H20 Woes: Measuring the Damage of our 'Water Footprint' - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,644867,00.html

By Samiha Shafy

A Dutch hydro engineer has come up with a "water footprint." At a conference in Sweden, he and other participants discussed water waste, supermarkets filled with fruits and vegetables produced in some of the world's most arid regions and ways we can stop wasting our most precious resource.

Arjen Hoekstra didn't really stand out in the crowd of 2,000 scientists, activists, politicians and representatives of industry roaming the halls of the Stockholm trade fair. Far more attention-getting figures than the 42-year-old Dutch hydro engineer attended World Water Week in Sweden last week. Asian delegates wore glowing saris. And Indian businessman Bindeshwar Pathak drew flocks of media everywhere he went at the event after being named the recipient of this year's Stockholm Water Prize for inventing a toilet for slum dwellers.

But Hoekstra preferred to keep a low profile at the annual global conference, which focuses on water-related issues. He had nothing to prove. Still despite his apparent efforts to keep a low-profile, Hoekstra's creation served as a magnet for debate here. Hoekstra came up with the idea of the "water footprint."

10,000 Liters of Water for a Pair of Jeans

His equation is actually just a couple of numbers used to describe the amount of water that is used -- or polluted -- during the manufacture of various products. Anyone can calculate their water footprint by looking at the amount of water they use directly and then by looking at the amount of "virtual water" they use -- that is, how much water is used in the production of any goods they consume. The global average for an individual's water footprint is 1,243 cubic meters of water per year. In the US, this goes up to 2,483 cubic meters per year; in Germany it's 1,545 and in China, 702.

Hoekstra's water footprint formula has already made headlines around the world with its estimates of the amount of water that is used or abused in the simple products that are a part of our everyday lives:

• 140 liters of water for one cup of coffee!

• 2,400 liters for a hamburger!

• 10,000 liters for one pair of jeans!

In the dicussions and workshops in Stockholm, participants debated what sort of action should be taken as a result of the water footprint figures. The WWF environmental group first recognized the validity of the water footprint, and further conservation and environmental protection groups as well as the United Nations and the World Bank soon followed suit. Finally, even multinational companies like Nestle, Unilever and Pepsi got on board.

Virtual Water Heading In The Wrong Direction

And they all seem to agree that Hoekstra's numbers could be potentially explosive -- mainly because they make it clear how thoughtlessly water, the most precious of resources, is handled in so many areas. "Because of the international trade in water-intensive products, there are floods of virtual water flowing around the world," Hoekstra said. "And many of them are flowing in the wrong direction, going from water-poor regions to the water-rich."

Mostly these flows involve food, biofuels and cotton. Between 70 and 80 percent of all the water consumption in the world is used for agricultural purposes. The European Union, for example, contributes indirectly to the drying out of the ever-shrinking Aral Sea in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan through its cotton imports from the region. And when the Germans buy ham from Spain or oranges from Israel, they are also contributing to water scarcity in those areas. In fact, Germany, a country that has plenty of water, is one of the biggest importers of virtual water in the world.

Today, around 1.4 billion people live in areas where water is scarce. Climate change, population growth and the flows of virtual water only serve to exascerbate the problem. "By 2050, we will be confronted with the paradoxical situation of having to feed another 2.5 billion people, but with significantly less water," said Colin Chartres, director general of the International Water Management Institute, an internationally funded, non-profit organization looking into ways to improve land and water management.

'In Dry Areas There Should Be No More Agriculture'

Against that backdrop, delegates in Stockholm argued about how realistic Hoekstra's more radical ideas are. "In dry areas there should be no more agriculture," the Dutchman has suggested. His idea involves using the trade in virtual water to rebalance the earth's water budget. Instead of watering desert fields, Egypt would be better off importing beans or millet from Ethiopia, for example. And Australia, where the Outback is one of the world's most arid regions, should also cease to export virtual water in the form of meat, fruit and wine production.

