Environmentally Friendly

You will be using the most environmentally friendly natural construction material available. This is due to the eco-friendly plant being an extremely fast growing grass which means harvesting can take place every 3-5 years, unlike the growing period of more than 25 years for most wood. Because of its high leaf surface area, it is very efficient at the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and the generation of oxygen in its place. Deforestation is a global issue so bamboo is fastly attracting more attention as an alternative floor material because if is a renewable resource and ideal for helping to protect the environment, and particularly our dwindling forests.

Durability Qualities

The exceptional high durability of bamboo flooring is due to its higher fibre rating than any hardwood floor. It has a very high tensile strength and once properly cured and treated is very durable. The durability of this product eliminates the need to frequently replace floors through wear… provided you follow the appropriate guidelines for floor care. It is advisable to use rugs or mats in high traffic areas to protect the surface.

Hardness Properties

One of the best bamboo flooring advantages is that it is one of the hardest natural floor materials available on the market and is noticeably harder than other types of hardwood such as oak and maple.

When comparing hardness averages, bamboo is up to 15% harder than maple and 30% harder than oak.

Stability in Varied Conditions

Due to its ability to withstand moisture and changes in temperature, it is naturally tolerant of a variety of conditions such as humidity. It has a 50% higher dimensional stability than wood such as oak and, unlike some hardwood floors, does not expand and contract under conditions such as high humidity. This means installation is easier as there is no warping or cupping due to grain stress.

Health Benefits

As with other hardwood floors, bamboo flooring is more hygienic when compared to floor coverings such as carpets. It is cleaner, healthier, easier to maintain, and altogether provides a healthier environment to live in. Carpets accumulate dust and mites which can lead to being a cause of health problems.

Resistance to Staining and Fading

Bamboo flooring advantages include properties, as described above, that enable it to be more resistant to daily life than other less durable natural materials. However, in the same way that any other hardwood surface is not totally resistant to fading, scratches and stains, these floors need to be cared for appropriately to retain their beauty and quality. To resist staining, fading, and scratching follow the care and maintenance recommendations that are usually included with your purchase from the bamboo flooring suppliers and manufacturers. If you are unable to get the information direct from the supplier for some reason, or are happier to do your own research, have a look at this guide to the general practices for bamboo floor care.

Maintenance Levels

Another of the bamboo flooring advantages is that it is one of the easiest of all floor surfaces to maintain, keep clean, and retain that look of beauty that comes with installing a new surface. To give you a good idea of care and maintenance levels, I have provided a general guide on how to care for your floor.

Costs Competitiveness

When considering all the costs involved in purchasing and installing a finished floor, bamboo is competitive with any of the hardwood varieties that are available on the current market.

Source: Bamboo Inspiration

Bamboo Flooring for Sale

Mpumalanga Lowveld enquiries for Brightfields bamboo flooring and natural fibre rugs can be directed to our retailer, Mpumalanga Blinds & Flooring; email: info@mbf.co.za or tel: 013 752 3082.  Enquiries from other areas and other Brightfields products can be directed to alistair@brightfields.co.za.  Also see www.brightfields.co.za, the Brightfields head office website.

Source: www.bamboo4.co.za

Looking for JoJo water tanks and tank stands?  Contact us for a free quote.

Bamboo countertops can be a great choice for anyone who is interested in replacing their current counters with a new, eco friendly option.  There are lots of great reasons to consider bamboo, we’ll go over them all here.

What Makes Bamboo Countertops Green?

Bamboo has emerged in recent years as a great green option in many different applications. Currently, bamboo is being used for flooring, counters, cabinets, furniture, clothing, and bedding.

It’s green because it is extremely renewable. Bamboo grows very, very rapidly – some strands grow up to a foot a day!  When you compare that with any kind of tree, you realize that’s extremely fast.  Because bamboo grows so quickly, the idea is that using it for building applications is more eco friendly, than using wood.

Bamboo Countertops – Bamboo is Recyclable Too

Contrary to popular belief, bamboo is actually a very strong building material. It’s considered to be at least as strong as most hardwoods, and stronger than many others.

This means that you can expect your bamboo countertops for many, many years. Products that last longer are far more eco friendly than those that need to be replaced within a few years.

Bamboo is also recyclable. Products that can be recycled are greener than those that must be thrown into a landfill at the end of their useful life.

