'Designing with Water' Competition

Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced earlier this month that the City of Boston, in partnership with the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Boston Harbor Association, will be holding an international design competition for climate preparedness. The contest, which will kick off this fall, is funded by an $86,000 grant awarded by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management to the BRA, and $35,000 awarded by the Barr Foundation to the Boston Harbor Association.

“The City of Boston continues to be a national leader on climate preparedness,” said Mayor Walsh. “This design competition will bring concepts and ideas from around the world, such as those in the Boston Harbor Association's new report, to fruition in Boston.”

The competition will call for creative and innovative climate-change resilient design solutions for three at-risk waterfront sites in Boston.  Hosted along with the Boston Society of Architects, the competition seeks implementable planning and design solutions that will prepare these sites for current coastal flood risks and future sea-level-rise.

“While extreme flooding is generally a new problem for Boston, cities such as Amsterdam, Hamburg and Seoul have had decades, even centuries, of learning how to allow flooding without damage occurring,” said Julie Wormser, Executive Director of The Boston Harbor Association. “These cities have recognized that it is financially, culturally, and ecologically beneficial to work with water, instead of fighting to keep every last drop out.”

“Designing with Water: Creative Examples from Around the Globe” can be viewed and downloaded on the Boston Harbor Association’s website, here:  http://www.tbha.org/climate-change-adaptation.

Eco Definitions: Greywater

Its the middle of August and water resources across the U.S. are strained. Particularly in the southwest, which is experiencing a record-breaking drought, water conservation is of the utmost importance. One way to save water is by using greywater more effectively. So, what is greywater exactly?

According to Greywater Action, it is "water from your bathroom sinks, showers, tubs, and washing machines. It is not water that has come into contact with feces, either from the toilet or from washing diapers.

Greywater may contain traces of dirt, food, grease, hair, and certain household cleaning products. While greywater may look “dirty,” it is a safe and even beneficial source of irrigation water in a yard. There are many simple, economical ways to reuse greywater in the landscape."

By collecting rainwater and greywater, people can water their yards without using potable water. Greywater can also be used to flush toilets!

Water Stories: Conservations in Paint and Sound

The Museum of Science opened a brand new art and sound exhibit last week -“Water Stories: Conservations in Paint and Sound” with paintings by Anne Neely and sound by Halsey Burgund.

The exhibit features oil paintings ranging in size from up to eight feet across to much smaller creations.  Neely focuses her works on the subject of water.  Inspired after seeing a toxic dump turned aquifer in Maine near her Jonesboro studio, Neely took to the beauty of different bodies of water.  She then began researching the many threats to water such as drought, depleted aquifers, dried up riverbeds, pollution, toxic sediment and fracking.  This is when she started seeing true connections between water preservation and art.

In 2012, she took her idea to museum director David G. Rabkin.  Together they came up with the exhibit and she got to work.  On July 11th, their dream became a reality.  With the help of sound artist, Halsey Burgund, the exhibit was opened in Boston.

“It’s impressionistic and emotional, rather than pure thinking,” says Rabkin.  The exhibit is rooted in art but has an educational side to it.  It is meant to inspire but also inform.

The Museum of Science is excited to feature such a unique crossover exhibit.  Learn more and plan your visit here.

Save Water while Gardening

source image courtesy of Maria Starzyk

Its gardening season! It is great to finally be outdoors, growing flowers and cultivating your own food. Here are a few quick ways to make your gardening practices water efficient.

1. Do you use a dehumidifier? Use the water the machine collects to hydrate your garden!

2. Collect rain water in a rain barrel for later use in your yard. 

3. Water your garden in the early morning or late evening to prevent excess evaporation.

4. Use an efficient hose attachment, or hose water meter. 

5. Plant hardy crops that require less water.

6. Take a bucket in the shower with you to collect water - if its not too soapy, you can use it on your plants!

Victor Douieb Sculpts the Invasive Lionfish

source image courtesy of epicdiving

In April, artist and conservation activist Victor Douieb gave a lecture at the New England Aquarium as part of their free lecture series. Victor, who was never formally trained in the arts, started his career as a dental assistant making molds of patients' teeth. As an art enthusiast and diver, he wanted to purchase a sculpture of a hammerhead shark for his home, but was unable to find one - so he made his own! Since he began sculpting in 2008, he has created pieces that portray both endangered species and invasive species. My personal favorite is the pop art rhino: 

Victor also talked about his latest work - sculptures of the Lionfish. Lionfish are an invasive species originally from the South Pacific that can now be found all along the east coast. They are highly detrimental to the habitats they invade because they eat almost anything, and have no predators. So how did Lionfish get here? Most likely they were released by humans into coastal waters - theories target the Atlantis resort in approximately 1985. And because they live in reef areas where many endangered species live, it is incredibly hard for people to catch Lionfish without threatening other fish. While there is no immediate solution to the problem, Victor is bringing awareness to the issue through his art in the hopes that people will take notice and come up with innovative ways to reduce Lionfish numbers.

