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water conservation

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    Smart meters save energy, water, and dollars

    Flickr via Pink Sherbet PhotographyThe other day I came home to find a colorful flyer on my front door proclaiming, “Your meter just got smarter.” While I was out and about in Berkeley, a worker from my utility, PG&E, slipped in the side gate and gave my old gas and electric meter a digital upgrade. […]

    Todd Woody Technology

  • Ask Umbra on shower caps, computers, and junk mail

    Q. Dear Umbra, I’ve taken to washing my hair less and less often to keep it from drying out. Since I’ve switched to the “no-‘poo” method (baking soda followed by a vinegar rinse) it stays cleaner longer. However, I still take a shower (brief and lukewarm) most days. To keep my curly hair from becoming […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • A surprising sneak peek at the clothesline revolution

    This interview is part of a series on people who are making their communities smarter, greener places to live. Got a nomination? Leave it in the comments section or send it along to us. Alexander Lee founded Project Laundry List as a Middlebury College undergrad in 1995, after hearing Dr. Helen Caldicott say we could […]

    Katharine Wroth Culture

  • Ask Umbra on climate-skeptic teachers, low-flow toilets, and more

    Q. Dear Umbra, I know it’s a little early, but I had this great idea for a New Year’s resolution. Every month in 2010, I pick a certain eco-area of my life and focus on that for a whole month. So far I have: reduce energy consumption; reduce water consumption; reduce material waste; reuse; recycle; […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • The end of welfare water and the drying of the West

    This essay was originally published on TomDispatch and is republished here with Tom’s kind permission. Pink snow is turning red in Colorado. Here on the Great American Desert — specifically Utah’s slickrock portion of it where I live — hot ‘n’ dry means dust. When frequent high winds sweep across our increasingly arid landscape, redrock […]

    Chip Ward Climate & Energy

  • Your greenest Ramadan

    Islam is green by nature, and Ramadan offers a chance to make a big impact.Shawna AyoubAfter my grandfather had a stroke, the doctor said he might not walk again. He also said that getting him to challenge himself — to give walking a true try — was critical to his physical and emotional recovery. My […]

    Shawna Ayoub Culture

  • Ask Umbra on livestock and water

    Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, Why is it eating less beef can save water? In addition, if we skip meat to save water, will that affect our health? Besides beef, what other food or drinks use a lot of water to produce and process? Thanks!Jocey A. Dearest Jocey, Wow, you meat-eaters sure […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • Peeing in the shower goes, um, viral

    Dearest Readers, Today brings news — oh, and wildly spreading it is — of an ad campaign in Brazil aimed at convincing people to save water by peeing in the shower. Here is the video, and here is the website, if you are seeking extra credit for your Portuguese skills (beware, it starts with a […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • Sears Tower to get eco-overhaul — again? Plus: new name!

    Greenovations at “The Big Willie,” nee Sears Tower.First the Empire State Building, now Sears Tower: America’s iconic buildings are going green! The press is all abuzz about yesterday’s announcement by the owners of Chicago’s 110-story landmark — North America’s tallest, and the third-tallest in the world — that they will cut energy use 80 percent […]

    Katharine Wroth Cities