The same arguments could be applied to all of Earth's dry zones -- from the Middle East to northern China and northwestern India to Southern California. Hoekstra says all of these regions could mitigate their water paucity by letting their fields dry up and importing more virtual water. "These water-poor regions need to come up with a new vision for the future," Hoekstra argued. "Just as the oil producing countries, where oil is starting to run out, have had to do."

But what would make any country abandon agriculture, altogether or partially? British environmental researcher Tony Allan, 72, first coined the phrase "virtual water" in the 1990s and he agrees with Hoekstra. "Singapore is an interesting example," he said. "They don't have water sources or agriculture. Ninety percent of their water needs are covered by the import of virtual water. The rest comes from recycling and desalination."

Rich Countries Buying Up Land To Insure Water Supplies

Of course, Allan knows that Singaporean model isn't necessarily appropriate for the rest of the world. Even he admitted that no country would voluntarily give up its agricultural practices in the foreseeable future. "But it is no longer taboo to talk about these things," he noted.

During the Stockholm workshops, experts quickly agreed that new pricing structures could steer the water trade in the right directions. Today, water prices are often distorted through government subsidies to farmers -- mainly because if the subsidies were not there, then agriculture and animal husbandry would very quickly become prohibitively expensive in those dry regions and no longer worthwhile.

Meanwhile, countries like China and Saudia Arabia are buying up large, fertile pieces of land in places like Africa, Asia and Latin America. By buying land instead of food, they are ensuring access to water in the future. The land-grabbing countries aren't alone, either -- they're competing directly with food production giants like Nestle and Coca-Cola, which have been buying up rights to water reservoirs around the world for years.

Many companies are welcoming the increasing debate about water footprints in Stockholm. It's a great opportunity for them to do something to improve their image. Indeed, several large corporations sent whole delegations to Stockholm. At the workshops, the delegates continually repeated the same message: Their employers are trying their very best to leave a smaller water footprint.

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Popular Insect Repellent Deet Is Neurotoxic

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090804193230.htm

ScienceDaily (Aug. 6, 2009) — The active ingredient in many insect repellents, deet, has been found to be toxic to the central nervous system. Researchers say that more investigations are urgently needed to confirm or dismiss any potential neurotoxicity to humans, especially when deet-based repellents are used in combination with other neurotoxic insecticides.

Vincent Corbel from the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement in Montpellier, and Bruno Lapied from the University of Angers, France, led a team of researchers who investigated the mode of action and toxicity of deet (N,N-Diethyl-3-methylbenzamide). Corbel said, "We've found that deet is not simply a behavior-modifying chemical but also inhibits the activity of a key central nervous system enzyme, acetycholinesterase, in both insects and mammals".

Discovered in 1953, deet is still the most common ingredient in insect repellent preparations. It is effective against a broad spectrum of medically important pests, including mosquitoes. Despite its widespread use, controversies remain concerning both the identification of its target sites at the molecular level and its mechanism of action in insects. In a series of experiments, Corbel and his colleagues found that deet inhibits the acetylcholinesterase enzyme – the same mode of action used by organophosphate and carbamate insecticides.

These insecticides are often used in combination with deet, and the researchers also found that deet interacts with carbamate insecticides to increase their toxicity. Corbel concludes, "These findings question the safety of deet, particularly in combination with other chemicals, and they highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to the development of safer insect repellents for use in public health".

---

Journal reference:

1. Vincent Corbel, Maria Stankiewicz, Cedric Pennetier, Didier Fournier, Jure Stojan, Emmanuelle Girard, Mitko Dimitrov, Jordi Molgo, Jean Marc Hougard and Bruno Lapied. Evidence for inhibition of cholinesterases in insect and mammalian nervous systems by the insect repellent deet. BMC Biology, (in press) [link]

Adapted from materials provided by BioMed Central, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Canadian Feds Grossly Underestimate Impact of Gutting Environmental Law

Thanks to Doug Smith

Up to 14,000 projects will evade assessment over the next 2 years

June 26, 2009

CONTACT: Ecojustice
Justin Duncan, Lawyer, Ecojustice (416) 368-7533 ext 22
Stephen Hazell, Executive Director, Sierra Club Canada (613) 241-4611 ext 238; (613) 724-1908 (cell)

Two months after announcing the enactment of controversial regulations that will allow more than 2,000 projects across the country to evade legally required environmental assessments, the federal government has revealed that the number of projects being exempted from assessment will now be up to 14,000 over the next two years.