How Bamboo Countertops Are Made

There are actually a few ways to make bamboo countertops. Which you ultimately decide on will depend mostly on your personal preference.

The first type of bamboo countertops are actually a form of laminate. One of the most popular makers of this type of countertop is All Totally Bamboo. To create their eco friendly product, they start by making cross-brand laminates that they call multilam.

Small strips of bamboo were glued together to create the planks. Once the planks are complete, they are put together with an adhesive that is non-toxic and formaldehyde-free.

These countertops are typically delivered with no finish – which means that they’ll need to have a sealer applied once they have been installed. To keep a project green, it’s important to apply an eco-friendly, low-VOC sealer.

End Grain Bamboo Countertops

Another type of bamboo countertops are typically called end-grain bamboo. Just like the planks, they are glued together. However, instead of creating long planks, the companies that make counters out of end-grain do so by taking rectangular pieces of the end-grain. They’re glued together and a sealer is added.

Bamboo Countertops – What Do They Cost?

When compared with popular choices like granite, bamboo countertops are downright cheap.

Unless you are extremely handy, it’s wise to hire a professional to install counters. Because specialized cuts need to be made, it’s a job that’s usually best left to professionals.

Caring For Bamboo Countertops

Cleaning these green counters is quite simple. You can keep them clean with warm water and a mild soap. Because they have a finish applied, it’s important not to place hot items directly on your bamboo counte tops.

Even though bamboo is a strong material, it’s also important not to cut directly on the counter. Both the counter and the finish can be damaged with a knife.

We love bamboo because of it’s green properties and its reasonable cost. If you like the look of wood, be sure to check out bamboo as you choose new countertops!

Solid Bamboo Boards & Kitchens in South Africa

Brightfields Natural Trading Company Eco-friendly Bamboo boards are supplied in their natural, raw and unfinished state. They are square edged and can be cut, joined, machined and sealed to your requirements.

Brightfields Eco-friendly Bamboo boards have a beautiful, distinctive grain, that is amplified by its warm colours. Bamboo is used as a finished structural component, and is harder and more durable than most hardwoods. These boards are ideal for use as kitchen countertops, bars, cupboards, and furniture, and work well with other modern finishes like glass, steel and aluminium.

In addition to their high resistance to water damage and scorching, Bamboo boards do not swell, shrink or crack. When using Brightfields’ Bamboo boards, we always recommend sealing them when used in kitchens. Boards can be sealed with a polyurethane finish, traditional timber treatment products or environmentally friendly, natural oil-based products.

Dimensions available:

• Strand Woven Board 2440mm x 600mm x 30mm
• Strand Woven Board 2440mm x 1220mm x 20mm
• Horizontal Carbonated 2440mm x 600mm x 30mm
• Horizontal Carbonated 2440mm x 1220mm x 20mm
• Horizontal Carbonated 2440mm x 1220mm x 15mm
• Bamboo Woven Veneer 2440mm x 1220mm x 5mm

Please contact Brightfields (alistair@brightfields.co.za)for prices on bamboo counters as well as other natural products made from eco-friendly, sustainable materials such as sisal, seagrass and mountain grass.  A wide variety od bamboo products are also available. Trade enquiries welcome.

Source: Brightfields

Using natural, sustainable building and decor materials should go hand-in-hand with other eco-friendly systems such as water conservation devices and renewable energy.  With the increasing uncertainty of municipal water supply and unpredictable climate patterns in South Africa, it is also wise to ensure that you have adequate water storage facilities.  JoJo Tanks are the affordable, quality choice for water tanks and water tank stands in South Africa.  Contact us for a free quote.

Bamboo fencing is without a doubt the most environmentally friendly fencing choice you can make. But maybe even better is the fact that it’s durable and decorative as well. So, when you think about it, bamboo fencing is really the best fencing alternative.

From an environmental standpoint, bamboo stands out as the material of choice. You might be surprised to learn that bamboo is not wood. It’s a kind of grass that grows very quickly with little impact on the environment. It takes a lot less time to grow bamboo compared to trees. Bamboo can be ready to cut and use in under 7 years. Compare that to a tree, grown and harvested for wood products, which can take between 50 and 100 years.

But despite the fact that it is ready to use in such a short period of time, it is quite strong and durable. At the same time, it flat out looks great. And if properly maintained it will last for years as a fencing material.