Spotlight: Operation Blue Pride

When our veterans come home from war, many struggle with what to do next. They have often endured immense physical pain and sometimes also suffer from PTSD. Approximately 22 service members commit suicide each day. One organization is trying to heal our heroes and our planet at once. Operation: Blue Pride teaches veterans how to scuba dive and educates them about shark conservation. Scuba training has proven to be a very effective self-healing and empowerment tool helping veterans regain their independence and sense of purpose. One of the first vets to participate in the program was Boston native, Sgt. Chris Maddeford, who spoke to a group at the New England Aquarium in April. "Operation: Blue Pride enriches the lives of severely wounded veterans, and helps save our oceans."

Movie Night Suggestion

image courtesy of tumblr

If you haven't already seen the eye-opening documentary Blackfish, I highly recommend you get on Netflix and watch it ASAP! As a lover of wildlife, I was horrified to learn of the conditions in which many orcas are kept around the globe. While SeaWorld claims that much of Blackfish is false or misleading, the documentary certainly does a good job of making people think of the human-animal relationships in zoos of all types. There are always more than one version of the truth, but an opinion on orca captivity simply should not be made without viewing this film. 

Boston's Eco Activities for this Week

image courtesy of Flickr

MONDAY

• First 70 degree day of spring! Head to Follain to pick up some earth-friendly, chemical free sunscreen. 

TUESDAY

• Check out the Sea Change: Boston Exhibit

WEDNESDAY

• Net Impact Sustainability Breakfast
• Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink Forum at the Museum of Science

THURSDAY

• Green Justice Coalition Energy Efficiency Summit
• Invasion of the Lionfish Lecture at the New England Aquarium

FRIDAY

• Last chance to check out the Museum of Science before the craziness of April Vacation begins. Why not check out their live presentation on climate change?!

SATURDAY

• Save some $$$ while cutting your environmental impact by turning off your heat and committing not to turn it on again until November or December.

SUNDAY

• Enjoy a vegetarian Easter celebration. 

What to watch on Netflix this weekend

This 2011 documentary, available for streaming on Netflix, takes an inspirational look into the brief, but landmark, presidency of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives. The Maldives are the lowest lying country in the world, and may very well disappear as a result of climate change. Nasheed heads to the U.N. and to Copenhagen to face adversaries like China and India in the hopes that they can come to an agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Island President is informative, witty, and motivating - two thumbs up!

How to Save the Oceans

Last Thursday, the New England Aquarium hosted the 11th lecture in its free fall series: Meet Your Local Garbage Patch. During the lecture, attendees were introduced to the Rozalia Project, an organization that works on implementing solutions for clean oceans. Trash in our oceans is of increasing concern as we discover more about the toxics that can leech from plastics and other man-made materials. After digesting  Rachel Miller's inspiring lecture, I present to you, 6 tips to save the ocean:

1. Stop smoking. In addition to the health concerns, cigarette butts take about 7 years to biodegrade in the ocean, and are one of the most common trash items found by the Rozalia Project on sea floors.

2. Use a refillable waterbottle. Water might be good for you, but plastic bottles take a lot longer to biodegrade than cigarettes - about 450 years! Avoid plastic bottles!

3. Watch out for urban trash cans. When they overflow, the trash can get swept up in rain water, down our storm drains and into the harbor. Wait until you see a non-overflowing trashcan to dispose of your trash - or better yet, alert area officials that the recepticle is in need of emptying.

4. Switch your facewash. Plastic beads from cosmetic exfoliants are of increasing concern to our oceans because of the incredible difficulty required to clean them. Use a facewash with naturally derived beads - or even better, switch to bar soap.

5. Picnic consciously. Unsurprisingly, most of the trash that the Rozalia Project finds in the harbors is food related - plastic cups, beer cans, food wrappers, etc. All are evidence that we love spending time at the beach and on the water, so make sure when you do these things that you dispose of all your trash appropriately.

6. Get educated. Learn about threats to the ocean and get involved with the solutions by following the Rozalia Project and other ocean-themed organizations.

