Catalina Island is the only place in California where the number and size of road-going motor vehicles is regulated by law. For residents of the island who want to bring a personal car, this means signing up at the bottom of a 14-year waiting list. Tourists are not permitted to ferry a vehicle from the mainland, even for temporary use. These policies keep the total car count below 1,000.

Because the principal settlement and center of activity, Avalon, is only about one square mile in size, walking works in most situations. Visitors in need of luggage help find hotel shuttle and taxi services readily available. There are two trolley routes within Avalon, and vans and shuttle buses are available for charter trips outside the city. Golf carts are a popular way of making short trips as well as exploring the mountainous area of the island’s interior. Bicycles are another reliable option.

Catalina Island lies 22 miles off the coast of California near Los Angeles. This 76-square mile escape has two major settlements: the main city of Avalon (about 4,000 permanent residents) and the town of Two Harbors (about 300 permanent residents). Around one million tourists arrive via boat or helicopter each year. Popular activities include hiking, mountain biking, camping, snorkeling, scuba diving, parasailing, and bus and boat tours.

Most of the island is controlled by the Catalina Island Conservancy, a non-profit organization that attempts to preserve Catalina’s natural beauty and ecosystem. Despite this, the beach at Avalon is listed on the Natural Resources Defense Council’s list of the 10 most chronically polluted American beaches. The city’s century-old sewage system is to blame; its clay and metal pipes have deteriorated to the point that they no longer contain much of the human waste produced. The sewage that escapes the plumbing system enters the groundwater and finds its way to the coast. The waters appear pristine, but water quality tests tell another story.

Over the summer, the city of Avalon is launched at $5.1-million project to address the problem—the latest effort in a series of measures taken over the last decade.

An article on Catalina Island

Official Site: Catalina Island

Urban living requires efficient use of space, but it can be a very environmentally-friendly lifestyle:  city residents generally live in small homes with access to walkable neighborhoods and public transportation.  One common downside is a lack of green space, but architect Stefano Boeri aims to change all that with his “Bosco Verticale” concept.  Italian for “vertical forest”, his project was recently described by the Financial Times as “the most exciting new tower in the world”.

Currently under construction in the Isola neighborhood of central Milan, the inaugural Bosco Verticale project consists of a pair of residential towers.  Rising 110 and 76 meters over the city, the towers will be home to 900 trees (some close to 30 feet tall) plus a range of flowering plants and shrubs.  That amount of greenery is comparable to 10,000 square meters of forest space, or 50,000 sqm of suburban residential property.

According to Boeri, “Bosco Verticale is a project for metropolitan reforestation that contributes to the regeneration of the environment and urban biodiversity without the implication of expanding the city upon the territory. Bosco Verticale is a model of vertical densification of nature within the city.”

Besides offering pleasing aesthetics, the vertical forest concept takes the green skyscraper concept even further by creating a healthier environment for residents.  The density of plantings creates a microclimate that filters dust and particulate pollution, absorbs CO2, and absorbs noise.  Improved shade and temperature regulation will help avoid the “heat island” effect and reduce the energy needed for climate control systems.

Other energy-efficient components are being integrated into the buildings as well:  photovoltaic arrays will provide partial power to the buildings, and much of the irrigation needed to support the plantings will come from reusing processed wastewater.  Visit Stefano Boeri Architecture to learn more.

Efficient Outdoor Water Use

A recent Metaefficient post offered some ideas for reducing water consumption in your home – but why stop there? Read on to learn about some tips and products that will help you manage water use in outdoor spaces like lawns and gardens. Best of all, you’ll reduce both your environmental impact and utility bills in the process.

Start With Your Lawn

A sprawling, lush lawn can be a major drain (literally) on water resources. Don’t worry, you can still have a beautiful and functional outdoor space – just be smart about it. Remember, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that in the US, landscape irrigation consumes over 7 billion gallons of water a day, and a whopping half of that is wasted thanks to over-watering and evaporation.

Water intelligently. Less frequent, heavier waterings will maintain a healthy lawn with less overall water usage. More importantly, this will also encourage deeper root growth, making grass more tolerant of hot, dry spells.

While you’re at it, make sure all that water is actually getting into the ground. Watering early in the morning or late in the evening will help minimize evaporation, as will skipping the watering on windy days.

The Gardena AquaZoom Sprinkler

If you’re using a sprinkler system, avoid overspraying onto sidewalks and driveways – they’re not going to grow any bigger. The Gardena AquaZoom sprinkler ($56.53 at Amazon) features adjustable spray length and width, up to 3,800 square feet of coverage, to help direct water precisely where you need it

Just maintain the lawn space you actually use. Unless you’re hosting polo tournaments, you probably don’t need to maintain huge tracts of grass. Lawn borders in particular are rarely used, but they add a surprising amount of square footage that must be watered and cared for. Consider shrinking your lawn area, and using other landscaping options for purely decorative spaces.

