of day, regardless of weather, since the pipes always have water flowing through them.

Read more.

Bottled Water and You

Bottled water is a good idea in times of disasters (when water systems are inoperable), but for the rest of the time is bottle water a good thing? No.

Green Options examines how you can lessen your impact on the environment by simply not drinking bottled water in the article Lighter Footstep: 5 Reasons Not to Drink Bottled Water.

What can you do?

There’s a simple alternative to bottled water: buy a stainless steel thermos, and use it. Don’t like the way your local tap water tastes? Inexpensive carbon filters will turn most tap water sparking fresh at a fraction of bottled water’s cost.

Consider taking Food and Water Watch’s No Bottled Water Pledge. Conserve water wherever possible, and stay on top of local water issues.

Belated Thanks

I’ve been gone for a week working at a camp in Ontario’s north so I haven’t had a chance to thank everyone for coming out to our GOOD event last week! (Photos to come later) We were able to raise over $300 for Amnesty International!

Thanks to everybody who came out, and thanks to those who showed their good art!

The bands that rocked our socks were:
The Jeff Selver Experience
Terror Lake
Foxes

The artists that made our eyes feel special were:
Vivian Chong, Adi Zeharia, Sarah from The Rage, and Colin Stark, and Vivek from One Spirit Jewelry.

Let’s do it again sometime!

Clean Water for Rural Africa? It’s Child’s Play!

Here’s some good news from South Africa! A Non-for-profit company called PlayPumps International has developed a children’s merry-go-round that also doubles as a water pump for villages in rural Africa.

As the children play on the merry-go-round, clean water is pumped into clean reservoir for use later by villagers. It’s a creative and fun way to help kids with very little to help themselves.

Right now, half the people in developing countries are suffering from water-related diseases. 1.7 million children under the age of five die from diarrhea each year.

For more information or to donate, see the PlayPumps website

Scroll To Top