water conservation

Lawn-less: A new era for a drought-stricken state?

Lawn-less: A new era for a drought-stricken state?

Have you noticed that, at least in some Santa Cruz neighborhoods, green lawns no longer rule? I’ve observed on my morning walks over the past few months that brown lawns outnumber green ones by about 10 to 1.

Given that we’re in the midst of California’s worst drought on record and that lawns require more water than any other landscape plant, this is a welcome trend.

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Art exhibit lets visitors get handle on water issues

Art exhibit lets visitors get handle on water issues

Eleven emerging artists--who combine science, technology and art to explore serious social problems in playful ways--invite the public to interact with their works in a new exhibit called “Undercurrents,” on display at UCSC’s Digital Arts Research Center on campus from May 1 – 4. 

Local water issues is the theme selected by three of the artists, who have become thoroughly engaged in both the science and local politics driving these issues. 

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Composting toilets: Do they pass the sniff test?

Composting toilets: Do they pass the sniff test?

With water-conservation ideas generating so much buzz lately, it's worth revisiting an old technology -- the composting toilet -- to see if it might offer new solutions.

Composting toilets have been around for decades, they use little or no water, and they treat toilet wastes on-site for re-use as valuable compost. How have these devices, with their enormous nationwide water-saving potential, fared recently in public acceptance and use by the building sector for residential, public, and commercial spaces?

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The 100 Greywater System Challenge: Are you on the map?

The 100 Greywater System Challenge: Are you on the map?

With water conservation becoming a hot topic in this dry year, local residents are flocking to free "laundry-to-landscape" workshops to learn how they can harness their washing machines to water their gardens.

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Residents going with the flow with rainwater harvesting

Residents going with the flow with rainwater harvesting

“People are amazed when they find out how much rainwater they can capture from their roof tops,” said Landscape Architect Bobby Markowitz at a March 15 presentation at the Museum of Art and History in Santa Cruz. A house with a 2,000 square-foot roof can capture 29,900 gallons of water during an average rain year (24 inches). That’s more than a third of the annual water consumed by a typical household (average 226 gallons per day), according to the City of Santa Cruz Water Department website.

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Grey water and rainwater catchment: San Francisco Green Festival

Grey water and rainwater catchment: San Francisco Green Festival

Two Sundays ago, I set out for the 10th annual Green Festival at the San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center. Billed as “the nation’s premier sustainability event,” the Green Festival is an extravaganza of organic food, green building, urban farming, solar energy, green jobs, electric cars, and sustainable clothing.

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