"It is clear that the Harper government is having troubles with basic mathematics," said Ecojustice lawyer Justin Duncan. "In addition to a spiralling fiscal debt, they're saddling Canadians with an environmental debt that may never be paid back."

In April, Ecojustice launched a lawsuit on behalf of Sierra Club Canada claiming that the federal government acted unlawfully in issuing two federal regulations that gut the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA). The Federal Court has just allowed the groups to amend their filings to challenge the expanded exemption of 14,000 projects.

The lawsuit challenges the Exclusion List Regulations that exempt thousands of projects such as highways, bridges, roads and sewer systems from facing the scrutiny of legally required federal assessments over the next two years. The lawsuit also challenges the Adaptation Regulations that unlawfully give powers to the Minister of the Environment to exempt any other project from federal environmental assessment (EA) that is funded under the Building Canada Fund.

"EA is a key tool to identify and assess the adverse environmental effects of development projects so good decisions can be made" said Sierra Club Canada Executive Director Stephen Hazell, "in throwing 14,000 economic stimulus projects out of the EA process, the federal government is effectively saying we don't want to know the environmental effects. Damn the environmental torpedoes, full speed ahead."

CEAA was passed in 1992 to promote sustainable development by ensuring that federal decision makers have good information about the environmental impacts of projects and to ensure public participation in the environmental assessment process.

The government was served with formal notice on Monday that the groups seek to amend the lawsuit to include the expanded exemption list. The case is expected to be heard in Federal Court later this year.

The Transition Initiative | Orion Magazine

http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/4792

If the Transition Initiative were a person, you’d say he or she was charismatic, wise, practical, positive, resourceful, and very, very popular. Starting with the town of Totnes in Devon, England, in September 2006, the movement has spread like wildfire across the U.K. (delightfully wriggling its way into The Archers, Britain’s longest-running and most popular radio soap opera), and on to the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. The core purpose of the Transition Initiative is to address, at the community level, the twin issues of climate change and peak oil—the declining availability of “ancient sunlight,” as fossil fuels have been called. The initiative is set up to enable towns or neighborhoods to plan for, and move toward, a post-oil and low-carbon future: what Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition Initiative, has termed “the great transition of our time, away from fossil fuels.”

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Nuclear-plant workers face elevated cancer risk

http://www.canada.com/Nuclear+plant+workers+face+elevated+cancer+risk+report/1724362/story.html

By Jeremy Warren, Canwest News ServiceJune 23, 2009

Saskatoon Star Phoenix

SASKATOON - Those working in, and living near, nuclear-power plants -- such as the one being considered for construction in Saskatchewan -- are more likely than the general population to develop cancer or die from it, according to a research paper being released Tuesday.

The 30-page Exposure to Radiation and Health Outcomes, commissioned by the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, found that chronic exposure to low doses of radiation causes the higher risk.

A 15-country, 12-year, 407,391-person study of nuclear-power workers found the employees are twice as likely to die from all causes of cancer than the general public because of the extra radiation exposure, said the report written by Saskatchewan-based health researcher, Mark Lemstra.

But in Canada, one of the 15 countries studied, reactor workers are 7.65 times more likely to die from all causes of cancer compared to non-employees, said the report. Researchers are unsure why Canadian reactor workers seem to face a higher cancer risk than those in other nuclear countries.

"We don't know why Canadians are more likely to get cancer than others,'' said Lemstra, a former researcher with the Saskatoon Health Region. "We are going to have to consider revising the protection standards of nuclear workers. ''

Another study, which looked only at cancer rates among Canadian workers, concluded nuclear-power workers are still 3.8 times more likely to die from radiation-related cancer than non-workers, said the report. "The results . . . confirm that chronic exposure to low doses of radiation are associated with an excess relative risk of cancer mortality,'' it said.