Consider xeriscaping. Xeriscaping is landscaping that requires little or no irrigation, other than natural rainfall. And this doesn’t need to mean “rocks & cactus” either – choosing plantings appropriate for your climate can let you enjoy a colorful, thriving, low-maintenance yard.

Xeriscape Handbook: A How-to Guide to Natural Resource-Wise Gardening

Two great guidebooks to learn about xeriscaping on your property are Xeriscape Handbook: A How-to Guide to Natural Resource-Wise Gardening ($16.47 at Amazon) and The Dry Gardening Handbook: Plants and Practices for a Changing Climate ($37.80 at Amazon).

Landscaping

If your landscaping does require some supplemental watering, make sure you’re watering as efficiently as possible.

Drip…drip…drip. A perforated soaker hose can be a great way to target the spots that need water, while minimizing overwatering and evaporation. The Colorite Earth Quencher Soaker Hose ($29.99 for 100 feet at Amazon) seeps water directly at the base of plants, and it gets extra efficiency points for its water restrictor and recycled tire rubber construction.

Colorite Earth Quencher Recycled-Rubber Soaker Hose

The power of mulch. A 2-4” layer of mulch spread around the base of trees and plants will help retain moisture and reduce evaporation, meaning less watering will be needed. Create a slight depression in the center to further help retain water and prevent runoff.

Rain Is Your Friend.

Rain beats a sprinkler any day. Rainwater is the ideal water source for outdoor plants – it’s free, and contains none of the chlorine found in tap water. Depending on the weather, you might not actually need to do any additional irrigation, so don’t risk over-watering if you don’t have to.

Taylor Precision Rain Gauge

Simple tools like a rain gauge and a soil moisture sensor can give you a good indication whether or not you really need to get the hose out. The Taylor Precision Rain Gauge ($7.62 at Amazon) is simple and easy-to-read, and the Luster Leaf Rapitest 4-in-1 soil tester ($11.55) measures moisture as well as soil acidity, fertilizer levels, and sunlight.

Save it for later. A rain barrel is one of the easiest ways to collect rainwater from your gutters, and use it later when it’s needed. You can easily improvise your own, but the Algreen Cascata 65-Gallon Rain Barrel ($149.99 at Amazon) has a generous capacity, an integrated hose and spigot, and a design that’s downright attractive.

Algreen Cascata 65-Gallon Rain Barrel

For even bigger applications, you can super-size your rainwater usage with a large-scale storage system like the Rainwater Pillow.

Carwash With Care

Using a commercial carwash is generally easier on you and the environment. Commercial carwashes are usually much more efficient than at-home washing, and they often recycle their water. A typical commercial carwash might use around 30 gallons per wash (roughly equivalent to a bath) instead of literally hundreds of gallons when someone lets their hose run in the driveway.

If you need to wash your car yourself, don’t let the water run into the gutter while you scrub. A sprayer like the Dramm 9-Pattern Revolver Hose Nozzle ($12.49 at Amazon) will cut water waste, and give you more oomph when it’s time to rinse. Bonus: its variety of spray patterns make it great for delicate plant watering as well as heavy-duty spraying.

Dramm 9-Pattern Revolver Hose Nozzle

And since you’re using a biodegradable soap (you are, right?) try parking your car on the lawn while washing. The grass will get a watering, and the runoff won’t run into the sewer or evaporate off the driveway.

Sweep, Don’t Spray

For paved areas like patios and driveways, resist the temptation to hose away debris like leaves. A plastic rake or wide push broom will get the job done just as well – and won’t waste a drop of water.

Do you have other suggestions for simple ways to cut household water consumption? Leave a comment below and let us know!

Reduce Your Home's Water Consumption

Reducing household water usage has big-time benefits for both homeowners and for the environment: reducing strain on local water resources, cutting demand on wastewater treatment facilities, and lowering both water and sewage utility bills, to name a few. Although this is by no means an exhaustive list, we’ve put together a collection of water-saving tips and products that can help you save money and reduce your environmental footprint.

Best of all, these don’t require major sacrifices or lifestyle changes, they’re just adjustments that make a big difference – sort of the water conservation equivalent of “working smart instead of working hard”.

Basic Maintenance

Small Leaks Can Waste Huge Amouts Of Water

Check your fixtures and pipes. Give your household plumbing a good look. Do you see any leaks, even just tiny drips when a faucet is turned on? All those drops add up. A leaky faucet washer can waste tens of gallons of water per day, so why pay for all that water you aren’t using? Plus, by sealing the leak, you’ll avoid the maintenance nightmare of repairing water damage if the little drip turns into a raging flow.

