We have a lot of southern exposure, so I built one of these today. If it works I’ll let you know. Mine is 18″x24″. It cost about $16 in materials, a couple hours and one small blister from the hot glue.
Category: Energy & Environment
Gallagher’s Got Some News
[Update 11/4: The Plan Commission closed the public hearing last Wednesday but will consider the matter at its next meeting, which they’ve reset to November 18 to avoid meeting on Veterans Day. Says the city’s acting planner Sue Guio: A primary reason for postponing action was to allow Staff time to research whether the product…
Lincoln on Wind
Abraham Lincoln on the possibilities of wind power: Of all the forces of nature, I should think the wind contains the largest amount of motive power—that is, power to move things. Take any given space of the earth’s surface—for instance, Illinois—; and all the power exerted by all the men, and beasts, and running-water, and…
CPI & Waste Management
The City of DeKalb is getting ready to approve a new 4-year agreement with Waste Management (pp. 122-128) for residential pickup of trash. One proposal is to tie increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), allow for a minimum annual increase of 2% and cap it at 6% no matter what fuel prices are doing.…
Enviro Woman & Building Schools
The intention is to begin attending DeKalb School District 428’s Facilities Planning Committee (FPC) meetings despite harboring doubts that a non-construction type could contribute much to the discussion. But now the thought occurs: Send Enviro Woman! She’ll know what to say! Such as, “LEED, or get out of the way!” Take the case of the…
Water Authority Defeated
The ill-conceived Kishwaukee Valley Water Authority referendum was defeated by more than 80%, not just in DeKalb County but in Boone as well. Even in McHenry County, where the idea originated, the measure was rejected by more than two-thirds of the voters. The referendum to fund it was beaten by even higher percentages. Both had…
Water Authority Alternative
Think that the Kishwaukee Valley Water Authority is our last best chance to protect our local water supply? Wrong-o. In July 2006, the Illinois General Assembly changed Public Act 094-1007. Here is a snippet of the Act, straight from the General Assembly website and including the changes that took effect in January: Section 5. The…
Water: Fight, or Just Fix It
Recently I’ve been writing about the April referendum that asks whether most of DeKalb, Boone and McHenry counties should form the Kishwaukee Valley Water Authority (KVWA). “Water Law Needs Overhaul” looks at current applications of the Illinois Water Authorities Act and implications for KVWA; and “Care & Feeding of Aquifers” explores groundwater issues discussed recently…
Attack of the Killer Dishwashers
Last weekend I trained as a water analyst for the Sierra Club’s Water Sentinels program. We tested two fresh samples of water from the Kishwaukee River, one upstream from DeKalb Sanitary District operations and one downstream. I was surprised by this in a couple of ways. I had expected we’d analyze water from a rural…
About that night-light on Route 88
Today’s Chicago Tribune front-paged a story about a Hillside Landfill that is leaking landfill gas (LFG), which is about 50% methane. Methane, you may recall, is one of the so-called greenhouse gases so the EPA generally frowns on its escape from any source other than livestock (and even that’s only true up to a point.)…