The report was presented to the Future of Uranium in Saskatchewan stakeholder conference in Regina. Lemstra cited 22 articles in the report, pared down from a review of more than 1,700 articles he found in medical databases, reference lists and on the Internet. The report found that, even outside the workplace, radiation has effects on the human population.

A German study cited in the report found children below the age of five who live within five kilometres of a nuclear facility are 2.19 times more likely to develop leukemia. "There's a simple solution: Keep children more than 10 kilometres away from a nuclear facility,'' said Lemstra.

Children are more susceptible to radiation because, in the early stages of development, their bodies are more sensitive to the effects of inhalation, ingestion and other forms of internal exposure, said the report. "The association between leukemia incidence and mortality from radiation exposure is very strong. The greatest risks are found for youth under the age of 20,'' said the report.

Health effects of nuclear power go beyond radiation. Consistent cost overruns of constructing a nuclear reactor can siphon off government money that could be spent elsewhere, according to the report. If the provincial government is responsible for all, or a percentage of, cost overruns -- a common deal between private and government partners -- there is less money for health or education spending, wrote Lemstra.

In Finland, a reactor under construction has already gone 50 per cent over its $4.2-billion budget and will cost $8 billion to finish. Based on the $10-billion estimate to build a reactor in Saskatchewan, the final tally could rise to $20 billion, and if the province is responsible for a portion of the extra costs, government coffers will be stretched thin to the detriment of other departments, said Lemstra.

``Where will this money come from? In the U.S., the costs are transferred to the public or the ratepayers,'' he said. ``We don't really have the extra money to spend on risky ventures.''

jjwarren@sp.canwest.com

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

Half Farmer, Half Something Else: 'New' Lifestyles for an Eco-Friendly 21st Century

http://www.enviweb.cz/?env=obecne_archiv_hgbhaHalf_Farmer_Half_Something_Else_New_Lifestyles_for_an_Eco_Friendly_21st_Century.html

Half Farmer, Half Something Else: 'New' Lifestyles for an Eco-Friendly 21st Century

02.05.2009

The global economic crisis, which began with the collapse of U.S. securities house Lehman Brothers in 2008, also triggered a series of business failures and job losses in Japan.

The nation was already facing a number of problems. An increasing number of young people is having trouble finding jobs. Many people are quitting their jobs early. The country's self sufficiency in energy and food is low, at 4 percent and 40 percent, respectively. Japan has a rapidly aging society, bringing with it elderly nursing care issues, along with the aging of the farming population, with more than two-thirds of farmers aged over 65. Moreover, the number of people complaining of mental disorders is growing rapidly, and more than 30,000 people commit suicide each year. Meanwhile, a new lifestyle is quietly becoming popular. Some think this way of living, called the "Half-Farmer/Half-X" lifestyle, has the potential to significantly reduce or gradually solve these other problems, and to help the nation realize a more attractive and diverse future.

A 21st-Century Lifestyle: Friendly to Planet, Friendly to People.The concept of the Half-Farmer/Half-X lifestyle was first proposed in the mid-1990s by Naoki Shiomi, who now lives in the city of Ayabe in the north part of Kyoto Prefecture. The basic idea is that people pursue farming, not so much as a business but to grow food for their own family, while being constructively involved in society by realizing their own personal passion -- something he called their "X" factor. The "X" represents the questions each person must answer to find out what they really prefer to do, what they really want to do, and what they can do for others, while discovering their personal mission, their life's work, or their "true" calling in life.

Shiomi himself began pursuing this lifestyle years ago, and now helps many people find their own "X." He said that through these practices, he keenly sensed that this type of lifestyle is a way of making the most of each person's talent and abandoning the twentieth-century style of mass production, mass consumption, mass and long-distance transportation, and mass disposal, while pointing the way to making happier lives and a sustainable Earth more possible.