Check your meter. Take a look at your water meter before you leave home to run your errands, then check it a couple hours later when you return (and you know there has been no water use.) If you see any change on the meter, there’s a leak somewhere. Find it and fix it.

Next Stop: The Kitchen

Reuse kitchen water. Instead of wasting it down the drain, use a pail to collect the water you use for rinsing vegetables or cooking foods like pasta or potatoes. The added nutrients make it great for watering a garden.

Don’t let the water run… and run… Of course, this is good advice in the bathroom too, but it’s especially easy to waste water in the kitchen. Make the effort to turn off the faucet when you don’t need it, even for a couple seconds – the water savings will add up quickly. A faucet pedal makes it even easier to regulate water use when your hands are full. One of our favorites is the Pedal Works Hands-Free Faucet Controller ($349 at Amazon)

Pedal Works Hands-Free Faucet Controller

Use the dishwasher. This is an indulgence you can feel good about. A modern, energy-star rated dishwasher loaded to capacity will use less water and energy than hand washing in the sink. And you can generally skip the pre-rinse, further reducing water use.

Bosch SHX68E Evolution 800 Plus Dishwasher

Bosch is an industry leader when it comes to efficient dishwashers. The Bosch SHX68E Evolution 800 Plus is extraordinarily energy efficient, and uses just 1.56 gallons of water per cycle. Fair enough, this is the Rolls Royce of dishwashers ($1,732.56 at Amazon) but all major manufacturers now offer their own energy star models.

If you must wash by hand, don’t let the water run constantly. Fill the sink with soapy water, wash the dishes, then refill with rinse water.

Bathrooms

Sorry, baths. Despite the very name of the room, baths are a killer when it comes to household water conservation. Showers use a fraction of the water compared to baths, so avoid the full-on tub soaking whenever possible.

Go low-flow. New low-flow showerheads match the performance of older, wasteful designs, while drastically cutting water consumption. One of the best is the Delta Water Amplifying Low-Flow Showerhead ($29.98 at Amazon), which uses just 1.85 gallons per minute in its low-flow mode, yet maintains impressive water pressure for rinsing.

Delta Water Amplifying Low-Flow Showerhead

Shower smart. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get distracted in the shower, what with all the singing and pondering the mysteries of the universe. But try to keep it short – reducing a shower by just two minutes can easily save 100 gallons of water each month.

A nifty little gadget to help you avoid wasting water by being aware of how much you’re using is the Water Pebble, designed by Paul Priestman. The Water Pebble is placed in a sink or shower, and uses green, yellow, and red indicator lights to give a quick visual reference of how much water is being used. Learn more at the Priestman Goode Design website.

The Water Pebble

And While We’re Talking Bathrooms… Low-flow toilets are good, but toilets with a dual-flush option are even better. One of the best is the Caroma Caravelle ($369 at Amazon) which performs just as well as many older high-flow designs but uses only 0.8 gallons per flush for liquids, or 1.6 gallons for solids – which can translate into annual utility savings of $100 in water-restricted areas.

Caroma Caravelle Dual-Flush Toilet

Finally, don’t use the toilet as a trash can. Even with a low-flow design, flushing a tissue or a cigarette butt is an unnecessary waste of water.

Bring The Rain Indoors

OXO Good Grips Pour & Store Watering Can

Rainwater is great for watering indoor plants. It’s free, and it’s actually better for your plants than using municipal water from the faucet. Rainwater contains no chlorine, and its ambient temperature is easier for plants to tolerate than cold tap water. The OXO Good Grips Pour & Store watering can ($15.50 at Amazon) is great for indoor use, thanks to its ergonomic design and compact folding spout.

Do you have other suggestions for simple ways to cut household water consumption? Leave a comment below and let us know!

Chicago's Green Alley Initiative (photo: Chicago DOT)

Urban alleyways. Grubby places that only scrappy cats or cop-show perps could love, right? Not in Chicago, where the Department of Transportation is giving them some serious TLC with its recently implemented Green Alley Program. This city-wide renovation initiative will offer some surprising environmental benefits and improve quality of life for residents.

Alleys may seem like a tiny fraction of a city’s infrastructure. But Chicago has more than any other city in the world – 1,900 miles of alleyways that translate to 3,500 acres of paved landscape. And traditional alley designs have been plagued with flooding problems that overwhelm the city’s sewers, plus they can worsen nighttime light pollution and trap heat in the summer months. In response to this, The Chicago Department of Transport has followed the lead of Portland and companies like Aviva and Johnson & Johnson who have introduced impressive green initiatives. The four basic components of Chicago’s Green Alley program are effective stormwater management, minimizing heat absorption, creating designs to reduce light pollution, and maximizing the use of recycled materials wherever possible.