Pencil it in: NEAQ Meet your Local Garbage Patch

WHERE: Simons IMAX Theatre, New England Aquarium

WHEN: TONIGHT! Thursday, December 5, 2013

WHY: The oceanic garbage patches get a lot of press, but do you know what is floating right here in Boston Harbor? The Rozalia Project uses underwater robots, nets and hands to clean our ocean surface to seafloor while studying the problem and running education programs. They operate from aboard the 60' sailing vessel, American Promise, in the Gulf of Maine and Massachusetts Bay as well as from partner docks and vessels throughout the US.  Rozalia Project's Founder and Executive Director, Rachael Miller, will lead an introduction to the problem of marine debris in our waters here in New England. Click here to register.

Recap: Sea Ice, Climate and Observational Mathematics

Last night was an incredible installment of the New England Aquarium Fall Lecture Series, during which climate scientist, John Wettlaufer, explained the complexities of studying fluctuations in arctic ice.  Here are my top 6 takeaways from the event:

1. Earth and climate science is based largely on observation and modeling rather than experimentation.

2. A layer of ice about 2.5 meters thick stays frozen all year round, and this ice is very important for regulating the planet's climate. 

3. Albedo is the term used to describe the reflectivity of ice. 

4. Ice is important to the earth not only because of sea levels, but because of albedo for reflecting the sun's radiation. 

5. Correctly modeling climate is difficult because there are so many different variables. 

6. When creating models to predict the future using all of these variables it is important to remember that: Things need to be simple enough that they can be analyzed thoroughly, but complex enough that the results approach reality.

Pencil it in: Free Lecture at the Aquarium TONIGHT

Register here.

Hope to see you tonight!

Hydroponic Gardening 101

Hydroponic gardening is the method of growing plants without soil. Mineral solutions in the water replace the need for the nutrients that soil typically provides. Almost any type of plant can be grown using hydroponics. But why use hydroponic techniques? Hydroponic gardening gives people the opportunity to grow food and other crops in places with inadequate soil (spaceships, anyone?).  These gardens are also great for apartments with no yard space, or areas where soil has been destroyed. To keep up to date with new hydroponic innovations, make sure to check out Inhabitat.

 

Get 10% off your grow light when you shop at www.AccessHydro.com

This post is sponsored by Access Hydroponic.

Fun Friday: Vote For Nature's Plate Awards

Click here to nominate your favorite "green" restaurant in Massachusetts for a Nature's Plate Award.

Nominations will be open September 3-16, semifinal voting will begin October 1, and the winner(s) will be announced October 17.

Wondering which restaurants to vote for? Consider eateries that are using sustainable seafood, free-range and grass-fed meat, organic produce, locally sourced food and tap water (rather than bottled water). The Nature Conservancy is to working with food producers everywhere and bringing together traditionally unexpected partners in the name of healthy food and a healthy environment, finding solutions that are good for their businesses, for consumers and for nature.

Nom, nom, nom! I can't wait to find out who the finalists will be!

New Perspectives: Shape up your house with high-efficiency plumbing fixtures

We’ve all probably had that bill that made us really take a step back and examine where our money is really going. Unfortunately, I’ve had that happen, and it was on a water bill! Turns out that for a while, I had been feeling the effects of lagging plumbing fixtures. In addition, water conservation is an increasing global concern, so I wanted to do my part to remedy this problem.

Here are some quick replacements that will help conserve both water and money:

TOILETS
It makes sense that the toilet is the most popular choice among consumers when it comes to going green. In fact, most of the time, the other fixtures in this article are favored in the other direction, with low-efficiency setting and builds. Toilets often flush up to six gallons of water per use, which can account for up to 30 percent of a home’s total water usage. Here are some options to lower that number.

Dual Flush Toilets:  This kind of toilet allows you to choose between flushing for liquid or solid waste.

Composting Toilets: This is exactly like an outhouse, except it is sanitary and comes without the smell. These toilets store waste for one year to allow it to decompose naturally. The smell is eradicated with a
special mixture, and VOILA! No water in your toilet.

High-efficiency Toilets: Even the EPA is getting in on this action, releasing their own WaterSense labeled toilets. It’s said that these toilets save people around 4,000 gallons of water each year.


SHOWERHEADS
Toilets are water hogs, but so are showers. These account for about 20 percent of a home’s total water usage, and that probably doesn’t include those people that take hour-long showers…Typical showers use about 2.5 gallons of water per minute, but bigger showerheads can use up to 20 gallons of water per minute. I shudder when I see these types of stats. Ultra-low-flow showerheads reduce the shower’s water output by about 70 percent, which means less strain on your overall plumbing system.


FAUCETS
Faucets are routinely left on to run at-will. Just like with anything else on this list, this puts a toll on the water heater. If you can’t break your habit of leaving the faucet on, check out high-efficiency faucets. They use 1.5 gallons of water per minute. Not bad at all. It’s a small change, but it adds up in the long run. Now imagine with me for a moment – every person in America (just America) made the switch to these types of fixtures, the country would save three trillion gallons of water per year and around $1 billion per year. If one out of every 100 homes made the switch, 80,000 tons of greenhouse gases would  be eliminated!