Environmental Problems Inspired the Half-Farmer/Half-X Lifestyle Shiomi first came up with this idea while considering the solutions to environmental problems, and this encouraged him to start the quest for a better lifestyle. When he left his hometown of Ayabe and moved to another urban area, he began to consider environmental problems from the perspective of future generations and ponder how he should live. As a result, he felt a strong ambition to start subsistence farming to enable his family to grow crops at least for their own consumption.

Shiomi also believes that environmental issues are largely associated with people's attitudes and mind-frames, an example being that some people shop and spend money on things they don't really need just to satisfy an emotional void. In industrialized countries, for example, many people tend to consume goods haphazardly in order to feel fulfilled, or buy goods on impulse after receiving prodding from various information sources, such as commercial advertisements on television and in newspapers, magazines, as well as flyers, and in-store point-of-purchase displays.

While practicing such consumption patterns, people don't have the time to give more than a passing thought to the global environment or the working conditions of the producers of the goods they buy. When shopping, they often put things into their shopping basket without even considering whether they are absolutely necessary, whether using them matches their values, or whether the products can be used for a long time. Shiomi believes the root causes of today's environmental problems are linked to most people's immature ways of trying to find their own identity, as well as their desire to simply consume, which leads to consumption behavior that resembles an addiction.

Shiomi discovered a fundamental truth by living the Half-Farmer/Half-X lifestyle back in his rural hometown of Ayabe. In other words, he found contentment in making less money but being spiritually enriched. And he is not alone. Others living the same lifestyle in Ayabe find it to be true. Shiomi says he has heard similar comments from other practitioners of the Half-Farmer/Half-X lifestyle, whose numbers have increased nationwide in recent years. Basically, they are content with their lives, in which they enjoy the practice of everyday farming, even on a small scale, and at the same time they work on developing a satisfying vocation, thereby not turning so easily to consumption, and in fact finding less need for it. In addition, because agriculture -- which is integrally affected by weather, water, soil, air, and other natural elements -- is part of their daily lives, they cannot help but shift their focus to the natural world and become sensitive to changes in the environment. Naturally, they develop a "sense of wonder," as described by Rachel Carson, author of the environmental book "Silent Spring."

Farming Complements a Person's "X" Factor Shiomi explains that one of the reasons he recommends the Half-Farmer/Half-X lifestyle is that through it people can enhance and deepen both their farming life and their vocations at the same time. In the act of growing things, people experience nature directly and begin to harmonize with it. They also feel more closely connected in mind and body with the cycles of life through the experience of being close to life and death and nurturing living things. In the modern era, in which places of production and consumption are almost completely separate, being involved with growing things could be instrumental for many people to regain a sensitivity to and sensibility about the natural world.

Meanwhile, almost everyone wonders from time to time who they really are and what is the purpose of their life. According to Shiomi, the answer to these questions is to practice the "X" each person is called to do. When truly being engaged in their "X," he says, people might even forget about sleeping and eating, be filled with enthusiasm, really enjoy their life, and feel life is worth living. The experience of becoming more sensitive by focusing on farming and deeper thoughts, while sharpening sensibility through earnest work, often brings out the best in people while they work on their personal calling. Not only that, people tend to feel immeasurably more secure in this economic crisis when they know they have enough basic food to survive, at least until next summer.

Learning about True Affluence through the Half-Farmer/Half-X Lifestyle In the old days, having many and large possessions was considered a sign of affluence, and people actively pursued this status, but lately some people's values are changing slowly but steadily. Nowadays, more people are asking themselves if they will really be that happy if they have a lot of things.

Shiomi has conveyed the concept of the Half-Farmer/Half-X lifestyle through lectures, books, the Internet, etc., and he says that people in their twenties to forties, the so-called "debt generation," show particularly strong interest in his concept. This seems to be because they are the ones that will have to pay the debt left by the previous generation, which over-consumed natural resources and abused the environment. A steadily increasing number of young people are recognizing that it's better to share benefits rather than monopolize them, to live life commensurate with one's income level rather than chasing after unnecessarily large things, and keeping pace with the flow of nature rather than leading a hectic life consuming energy and sacrificing the environment. These people are working to incorporate this more comfortable lifestyle into their daily lives.

