# Are you in on the "Green Revolution?"



## faucetman886

This is not politically motivated, strictly for discussion and curiosity.
We in the Atlanta area are now into our second year of drought and the effects of water rationing and out and out loss of water resources. Lawns have died and more importantly we are losing scores of small businesses, landscapers, nurseries etc due to the problem. 
I would be interested in hearing from the forum members how important it is to them , personally, to seek out and use plumbing fixtures not just low flush toilets but showerheads, faucets etc that are designed for smart water useage. 
Is lowering your footprint as important as how the faucet looks? How has your family and communtiy been affected of late by the loss of water resources. 
thanks 
Richard


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## aaron.klimchuk

The fact is you should be able to have low-flow fixtures, toilets, faucets and shower heads while still keeping the exact same aesthetics. I was in Atlanta just over a year ago, and the drought was effecting me just for the week I was there. I think water conservation is something that many homeowners and builders don't really think about. Hopefully the word will spread nationwide...


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## faucetman886

*I hope so also,,,,thanks Aaron for the support*

We are really suffering here in Atlanta and what triggered my thread question was that so many people seem to be hung up on the esthetics as you mention. I like a pretty bathroom or Kitchen faucet as much as the next guy but you know I like one that puts out water when you turn it on no matter what it looks like.
Thx again Aaron
Richard


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## ciera

> Lawns have died and more importantly we are losing scores of small businesses, landscapers, nurseries etc due to the problem.


Seems like if everyone's lawn is dying, it's time to start selling alternatives that are drought resistant...traditional lawns are huge water suckers, and there are a lot of alternatives that are less work and require less water.



> I would be interested in hearing from the forum members how important it is to them , personally, to seek out and use plumbing fixtures not just low flush toilets but showerheads, faucets etc that are designed for smart water useage.
> Is lowering your footprint as important as how the faucet looks? How has your family and communtiy been affected of late by the loss of water resources.


Granted, for us, lowering our footprint is more important. However, I've not yet had a problem finding fixtures that also look good, and I'm pretty finicky about this stuff. We replaced the shower head as soon as we moved in, and our new low-flow one looks nicer and works better than the old one. We're considering replacing the old toilet, and I've seen several low flows that look nice.

PA has had way too much water this year...my basil actually drowned last May in a raised bed because we had 3 times our normal amount of rain. It's doing terrible things to the old sewage and stormwater drains that weren't meant to handle this much water. Here's hoping the balance gets restored soon.


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## sunthas

the water company is usually a regulated utility and has a monopoly over its customers... 

the only real way to get people to use less water is to charge more money, if like most utility companies, the Atlanta area water companies are unable to raise rates to match this new environment, then other draconian efforts by governments usually end up being enacted... and often not working..

that said I'm a big fan of the green revolution, as long as people really understand what going green is. Going green doesn't mean tearing out your kitchen and replacing all those products with "environmentally friendly" products... unless you were going to remodel your kitchen anyway, and even then, its probably greener not to remodel... I've read lots of articles about supposed green buildings using lots of glass, glass has a horrible R rating and would suck a lot of energy out of the building during the cold months. 

Are the bamboo floors really environmentally friendly if they have to be shipped from china? Anything wrong using renewable Pine? all tough questions that will have more hype than good answers over the next few years. 

I'm going to do my best to reduce my waste starting with solid wastes (trash & recycling) and then energy with gas & electricity, and lastly water. With the price of water, and abundance in my part of the country, it doesn't make sense to place much priority on it.


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## cambruzzi

*Water?*

We haven't had many problems with water shortages up here in michigan except a couple times during the year when we arent suppose to water our lawns everyday. Only every other day. We try to conserve anyways though. Some LED lighting I've seen is something that can help conserve large amounts of electricity. Doesn't really help with the water


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## GreenSD

I bought a low flow shower head about 10 years ago when we lived in a house with low water pressure. I like a shower head that's close to a fire hose and this little European model delivered. It was $9 at Home Depot. Is it pretty? Maybe not, but then again, I don't think shower heads are a pretty item anyway.

So, we have low flow toilet, low flow shower and sinks....and a washer that only puts in the water necessary for the load I'm doing without having to select small, medium or large.