Author: Diane Kuehl is a home improvement professional and owner of DIY Mother. She lives in Springfield, Illinois with her husband and two kids.

Recap of Because Water's Charles River Rummage

photos courtesy of Carven Boursiquot

On August 10th, BeCause Water hosted the second Charles River Rummage where teams of 4 competed on Paddle Boston kayaks to clean as much debris and litter in 1 hour as possible. Once the rummagers got ashore, BeCause Water awarded $100 cash prize, NE Aquarium passes, a gift certificate to Safar Coiffure Salon and full access to the mobile app, DropIn. What remained of the trash was sorted, thrown away, and recycled through Save That Stuff. 

Sounds like an amazing event and I can't wait to see what BeCause Water plans next!

Green Tip Tuesday: 5 Beaches to Visit Before Summer Ends

1. Singing Beach, Manchester by the Sea 

Travel Time: 55 mins from North Station. (45 minutes on commuter rail, 10 minute walk). 

Pro: Clean

Con: Commuter rail schedule can be inhibiting 

2. M Street Beach, South Boston

Travel Time: 15 mins from South Station (8 minutes on bus, 7 minute walk).

Pro: Easily Accessible

Con: Water quality must be checked daily due to proximity to the city

3. Crane Beach, Ipswich

Travel Time: 1hr and 5 mins from North Station (50 mins on commuter rail, 15 mins on Explorer Shuttle)

Pro: Best beach in Massachusetts

Con: Explorer shuttle only runs on weekends, and ends service all together after Sept. 3. 

4. Spectacle Island, Boston Harbor

Travel Time: 15 mins from Long Wharf (ferry)

Pro: Beautiful views

Con: Water quality must be checked daily due to proximity to the city

5. Revere Beach, Revere

Travel Time: 30 mins from State Street

Pro: Easily accessible 

Con: Gets crowded

Shark Week!

Source images courtesy of  1 / 2 / 3 / 4

For the past few summers, stories of great white shark sightings off Cape Cod have topped the news. Normally, this doesn't surprise or intrigue me, but after reading Paul Greenberg's Four Fish, I now understand the importance of this issue - and think that it is especially important for Bostonians. We have a responsibility to protect these creatures despite their terrifying reputation. They, like all wildlife, are an essential component to the ecosystem.

This past Tuesday, OCEARCH began a month-long project aiming to tag 10-20 great whites off the coast of Chatham. As of today, none have yet been tagged because the sharks haven't been going for the bait (fish) because their meal of choice (seals) has been quite abundant in the area. But the the project is anticipated to be the largest Great White Shark expedition in U.S. history. “This expedition brings together an amazing team of researchers with broad experience in multiple disciplines. In doing so, we will be conducting over a dozen studies on white sharks, ranging from broad and fine scale migratory patterns to sonograms.  Our knowledge base on Atlantic white sharks will grow exponentially, helping both science and public safety.”

Follow the Expedition #ExpeditionCapeCod

New Perspectives: Greening Your Home with Updated Plumbing

Over time, your home’s plumbing system handles massive amounts of water. What type of system you have, and how well it is maintained can make a big difference in water use. Using less water, not only helps the environment, but can also save you money. Hiring a professional plumber might sound expensive but might end up paying for itself. For example, upgrading your current water system, or installing new water saving plumbing fixtures can make a huge difference in your water bill. Even repairing your roof and improving your gutter system can help to reduce the water waste in your home.

A professional plumber could install a low consumption toilet. This should be the first step to a more water efficient home, since these, greener versions use literally half the water of a traditional design – 6 litres compared to 13.2 litres. Government studies report that the average home will save over 80 litres of water each year just by switching out your toilets.

Shower Heads, Faucets and Taps have also become more eco-savvy. Modern, high efficiency water taps, faucets and shower heads can dramatically reduce water waste, without any compromise to comfort or water pressure. Traditional shower heads run through about 95 litres of water during an average 10 minute shower. Modern efficient showers, including the new rainfall shower head with a built in flow restrictor, consume only 76 litres during the same shower. That’s 19 litres of water saved every time someone showers in your home.

You should also consider replacing your older, outdated fixtures. It used to be popular for a bathroom to have a large tub with a stand alone shower, but these fixtures are no longer standard because of their wastefulness. 

You can become more energy efficient when it comes to using water and heating with the help of your professional plumber. This gives you the potential to save money on utility bills while reducing your carbon footprint. 

This sponsored post is by Ivy Delfin of http://www.pipeperfection.com.au