Monday, June 30, 2014

Trash-Collecting Big Wheel

Baltimore's water wheel keeps on turning, pulling in tons of trash
Julia Botero, NPR, June 23, 2014


John Kellett, who works at the Baltimore Maritime Museum, has developed an innovative way to collect the solid waste that flows from the Jones Falls river into the Inner Harbor after rainstorms: a water wheel.

"It looks sort of like a cross between a spaceship and a covered wagon and an old mill," says Kellett.

The water wheel has been installed in the harbor since May, during which time it has removed 40 tons of trash.

Read and/or listen to the complete story --> here.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Join the Conversation with USGBC Founder David Gottfried

Join TriplePundit’s Founder, Nick Aster, for a “Stories and Beer Fireside Chat” with David Gottfried, Founder of the USGBC.

David’s work has impacted the global building industry more than almost any other individual, having founded both the U.S. Green Building Council and World Green Building Council, with GBCs in 100 countries.

This event will be held Thursday, June 19th at 6:30 pm PDT at the Impact HUB San Francisco, and online via web cam.

Register here: http://www.triplepundit.com/event/stories-beer-david-gottfried-usgbc/

The Cost of Water (or lack thereof)

via TriplePundit

Researchers at the University of California Davis Center for Watershed Sciences have attached a dollar estimate to the economic impact of the drought in California’s Central Valley. Their preliminary report, released earlier this week, estimates a total economic loss of $1.7 billion, along with “substantial long-term costs” of groundwater overdraft that will go unaccounted for.

Last year marked the driest year in California since records began in 1895, and in January Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought state of emergency. Seven of the state’s 12 main reservoirs are at or below 60 percent of the historical average, and a dry winter has left snowpack levels–an important source for replenishing water supplies–at just a fifth of historical levels, as of late April.

Read the complete article here:  http://www.triplepundit.com/2014/05/california-drought-leaves-groundwater-reserves-vulnerable-cost-nears-2-billion/