You just can’t compare the unique beauty of a fence constructed with bamboo, to one made of chain link or even to many wooden or vinyl fences. No two pieces are exactly the same, adding to its distinctive appearance. Bamboo can even be used to enhance the appearance of an existing fence by providing an accent, rather than tearing down and rebuilding.

Bamboo fencing comes in various designs and different sizes. Bamboo fence panels are already assembled into panels and ready to install. Simply attach them to a frame made out of wood and your fence is basically complete.

Rolled bamboo fencing can easily be secured to an existing chain link or wooden fence. It also comes in handy when made into a movable screen. Place it in front of areas you want to hide from view, like a recycling bin or air conditioning unit.

Tired of looking at a plain chain link fence? Spread sections of rolled bamboo or split bamboo fencing over it. It attaches easily with fine wire. Stainless steel wire won’t rust so it’s probably the best option.

If you value your privacy, a bamboo privacy fence will do the job. At the same time you are providing a secure area for your children and pets to be in. A bamboo privacy fence is easy to install for a reasonable price.

Bamboo fencing is often used for fencing in a garden. Keep four legged visitors out and separate your garden from the rest of your yard with a bamboo garden fence.

All natural products are affected over time by weather and climate. Because bamboo is natural, it has to be treated for longer life. This prevents weathering and decaying. It’s recommended that a thin coat of a UV resistant product be applied to avoid problems.

If you’re considering a new fence, why not think about the environmentally friendly option, bamboo fencing? And, you’ll save money to boot.

Bamboo fence panels are a unique alternative to a traditional type of fence. Installing a bamboo privacy fence is a great way to increase both privacy and security in your yard.

See more information about Brightfields bamboo screening and fencing.  Contact Brightfieldsfor a personalised quote (we also supply natural fibre rugs and numerous other eco-friendly products made from bamboo, sisal, seagrass and coconut).

Source: Brightfields

Contact us for water conservation systems and JoJo water tanks and water tank stands (we are authorised JoJo Tanks dealers in South Africa).

On the Marketplace Morning Report, we spoke to Charles Fishman, author of The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water. In his new book, Fishman explains that historically, humans have had a very luxurious relationship with water — how we use it, how we access it, how it’s valued — but now, everything about water is about to change.

As part of our Big Book Blog, Fishman has provided us with a list of facts that might affect how you use and consume the world’s most precious resource.

10 Things That Will Change How You Think About Water

By Charles Fishman

1. Most of the water on Earth is water you’ve never heard of. We learn in school that water comes in three states, solid (ice), liquid, and gas (steam). But water exists in a fourth state, “molecular water,” fused into a layer of rock 400 miles deep in Earth. The fourth state of water isn’t trivial, it’s where most of Earth’s water is — three or four times as much water locked into rocks beneath our feet as is in all the oceans of Earth.

2. That new flat-screen TV has a hidden water hose running to it. A typical American uses 99 gallons of water a day for cooking, cleaning and sanitation. But the electricity a typical American uses each day — just at home — requires 250 gallons of water per person to generate.

3. Water and energy share an intimate relationship. Electricity requires water and water requires electricity. In the U.S., 49 percent of all water used each day goes to generate electricity. And in California, for instance, 20 percent of the state’s electricity is used to move and process water.

4. The U.S. actually uses less water in 2010 than it did in 1980. Illustrating that it is possible to grow and modernize an economy dramatically, while transforming water use, the United States actually uses less total water to create a $13 trillion economy in 2010 than it did to create a $6 trillion economy in 1980 — despite the addition of 70 million more people.

5. Clean water has saved, and lengthened, millions of American lives. Between 1900 and 1936, the installation of clean water systems in U.S. cities cut the rate of child deaths in half. During those years, life expectancy in the U.S. rose from 47 to 63 years, largely because of the advent of clean water systems.

6. Business is way ahead of ordinary people and government in seeing the dawn of a new era of water, a need for “smart water.” Monsanto is genetically engineering crops to use less water. Coke, Intel, and Campbell’s Soup now measure and disclose their water use and their “water productivity.” IBM has cut water use in its microchip operations 5 percent per year in each of the last 5 years — and created a water business to teach other companies how to do the same thing. GE has a water division (GE Water) that does $5 billion in business a year — GE Water would be a Fortune 500 company by itself.

7. Bottled water looks like a harmless indulgence, but it consumes enormous resources: Americans spend $21 billion a year buying bottled water. That’s almost as much as we spend maintaining our entire drinking water system.