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## Scuba_Dave

I never water my lawn
Just makes it grow then I have to mow it
Of course it doesn't get that hot around here
I also l have a stream on the property
At some point I will put in well for irrigation

My garden is located down low near the river
It gets watered very rarely - & the tomatoes grow 8' tall
I have (5) 55g barrels to catch rainwater for my flower gardens
Other then that I don't use water outside
We use 1700g of water every 3 months - family of 3

I'm actually looking for lower flow shower heads - 1.5 -1.89gpm
As soon as I find one I like I'll buy it - I take long showers
So that could save 5-10g per day


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## JMD

I've also replaced all the old aerators on my faucets with low flow ones. It doesn't get the savings of the shower head but every little bit counts and it cheap, easy to do and didn't change the look of my old faucets.


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## hychesee

Scuba_Dave said:


> I never water my lawn
> Just makes it grow then I have to mow it
> Of course it doesn't get that hot around here
> I also l have a stream on the property
> At some point I will put in well for irrigation
> 
> My garden is located down low near the river
> It gets watered very rarely - & the tomatoes grow 8' tall
> I have (5) 55g barrels to catch rainwater for my flower gardens
> Other then that I don't use water outside
> We use 1700g of water every 3 months - family of 3
> 
> I'm actually looking for lower flow shower heads - 1.5 -1.89gpm
> As soon as I find one I like I'll buy it - I take long showers
> So that could save 5-10g per day


I also never watered my lawn in fifty years of memory and also use rain barrels for the garden. 

Dave are you sure you don't mean 1700 cubic feet? (12,750gal), 1700 gallons for 3 people for 3 months would be an almost impossibility (6 gal/day each). I practice severe water conservation here and am at best 500 gallons a month with only me.

I only practice conservation to save money - no other reason, I'm like al gore and say smoke'em if you got'em.


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## faucetman886

I have been disappointed in the initial number of responders from this question although they are trickling in. I think this is becoming more and more important by the day. For the latest on my take on the green revolution and the responses from my original thread, read my blog site. Check my profile for blogs listed on here and directions to my blog site. I want to hear more on this subject.


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## hychesee

faucetman886 said:


> I have been disappointed in the initial number of responders from this question although they are trickling in. I think this is becoming more and more important by the day. For the latest on my take on the green revolution and the responses from my original thread, read my blog site. Check my profile for blogs listed on here and directions to my blog site. I want to hear more on this subject.


Faucetman give me the money and I'll be greener than a tree. done. more money greener. done. and even more money and I'd never have to come to DIY site.


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## 53buick

i'm over here in Athens, GA. I'm definitely in. I just bought a '72 Rambler and I'm trying my very hardest to go as "green" as possible with the remodel. You can catch my blog about it over at http://myfirstranch.blogspot.com


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## faucetman886

hey "53buick" I checked out your blog and liked it alot...but it didnt tell me about the '72 rambler....tell me more Im an old car freak including having just helped a buddy to buy some old diesel MBZ for veggie oil conversion. He's got one on the road already. I know the rambler wont burn veggie but it ought to be pretty frugal


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## 53buick

ah sorry, by "rambler", i was referring to "ranch" house. as for my car restoration I have a 1953 Buick Super with a 322 Fireball V8. Still trying to figure out how to green this thing! Maybe grow some switchgrass and convert to pure ethanol? i had a '76 MBZ diesel in high school. I'd love to find another one cheap and do the veggie conversion!


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## faucetman886

Well shows either how dumb I am or what a car nut I am...LOL
I can help with that old MBZ request tell me how much you want to spend.
My friend thats driving the 1980 300SD conversion has a couple that he might sell that are yet to be converted. I think they are both 300D's.
I drive a 1989 560SEC and my concession to green is I rarely ever drive it just looks good in the carport..LOL


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## 53buick

hey faucetman, 
sorry for the delay. i was swapping out my old harddrive for a new one in my powerbook and was out of commission for a few days. I'll let you know when I get to a point on taking on a conversion project, I'm kind of up to my eyeballs in the house and other stuff right now. thanks for the tip! How are things in ATL? Oh and by the way just so this is on topic with this thread, I just finished putting up Hardieplank siding on my carport to garage conversion. It's a non toxic, "green" siding. It's pretty awesome stuff. Messed up a couple planks before I got the feel, but once I did it was a piece of cake. Great stuff!

http://www.jameshardie.com/homeowner/siding.shtml


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## YerDugliness

I'm in....near future plans include a batch type solar water heater for preheating the water to my HWOD unit.

Future dreams include an A framed building with the entire south roof face sporting PV, solar water support, and a vertical axis wind generator on the peak of the roof. Here's hoping that the government will consider additional tax incentives for INDIVIDUALS who are contemplating "green" projects.....it could make the difference on this project, I think!

Dugly


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