Many people in Ayabe are now exploring their own "X," irrespective of their age and gender, and whether they grew up there or moved from outside. In fact, a number of people have become successful while exploring their "X," and have helped in activating their communities at the same time. For example, one woman aged over 70 started to offer accommodations at her spacious farmhouse as a green tourism business. And one former teacher began growing roses in memory of Anne Frank to donate as symbols of peace. There's also a married couple focusing on their painting works of art, while also cultivating their sensitivity to nature and engaging in farming. Once hearing stories like these, more and more people have come to visit Ayabe to see how people there live, from as far away as Taiwan, where one of Shiomi's books has been translated into Chinese.

It is not only in Ayabe that this is happening but also other regions throughout Japan, where an increasing number of people are following the Half-Farmer/Half-X concept and leading more enriched, happy lives. Shiomi believes a new fulfilled and happy life model can be followed in a society consisting of people who have found their own "X." He believes that creation of such a society is his own "X" quest.

Living in the countryside is not necessarily a prerequisite to living the Half-Farmer/Half-X lifestyle. There are many ways to grow things--on balconies, rooftops, weekend farm plots, community gardens, and so on. A flexible type of thinking is necessary to live the Half-Farmer/Half-X lifestyle, regardless of whether a person lives in the city or the country, and nothing can be perfect from the start. Accomplishing just one percent of a person's ideal way of farming and exploring their personal "X" is progress in itself; there is no formula that must be followed. People should start with what is possible right now. Sowing at least one seed is the quickest way to start growing things and finding one's own "X" factor.

The Half-Farmer/Half-X concept is spreading, and is seen as a ray of light showing the way to a better lifestyle in this modern society, which is facing various problems regarding self-sufficiency, food supply, employment, mental issues, environmental issues, aging, energy, education, money-centrism, and so on. Hopefully, more remedies to the problems of our age will be revealed in the next 10 years or less and will include new lifestyles like the one Shiomi lives.

Written by Hiroyo Hasegawa

Japan For Sustainability

A PERMACULTURE RETROFIT FOR AN OLDER DWELLING

This list was published on Robert Waldrop's website
http://www.bettertimesinfo.org/retrofit.htm

New passive solar construction isn't an option for many people. There is a crucial need for ideas and practical examples for retrofitting existing houses and other buildings to be more sustainable and frugal in their operations. This list is not meant to be a prescription for all situations, but rather some ideas that can be implemented based on the situation and local climate. It cannot be emphasized enough that using passive solar is very site specific. What works in the Tropics doesn't necessarily work for Nova Scotia. Much of this list mirrors the plan we have for retrofitting our dwelling in Oklahoma City, which is a Craftsman-style duplex built in 1929.

The goal is to recreate our dwelling so that it is frugal in its operations and which provides its residents a high quality of life. This is our best practices list. Feel free to make suggestions for additional ideas and possibilities. bwaldrop@cox.net

1. Super-insulate the dwelling. We are going for R-35 in the walls and R-75 in the attic. We think the best resource to use for this is cellulose. It has a lower embodied energy than fiberglass. In existing construction, the way to get this much insulation in walls is to build a new interior frame all the way around the exterior walls of your house. Pack that with cellulose, cover with whatever, and voila, superinsulated walls. You lose a little space, 10 inches or so inches around the exterior walls. Do this first. The goal in our Oklahoma City climate is to spend more now for passive measures that will reduce the long-term operating costs of the dwelling, and make it comfortable and livable even if outside energy is cut-off for significant periods of time. :Super-insulation also includes paying careful attention to air infiltration, and doing a proper job of caulking and weatherstripping.

2. Make passive solar adaptations to the existing structure. We can all hope we have a good site for solar, but with retrofit you have to make do with what you got. I am not an expert on passive solar, but I am reasonably well read as a layman on the subject and have been discussing passive solar on line for several years. Passive solar adadptations involve figuring out ways to capture more solar energy and use it to condition the interior of the house. The cost of a solar retrofit is an investment which pays interest every month for the rest of the life of the dwelling, in the form of reduced energy expenses.