8. Water cannot be used up. Water is essential to almost every process of nature, geology, chemistry, and human life. And yet, unlike, for instance, fossil fuels, water emerges from everything we do to it as … water. It may need to be cleaned, but it is otherwise immediately ready to be re-used again as water. Water is the ultimate sustainable resource, tirelessly resilient.

9. New water sources are right at hand. Two of the easiest sources of water we already have. Cities around the world leak huge amounts of water from their mains — 15 percent in the U.S., 19 percent in the UK, 29 percent in Italy. Fixing leaks instantly “harvests” that water. And we can easily purify wastewater back to drinking water standards, for all kinds of re-use — our water was all once dinosaur pee, of course.

10. Access to water: 1.6 billion people in the world — one in four — have to walk at least 1 km each day to get water and carry it home, or depend on someone who does. Just to provide basic water for a family of four — 50 gallons — that means carrying (on your head) 400 pounds of water, walking 1 km or more, for as many trips a day as necessary.

Source: Marketplace (Public Radio.org) Posted by Katharine Crnko

Reader’s response to the above article:

I have discussed for years the issues related to this, but disposal of our household wastewater. A HUGE waste is that all our “graywater” (showers, sinks, washer) is not recycled to our yards and we don’t just drain our “blackwater” (toilets) 

Any grandma who lived with a “primitive” wastewater system can tell you how well a garden flourished with the graywater supplying irrigation. I bet it comes back to common practice within the next 25 years so as to minimize the amount of fresh water usage for irrigation. Michael Lucas

See a previous post- an interview with Charles Fishman about the Future of Water and the editorial that touches on greywater for toilet flushing and gray water for garden irrigation.  Water is the basis of almost everything we depend on for our existence.

Water Rhapsody Water Conservation Systems has incorporated Yes Solar Mpumalanga so that we can offer solar water heating systems to further reduce your environmental impact (water and energy are linked).  Yes Solar is a distributor for Solsquare Solar Solutions- high quality German-engineered solar energy systems that are competitively priced.  Solsquare solar geysers are SABS- and Eskom-approved and are fitted by qualified, Eskom-accredited solar installers.   Now is the time to install a solar geyser while the Eskom rebates last (this money will run out eventually) and before the looming energy crisis arrives.  Solar water geysers can reduce household electricity costs by up to 50%.

Water Rhapsody’s WWF AWARD-winning water conservation systems (product demo) include rainwater harvesting systems, grey water recycling systems, swimming pool backwash recycling, water-saving toilet flushing mechanisms and rainwater tanks (we are authorized JoJo Tanks & Atlas Plastics water tank dealers in Mpumalanga and Limpopo- best water tank prices in the Lowveld!).

Our water and solar systems will save the environment while you save money on water and electricity bills; get free water and free water heating!

Contact us for a free quote on a solar geyser, water system, rain water tank or water tank.

Five things you may or may not know about sea turtles: They can live 80 years or longer. They’re important to ocean and beach ecology. They’re immune to (and happily feed on) deadly box jellyfish. All seven species worldwide are either endangered or critically endangered. And solar panels might be their salvation.

People sometimes ask me why the Sierra Club is so focused on stopping dirty coal plants or fighting to get our country off of oil and onto clean, renewable energy sources. After all, you won’t find pictures of wind turbines or solar panels in our Wilderness Calendar (at least not this year). Why not stick to protecting wild places and wild creatures — like sea turtles and sequoia trees?

The answer is that we’ve never been more focused on saving wild places. But we can’t succeed without also looking at the bigger picture. We must stop direct threats to habitat and species, whether it’s from logging, mining, residential development, or other sources. But we must also address threats that might come from far away. And doing that almost always leads us back to energy — whether it’s the effect of climate disruption from burning fossil fuels or the increasingly harsh environmental consequences of extracting coal and oil.

Consider sea turtles. Five species are found in the Gulf of Mexico. Last year’s BP oil disaster killed hundreds of sea turtles. That’s not surprising, because sea turtles are particularly vulnerable to oil — both in and out of the water. One species, Kemp’s ridley, has its only nesting grounds in the world on the beaches of the western Gulf. But although the National Commission’s official report on the Deepwater Horizon disaster dutifully reported more than 600 dead sea turtles, that’s not a final number. Dead turtles (and bottlenose dolphins, which were the most-affected marine mammal) are still washing up on the beaches of the Gulf in record numbers.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has lifted its ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf, and BP is reportedly ready to resume operations at 10 wells. That’s right — although the administration’s investigation has not yet concluded nor presented a final set of recommendations, expanded drilling may soon occur. Would this be happening if we weren’t so dependent on oil? Moving America to clean energy suddenly makes a lot of sense if you’re a sea turtle.

