Astronauts Drink Recycled Urine

Posted on May 21, 2009 by Matt Embrey .

We’ve become increasingly aware lately of how valuable and how scarce potable water is in some parts of the world, but no where is it more scarce than 200 miles up at the International Space Station. Up there you can’t take any resource for granted, and a resource as valuable as water can’t be pissed away. That is why NASA has installed a urine recycling system. Yesterday astronauts aboard the space station put the system to use for the first time, and with a toast and a smile they downed their first glasses of recycled urine produced by the system.

Green UpGrade Your Kids Bookshelf

Posted on February 18, 2009 by Paula Mitchell Bentley .

An author named Jen Green has made it easy (and super affordable at $6.99 each on Amazon) to teach our kids how to go green. She has a series of books, “Why Should I…?” illustrated by Mike Gordon helping to answer those non-stop questions that kids always ask. These books not only say [...]

Poop Management — Cloth or Disposable?

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Paula Mitchell Bentley .

Or is there a third option that is easier for parents than cloth and better for the environment than disposables? Matt touched on these flushable diapers in his piece aptly titled Green Diapers: A Lot of Sh*t to Think About in which he examines all the pros and cons of both cloth and disposable [...]

Rainwater Harvesting with Japanese Rain Chains

Posted on March 30, 2008 by Matt Embrey .

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These rain chains are not eco-friendly on their own but they are a great way to beautify your water harvesting system using this ancient Japanese links.  Use rain chains in lieu of traditional down spouts and have them divert rainwater into your rain barrel, or underground water tank.  By harvesting rainwater you can greatly [...]

Bring the Rain… Barrels & Barrels of Rain!

Posted on March 13, 2008 by Doug Gunzelmann .

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I first saw these on This Old House and thought “The simplicity…the genius!” Rain collection tanks are as old as time and are widely used out of necessity in so many parts of the world. Here in the developed world it doesn’t even cross our privileged minds to save precious, pure, sanitary household water [...]