Tracking sustainability news and events in Savannah, Georgia (and beyond)
Category
Water
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03.21.08Something FishyA special dinner seems appropriate for Easter weekend, or at least to mark the beginning of spring (first day of spring was March 20). I don’t eat ham but I am thinking of other pink foods … there sure is a lot of salmon out there. But is it OK to eat? In a recent issue of Eating Well, David Dobbs addresses this question, explaining how and why the answer has shifted dramatically over the past decade or so. The long and short of it seems to be that many commercial fisheries (such as catfish farms) are beneficial for the species ...
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01.30.08Bottles, bags and today’s paperMary Landers' story "Savannah taps into tap water," in the Savannah Morning News reports that the City of Savannah is making an environmentally- and fiscally-prudent effort to limit the use of bottled water by city employees. Laura Walker, who is organizing the Savannah's Earth Day festivities, is interviewed for the story. Why is the city giving bottles the boot? Here's a snip: Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 17 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel more than 1 million U.S. cars for a year, according to the Earth Policy Institute. About 83 percent of ...
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01.21.08Barreling along, thanks to helpful commentsRobby, Jane and Steven offered excellent comments about rain barrels, which contained considerably more useful information than the original post. As Robby suggested, the local Fresca cannery is probably a good source of barrels, as it must surely use oxcart after oxcart of them in the effort to satisfy Savannah's thirst for corn syrup- and aspartame-infused bubbling tonics. I was close to following up on his tip, when I spied some barrels positioned in a way that suggested they awaited pick-up by the sanitation department. If my perception of their availability was incorrect, I'm afraid I may have stolen a barrel. At ...
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12.21.07Ready to roll out the rain barrelAs of 6 p.m. yesterday, Savannah was about 7 inches below the normal yearly precipitation level, so I'm thankful for overnight soaking. The welcome sound of rain hitting my roof reminded me of a household project I've been considering for the last year or so: installing rain barrels for use in residential irrigation. It's difficult to determine the popularity of rain barrels in Savannah, as they may hidden by landscaping or fencing. In fact, the only rain barrels I've seen "in the wild" are situated on the north side of Charles Ellis Montessori School. I'm not aware of any local rain ...
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12.19.07Still time to get vocal about Plant VogtleMary Landers' Dec. 16 Savannah Morning News story, "Nuclear plant's expansion plan fuels water debate," featured a terrific quote by Harry Jue, director of the Savannah Water and Sewer Bureau. He described the plant's use of Savannah River water as a "an inter-basin transfer to outer space." Landers reports that an expanded Plant Vogtle would require even more water: "Vogtle's two reactors, which began operating in 1987 and 1989, draw about 69 million gallons of water a day from the river at the site in Waynesboro. About two-thirds of that evaporates. The rest is returned to the river. Two new reactors ...
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12.03.07Reminder: Water plan meeting scheduled for Dec. 5Drought conditions in North Georgia and concerns that the southeastern part of the state could suffer the same fate have water on people's minds and in newspaper headlines. Savannahians can find out more about Georgia's statewide water plan on Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 5:30 p.m. at the Sentient Bean. From the Georgia Conservancy: "Join us for a meeting on what we believe is Georgia's most pressing environmental issue of the day — WATER. Given the current drought and its impacts across the state, it is more important than ever that we look at how we use water. Learn about Georgia's ...
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11.29.07Thomas makes connection between water and powerIn her op-ed column "Frugal power use saves water, too," published today in the Savannah Morning News, State Sen. Regina Thomas uses the current drought conditions in North Georgia to remind readers that the difference between a wall socket and a water spigot is negligible in state that relies on nuclear and coal-fired power plants: "Since most of our electricity comes from coal and nuclear plants that need large amounts of water to operate, even when we turn on our computers or light switches, we are actually using water." Thomas suggests that greater energy efficiency has an ancillary benefit in reducing water ...
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Transportation, land use, local farming and green building are all potential topics for Sustainable Savannah. The goal is to aggregate content about local events and projects, so there will be a central place to review everything that’s happening. The site is aimed at encouraging collaboration and information sharing between groups and individuals currently engaged in sustainability efforts. The site can also provide a snapshot of Savannah for green-minded people who are considering visiting or moving to the area.