Passive solar retrofits can be multifunctional, but adding new functions to the sun space doesn't increase the amount of energy available, it divides it among the tasks at hand. Many tasks equals less energy for any one task. So decide at the beginning of your design process what the most important benefit is that you want from the solar retrofit. If you primarily want to heat the house in the winter, then you want a sun space without a lot of thermal mass, which will heat up fast and move that heat into the house. If you want to grow plants in that space, however, you will have to have extra thermal mass to keep the plants warm at night, and all of the heat that is stored in the sunspace for that purpose is not available to heat the house. This is just a short description of the possibilities. The point is that even older houses can have what amount to advanced passive solar retrofits and get very good results. Our duplex is Craftsman era, and the finished look of whatever we add onto our south wall will likely look a lot like a 1920s era porch.

3. Abandon conventional air conditioning in the summer. We don't use conventional air conditioning and we encourage everybody else to abandon it too. There is an art to living without air conditioning that has largely been lost. People used to know how (and when) to open their houses at night for ventilation, and when to close them up in the day time to keep out the heat of the days. Ceiling and table fans can move the air around inside (thereby knocking about 10 degrees Farenheit off the apparent temperature). In areas with low humidity, swamp coolers are a good choice. A low powere whole house fan which is operated at night also helps. More information about our experience living without air conditioning in Oklahoma City can be found at http://www.energyconservationinfo.org/noacok.htm . We think this http://www.tamtech.com/wholehousefanhv1000.htm is a really interesting low power whole house fan.

4, Grey water recovery and re-use system.

5. Solar clothes dryer (a/k/a The Clothesline.). This is the easiest passive solar retrofit. And it provides a great return - nothing beats the smell of air dried clothes.

6. Get rid of high energy/wasteful appliances such as dishwashers, garbage disposals and compacters, and clothes dryers.

7. Replace incandescent lighting with compact flourescent lighting. This is "low hanging fruit", do this early in your retrofit plan.

8. Window and door quilts. Hang these over the inside of windows in the winter.

9. Window shades in the summer - on the outside of the windows. Once the sun hits the window, the heat gets in the house by conduction, even if there is a shade and a curtain on the inside of the window.

10. Use landscaping to lower your energy bills. Plant deciduous trees and other vegetation and place structures (trellises, vines, large shrubs, etc.) appropriately so that your sunny exposures are shaded in the summer, but open to sunlight in the winter.

11. Green roofs (or very shady roofs). People with flat roofs should definitely consider a green roof. Everybody should want a shady roof.

12. Rainwater harvesting and distribution system.

13. Drip irrigation for gardens (fed with harvested rainwater and grey water).

14. Super-insulated room in the interior as a "cold weather shelter".

15. Wood burning stoves for cooking and heating.

16. Outdoor kitchen for summer use, including a brick oven and a solar oven.

17. Edible landscaping (permaculture zones 1 and 2).

18. Solar hot water heating.

19. Solar air heating. This is an active solar retrofit that heats air and moves it into the house, usually with fans.

20. Solar chargers for small batteries (like the one at http://www.ccrane.com/solar-battery-charger.aspx , which costs $15, we have several and they work fine. Get a battery tester too as it doesn't have a way to monitor how much charge is in the battery.).

21. Underground food storage area -- for storage of vegetables, home processed foods, and aging saurkraut, kimchee, pickles, wine, beer, vinegar. Also functions as a tornado shelter.

22. Exterior shutters for windows (instead of or in addition to window shades.)

23. Double or triple paned windows and/or "storm windows". If you put your house in super-insulation mode, you will have 10-12 inch thick walls. Think about a second window on the interior. And a window quilt.

24. Regular attention to caulking and weatherstripping.

25. Ventilate the attic.

Robert Waldrop, Oklahoma City

www.bettertimesinfo.org

www.energyconservationinfo.org

www.oklahomafood.coop