Alley Before And After Renovation (photo: Chicago DOT)

Using permeable pavement along with proper grading for drainage is a key element of managing water runoff. Paving materials that let rainwater infiltrate the soil (instead of entering the sewers) allow groundwater to be recharged, and reduce unnecessary stress on water treatment plants. A variety of pavers are being used, including permeable asphalt and concrete materials as well as open grid-style pavement tiles.

Permeable Paving Materials (photo: Chicago DOT)

The “heat island” effect that occurs when paved surfaces absorb the sun’s rays can substantially increase ambient temperature (and energy demand) in the summer months. The Green Alley program mandates the use of high-albedo (light-colored) pavements that absorb minimal heat. Benefits include reducing the need for air-conditioning in surrounding structures, and creating a better environment for vegetation growth.

Nighttime light pollution means that in most urban areas, a starry sky is a rarity. The Green Alley program requires the use of directional light fixtures that give street-level illumination for residents without shining upward into the sky. The new fixtures also provide a natural white light instead of the ubiquitous yellow glow seen from older sodium lamps.

Using recycled construction materials is also crucial for the Green Alley program, and creates cost savings while reducing raw material consumption and stress on landfills. Recycled concrete aggregate is being used in both foundation and surface layers, and reclaimed asphalt and ground tire-rubber can be used in pavement. Slag waste from steel production can also be used in the concrete components of the projects.

The Green Alley upgrades are being gradually implemented throughout the city. The Department of Transportation is also working with property owners to encourage their involvement in the Green Alley program, by providing maintenance advice and encouraging projects like rain gardens to complement the new alley designs.
(Via Chicago Department of Transportation)

Bank of America Tower, Greenest Skyscraper In The U.S. (photo: BoA)

A while back, MetaEfficient profiled what could be the greenest skyscraper in America, the Bank of America Tower in New York City. Located in midtown Manhattan at One Bryant Park, the 945-foot tall, 55-story structure is scheduled to open later this year. Here’s a closer look at some of the groundbreaking features that should help the building earn a coveted LEED Platinum designation.

In addition to making extensive use of low-VOC construction materials and recycled products like steel and drywall, the BoA Tower is designed with energy efficiency in mind. Power demand is reduced for lighting and climate-control systems thanks to high-transparency, low-e glass (that’s low emissivity, meaning heat bounces off the glass instead of being conducted through, while still allowing illumination from sunlight). The air-conditioning system produces ice at night, when municipal power demand is at its lowest, then stores it for daytime cooling use. And a highly efficient 5.1-megawatt combined cycle electrical generation facility within the building reduces its need for municipal grid power.

Air quality inside the BoA Tower is a top priority, with a filtration system that eliminates 95% of particulate pollution. Air is drawn inside at least 100 feet above street level, filtered, and distributed to individual floors where it gets a second filtration. As a result, exhaust air from the building is actually much cleaner than the surrounding ambient city air.

Bank of America Tower, New York City (photo: BoA)

Water use is revolutionary for a building of this size, especially by U.S. standards. Rain is collected on all roof areas, and storage tanks can hold up to 269,000 gallons of rainwater, meaning zero storm water goes into city sewers. Collected water is used for toilets and plant irrigation, saving over 10 million gallons of potable water annually; low flow fixtures and waterless urinals further reduce water use, and a graywater treatment plant in the cellar provides water for the building’s cooling tower.

Green architecture has officially arrived in New York City. And if it can make it there, as the old song goes, it can make it anywhere. When the Bank of America Tower opens this year, it will serve as an illustration of how sustainable design and green technologies can be applied to projects on a massive scale.

(via Bank of America)

The people in the photo above are walking through the coils of a “Living Machine” in Emmen Zoo, Netherlands. It is a machine that filters and cleans 260,000 gallons of wastewater per day using nothing but plants. The water that comes out is drinkable.

It was created by John and Nancy Jack Todd using the science of “biomimicry“, where innovations are inspired by existing systems in the natural world. They’ve built large scale water cleaning machines in Canada and the US.

Find out more at: Living Machines

The book “Create an Oasis with Greywater” by Art Ludwig is packed with information about how to reuse greywater by diverting it into your garden. What is greywater? It’s all the “waste” water produced in a house besides sewage — e.g. water from showers, sinks and washing machines.

This is a key meta-efficient technique because, when done correctly, and combined with composting toilets, it eliminates the need for municipal sewage services. It also provides your garden with water and nutrients.

The author’s own “Branched Drain to Mulch Basins or Mini-Leachfields” technique is intriguing, as are many other methods of greywater percolation explained in the book.