But how we get the oil is only part of the problem for the turtles. Sea turtles — and all living creatures — have to deal with the effect that burning oil and coal is having on climate and, as a result, their habitats. As the climate is disrupted, some percentage of critical habitats will be lost no matter what we do. That makes it doubly important that we act to preserve as much of what we have now as we possibly can.

For leatherback sea turtles, that means saving important nesting grounds on the northeast shore of Puerto Rico, where I’ll be visiting next week (rough job, I know). For six years now, the Sierra Club’s Puerto Rico Chapter has been fighting to preserve the Northeast Ecological Corridor, which includes those leatherback nesting beaches. The alternative? Two mega resort hotels, three golf courses, and housing developments.

Want to help out an octogenarian, deadly-jellyfish-eating sea turtle? Ask the Obama administration to restore the Northeast Ecological Corridor’s status as a nature reserve. And once you’ve done that, look into getting some solar panels.

Source: Huffington Post (Michael Brune)

That is a compelling, if unconventional way of convincing us to switch to clean energy such as solar and wind power! For more reasons to go solar, see Why Solar? South Africa’s high irradiation rates make it ideal for solar and wind energy is also suited to many areas, especially along the coast.

Contact us for all your water conservation and solar energy requirements.  Our WWF Award Winning water conservation systems include rainwater harvesting systems, rainwater tanks, grey water recycling systems, greywater irrigation systems, water-saving toilet flush mechanisms, swimming pool backwash recycling systems (see product demo) as well as the full range of JoJo water tanks and water tank stands (we are authorized JoJo Tanks dealers in South Africa). Yes Solar Mpumalanga supplies SABS and Eskom-approved solar water heaters that are installed professional Eskom-accredited solar installers.  We supply FREE QUOTES on all our eco-friendly products and services.

As Earth enters a period of mass extinction, a study released on Wednesday offers a new reason to preserve biodiversity: it’s an effective, natural pollution scrubber in streams.

Environmental activists have long warned that waning biodiversity means the loss of such ecological services as stream-cleaning, control of pests and diseases and increased productivity in fisheries.

The latest study, published in the journal Nature, shows how this works, demonstrating that streams that contain more species have better water quality than streams that have fewer.

The species being discussed are microorganisms such as algae that incorporate elements of pollution into their bodies. The more types of algae there are in a stream, each with a minutely different habitat, the better they are collectively at filtering pollution out of the water.

“If we were to maintain streams in their naturally diverse state, these streams that we love for their recreation, for their beauty, for fishing, etc. … have the tangential benefit of cleaning up our water for us,” said Bradley Cardinale, the study’s author.

“One implication (of the study) is, if we let nature do its thing, we don’t have to run around creating very expensive water treatment plants all over the planet,” Cardinale, of the University of Michigan, said by telephone.

MINI-STREAMS AND HUNGRY ALGAE

To reach his conclusions, Cardinale set up 150 miniature model streams that mimic the varied conditions of natural streams in the United States. He added from one to eight varieties of algae and measured how well the mini-streams got cleaned.

The pollutant they targeted was a nitrogen compound called nitrate, a common by-product of chemical fertilizers that Cardinale called “the world’s single greatest water quality problem.”

Nitrate is responsible for the hypoxic “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, outbreaks of toxic algae and red tides, he said.

The full eight-species mix of algae removed nitrate from streams 4.5 times faster, on average, than a single species alone, according to the study, which was funded by the National Science Foundation.

One species known as filamentous snotty algae does a good job on its own of taking in nitrate and other excess nutrients from stream water. But it smells bad and most other species don’t like to eat it, Cardinale said.

Knowing the benefits of biodiversity is important because scientists see Earth entering a period of mass extinction when as much as 75 percent or more of the life on the planet vanishes forever.

Cardinale said there is little doubt that this trend, largely due to the destruction of places where many different species live, has already begun.

“It’s not necessarily how much we’ve lost already,” he said. “It’s that the rate of extinction is so outrageously high compared to what we know is normal.”

