Archive for August, 2008
You are currently browsing the Jackie Koerner blog archives for August, 2008.
20
Aug
2008
Where have All the Hippies Gone?
Thank you, Paula Marina for your wonderful image!
They never left really. Hippies are among us. Even the members of society who don’t consider themselves hippies may just be a little bit hippie. Think about it. A large majority of us recycle and have demanded recycling services from our waste haulers. Vehicles are becoming more eco-friendly, despite the increase in size. But they are getting better. We’re more conscious about our footprint on the Earth. Perhaps some people release bugs back into the wild instead of squishing them on sight.
Many of these hippie policies have integrated into everyday life. Perhaps this is good – all except the drug use and open “encounters”. If more of us accept these heathy, positive principles, perhaps the Earth might look a little younger around the eyes.
Next time you laugh at someone recycling everything in sight, just remember they did that for you, their kids and your kids. Next time you see a hybrid, recognize how cool that is. Think about growing some veggies – they taste so much better than the grocery store. And even think about getting some chickens – I’ll get you set up with some chicks and tons of info!
8
Aug
2008
Rainy Review of Rain Barrels
Painted Rain Barrels from Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewer District's Website
I’ve always tried to be green about things, especially when it comes to water conservation. I intend on getting two rain barrels for the house once I get my hubby to agree. The rain water collected in the barrels should not be consumed. It is best suited for watering gardens, grass and trees. Some people even use the water to wash their cars, house and even the dog. Using rain water instead of throwing it away down storm drains helps the community and keeps lawns free of muddy grass paths created by rainwater runoff.
A bit more about rain barrels: Lawn and garden care account for 40% of the water consumption during the summer months. This is about 1,300 gallons! Using rain barrels also decreases the runoff into storm sewers and bodies of water. One inch of rain on a 1,000 square foot roof equates to 623 gallons of runoff. Talk about a waste of perfectly good water…
Although not necessary, it’s kind of cool to see how much water you might actually be saving by using a rain barrel – at least us science geeks think it’s cool. To calculate the area of your roof, simply use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the roof. This is easiest if you have a simple peaked roof, but you can go about finding the surface area of your roof by just examining each A of each section of roof. Measure the length of the house, the width, the height of the house from ground to gutter and the height of the house from ground to roof peak. From these measurements, take the width, divide by two – this will be your “run” as shown above or your “a” in Pythagorean Theorem. Then take the height (measured from the ground to the peak of the A) and subtract the height from the ground to the gutters. The result will be your “rise” or your “b” in Pythagorean Theorem – now plug into Pythagorean Theorem to get your “slope”. And finally, take your resulting “slope” and multiply by the length of the house. Don’t forget to multiply by two as this is just for one half of the roof. Voila – the area of your roof. Now, you can multiply your roof size, by the number of inches of rain your town gets per year. Now, multiply by .623 and you will get the number of gallons you could save each year! I think to make this less confusing, I’ll vodcast myself doing this for my own house.
Rain barrels range from free to over $100. I saw a pretty nice looking plastic lined wooden one at Sam’s Club for $100 a few weeks ago. You can also build your own rain barrel with instructions from the Maryland Environmental Design Program’s website. Some municipalities sell rain barrels at a discount to assist with the reduction of rain water runoff. Some western communities, however, do not allow for rain barrels due to the water shortage during summer months.
In St. Louis, Metropolitan Sewer District recently started charging a monthly service fee to residents for rain water run off. They even are charging it to residents without public water or sewer. They take the impervious surface (i.e. rooftops, decks, patios, driveways) area and multiply by a factor to get the monthly fee. The only way to get out of it is if 80% or more of your property borders a body of water. Not many St. Louisians live on peninsulas. I’m not thinking that the use of rain barrels would eliminate the fee, but they began charge a fee due to the issue of overflowing rain sewers. This creates a larger issue than just wet shoes and mucky sidewalks. This ultimately can contaminate drinking water reservoirs.
One of my “tree hugger” friends posted to his blog, exclaiming that rain barrels are bunk. Above I have listed some wonderful uses for the water collected from the roof tops of homes. Josh first said the water was not good to water veggie gardens. I don’t know of many people who water their veggie gardens with Evian. Besides, fertilizers, which plants love, are made of calcium, manure and decaying biomatter that could possibly make it into the rain barrel from the roof. In response to the “mosquito population” factor, there are actually mosquito dunks designed for use in rain barrels made of bacteria that feed on mosquito larva. One could also use chlorine or bromine, but that might be harmful if use on plants, especially if one does not carefully monitor the ratio.
For more reading, see this great little rain barrel publication.
7
Aug
2008
Our House, in the Middle of the Street
The Clubhouse and my blue Übersu in the driveway
Back in 2006 when Chris and I were looking for houses, my mom suggested that we call about the house on the new St. Clare Hospital grounds (old Lakewood Golf Course) on Bowles Avenue. So, I did and I actually got to meet the man in charge of the project. He told me that if I could move the house, I could have it. Wonderful! Now, how on Earth does one move a 2-story stone home. Very slowly, and with some costs.
It’s great to preserve a historic home, and it can be quite a deal (a steal money-wise and an ordeal to put together). I decided to be my own general contractor – besides, how hard could this be?! Wrong. This became my full time job. One must coordinate the house movers, the construction company working on the property where the home currently exists, Department of Transportation (road closing permit, large load permit, permitted roads to travel on, which electricians they will allow to move their stop lights and when they allow homes to be moved), electrician to move stop lights (get their rates for the approved day, which is usually a Sunday morning, meaning overtime on several electricians), electric company (to raise lines over house and re-route electricity on grid in case lines snap), phone company (to raise lines), cable company (to raise lines), gas company (to cap off existing gas lines and hook up new service at home), personal electrician (usually cheaper than DOT approved, and they can disconnect electrical and hook up on non-overtime days), excavator (dig basement and they may pour driveway and garage too), and finally (although the first thing one should do) get in contact with a bank offering construction loans. Whew! And to think, I had all this coordinated except I just didn’t have a piece of land big enough. Usually the house movers would do this junk, but to save about $20,000, I opted to do the leg work. In a matter of 2 months, I certainly learned a lot. Quite a lot to type here, but if anyone wants more info, please let me know and I’d be glad to help.
Because of my love affair with this house, I cannot bring myself to let go of the pictures. My favorite is above. There are more in my flickr library. The ‘Clubhouse’, as Chris and I call it, was torn down on November 6, 2006, one day before my 24th birthday. When I drove by on my way home two days later, the dust was still settling. I still hope to rebuild this home someday.
7
Aug
2008
myPhone
Tuesday night was a pretty good night. I picked up my iPhone. So far it is okay. Sure it is a cool little gadget, but mine has frozen several times in the past 48 hours. I know this ratio of freezes to hours is skewed considering I am doing some pretty heavy setup, but it is nonetheless frustrating. Also, the wordpress app does not swivel, so I can’t type with both hands.