The rates of extinction now are between 100 to 1,000 times faster than normal, and between 30 percent and 50 percent of species could be lost by 2100, Cardinale said.

Source: Reuters (Deborah Zabarenko)

The very essence of ecosystems lie in their biodiversity and species interactions.  When species, especially keystone species, start disappearing, vital cogs in the ecosystem are removed leading to impaired function. Therefore it comes as no surprise that pollution will be dealt with more efficiently in fully functional ecosystems.

Contact us for all your water conservation and solar energy requirements.  Our WWF Award Winning water conservation systems include rainwater harvesting systems, rainwater tanks, grey water recycling systems, greywater irrigation systems, water-saving toilet flush mechanisms, swimming pool backwash recycling systems (see product demo) as well as the full range of JoJo water tanks and water tank stands (we are authorized JoJo Tanks dealers in South Africa). Yes Solar Mpumalanga supplies SABS and Eskom-approved solar water heaters that are installed professional Eskom-accredited solar installers.  We supply FREE QUOTES on all our eco-friendly products and services.

The city of Chofu in Tokyo started a new program in November 2010 for recycling components such as electric circuit boards and hard disks from home appliances, collected as bulky waste. This is the first program of its kind in any of the municipalities in Tokyo.

The city collects over 11,000 pieces of used home appliances every year. In the new program, recyclable components are removed from the products and then sent to metal refining companies, which extract and recycle metals such as gold, silver, copper, and rare metals including palladium.

The program targets large used home appliances more than 40 centimeters in size, including DVD players, video cassette recorders, printers, word processors, microwaves, electric fans, and vacuum cleaners. Products covered under the Home Appliance Recycling Act are excluded from the target list of items. Components such as motors, transformers, electric circuit boards, hard disks, DVD laser pick-up devices, and power cables are removed, and then any metals recovered are extracted for recycling.

Chofu is located almost in the center of Tokyo, and with a population of 220,000, it is the 22nd largest city among the 62 municipalities (wards, cities, towns, and villages) in Tokyo. It was ranked as having the third highest recycling rate (at 45.6 percent) among the municipalities with populations over 100,000 and under 500,000, according to a nationwide survey on the state of discharge and treatment of municipal solid waste conducted by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment in fiscal 2008.

Source: Japan for Sustainability

See why it is so important to reclaim/recycle rare earth metals and minerals. Home reuse and recycling of everyday items should become second nature for household members.  The reduce, reuse, recycle mantra is in that specific order for a reason: firstly reduce your consumption of goods and don’t throw things away that could be repaired. Secondly, if something has done its duty for one application, see if you can use it for something else.  Recycling is the last option; recycling can use large amounts of energy making the recycling of certain materials questionable, from an environmental point of view.  See Recycling vs Reusing: is there a difference? for further explanation and also be aware that “100% recycled” claims can be marketing greenwash.

Water Rhapsody Water Conservation Systems and Yes Solar Mpumalanga offer eco-friendly rainwater collection systems, rainwater tanks, grey water recycling, swimming pool backwash recycling, water-saving toilet flush mechanisms and high quality Solsquare solar water geysers.

Contact us for a FREE QUOTE on a solar water heater, rainwater harvesting system (see rainwater FAQ), gray water recycling system or water tank (we are authorized South African JoJo Water Tanks dealers and supply the full range of JoJo water tanks and JoJo tank stands).  Our water tank prices are hard to beat in the Mpumalanga & Limpopo Lowveld.

Water conservation and renewable energy such as solar energy are two issues that affect the global community; make a difference and start conserving water and switch to renewable energy today.  Another way of reducing your carbon footprint is to switch to green insurance, now available in South Africa.

Contact us for all your water conservation and solar energy requirements.  Our WWF Award Winning water conservation systems include rainwater harvesting systems, rainwater tanks, grey water recycling systems, greywater irrigation systems, water-saving toilet flush mechanisms, swimming pool backwash recycling systems (see product demo) as well as the full range of JoJo water tanks and water tank stands (we are authorized JoJo Tanks dealers in South Africa).  Yes Solar Mpumalanga supplies SABS and Eskom-approved solar water heaters that are installed professional Eskom-accredited solar installers.  We supply FREE QUOTES on all our eco-friendly products and services.

Power Outage

Drinking Water

There are those, such as the Amish who choose not to live with modern conveniences such as electricity

Even if you have a rainwater tank, no electricity means that pumps would not work to bring the water to your tap. Sure, having a generator would be handy for a few days, or as long as you have fuel.

Third world countries have community water pumps that are operated mechanically (by hand). Going one step further, condensation from leaves can be collected for drinking. Alternatively you can find a fresh water stream out in the bush.

Before electricity

An old style coal iron – place hot coals inside it

A woman washing her clothes by hand

An old manual sewing machine

Entertaining Yourself – Electricity Free Activities

What would you do without the Wii or the TV??

Some suggestions include taking up the acoustic guitar, tambourine, drums or wind instruments. Sing! Take up sports again (the physical kind, not the electronic games). Table tennis. Hopscotch. Marbles. Yo-yo’s. Jump rope. Read books. Gardening. Farming. I suspect that without electricity, trades that involved craftsmanship would re-emerge and people will begin to value those who are skilled with their hands and take pride in their work. Woodworkers. Artists. People who can sew, knit etc. Chefs. If you put your mind to it, you would come up with many more hobbies that do not rely upon electricity. Sure, electricity makes things easier but we should be able to survive without it.

Source: Hub Pages

I think that many people in South Africa wouldn’t have too much trouble adapting without electricity; our pioneering past, vibrant outdoor life and many poor people who continue to live with little or no electricity, make this scenario not too frightening.  People who’ve spent generations in cities will have a problem; imagine if New York or London suddenly had no electricity for an extended period!  There would likely be riots, looting and a breakdown of societal law and order.  People living in rural areas who own farms and land would probably become the new elite- their access to natural resources and their knowledge of outdoor life would give them a clear advantage.

Of course, the breakdown of Mains electricity doesn’t mean there will not be electricity available.  Domestic solar energy, wind energy and hydropower systems would be largely unaffected.  Installing solar panels and solar water heaters, combined with rainwater harvesting systems and water-saving devices, would ensure that households would not be adversely affected by electricity supply cuts and the inevitable water supply cuts that would follow.  There are also many other modern, innovative ways of living without electricity; for example see Cooling your house without electricity.  Also see How to obtain water in a survival situation Part 1 and Part 2.

Contact us for a free quote on a rainwater harvesting system, rainwater tank, greywater recycling system, grey water irrigation system, grey water toilet flush system and other WWF award-winning water conservation systems (see product demo).  Water Rhapsody is also an authorized JoJo Water Tanks dealer (best prices for water tanks and JoJo tank stands in the Lowveld!).  Our partnership with Yes Solar South Africa enables us to offer high quality, Eskom-approved solar water geysers for every situation.

Banana peels show promise as superior water purification materials. To the surprisingly inventive uses for banana peels, which include polishing silverware, leather shoes, and the leaves of house plants , scientists have added purification of drinking water contaminated with potentially toxic metals. Their report, which concludes that minced banana peel performs better than an array of other purification materials, appears in ACS’s journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.

Gustavo Castro and colleagues note that mining processes, runoff from farms, and industrial wastes can all put heavy metals, such as lead and copper, into waterways. Heavy metals can have adverse health and environmental effects. Current methods of removing heavy metals from water are expensive, and some substances used in the process are toxic themselves. Previous work has shown that some plant wastes, such as coconut fibers and peanut shells, can remove these potential toxins from water. In this report, the researchers wanted to find out whether minced banana peels could also act as water purifiers.

The researchers found that minced banana peel could quickly remove lead and copper from river water as well as, or better than, many other materials. A purification apparatus made of banana peels can be used up to 11 times without losing its metal-binding properties, they note. The team adds that banana peels are very attractive as water purifiers because of their low cost and because they don’t have to be chemically modified in order to work.

Source: Celsias

This seems to be a sustainable and importantly, accessible way of removing heavy metals from drinking water in rural areas.  South Africa has an abundance of banana farms in the eastern parts of the country so banana peels would be very easy to come by.  Hopefully the techniques and findings of this research will be made available for commercial, low-cost production so that even the poor will be able to remove toxic heavy metals from their drinking water.

If you live in South Africa and need environmentally friendly water conservation and solar energy solutions, contact us for a free quote.  Our WWF award winning water systems include, rainwater harvesting systems, grey water irrigation systems, grey water recycling systems, swimming pool backwash recycling systems, toilet flush mechanisms and other water-saving devices (see product demo).

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