Four reasons why you should adjust your shower colder

Now that the temperature is starting to creep up here in NY, it’s good to remind ourselves to turn the shower a little colder each day.   Turn your shower to its normal temperature setting and then adjust so it’s slightly colder than you would like.  For those of you with young children, do the same for their bathwater. 

Adjusting the shower/bath water temperature colder:

1.     Acclimates your body to colder water so that you will be all set for summer swimming in lakes, rivers, pools and the ocean.  A scientist I knew who worked on a boat in Alaska once told me that everyone on the boat jumped into the freezing water each day to make sure that if they ever fell overboard, their bodies would be acclimated to the cold water. 

2.     Saves energy.  Not only do you save energy by not heating up the water, but you also save energy by not having to cool down your house or apartment after heating up the hot water and having the hot water travel through your pipes.

3.     Saves water.  At least for me, the colder the shower, the quicker the shower, and the less water used.

4.     Is good for your hair and skin.  Folk wisdom has it that cold water is better for your hair and skin than warm water.  (Although, this might just be due to quicker showers (#3), rather than anything intrinsic about the water temperature.)

Of course, you could also try not showering for a while and growing your microbiome instead, as was described in this interesting NYT article:  My No-Soap, No-Shampoo, Bacteria-Rich Hygiene Experiment

(This post was shared on All Things Thursday and Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural Party Hop.)

Imagine if … the energy from footsteps could be harvested and converted into electricity.

Think about all of the people racing up and down the stairs of a busy train station, the children running around in a school gym, and the folks dancing at a zumba class.  Think about capturing all of that energy.  Pavegen, a company based in London, uses recycled materials to manufacture tiles that can convert the kinetic energy of footprints into electricity.  Earlier this year, Pavagen installed 8 of their tiles at the Riverdale Country School, a private school in NY.  The tiles power a smartphone charging center at the school. 

Why stop with footsteps?  If an emergency radio can be powered by a crank, wouldn’t it be nice if revolving doors could power the lights?  How about harvesting all of the kinetic energy in a playground – swings, slides, ladders? 

(This post was shared on Reduce Footprints Meet & Greet LinkUp)

Imagine if … roads, parking lots and driveways were embedded with solar energy collectors.

SolarRoadways, a husband-and-wife team, is making solar tiles that can do just that.  The tiles are strong enough to be driven over, and they collect energy from the sun.   SolarRoadways has already built a prototype driveway and are now in the midst of an indiegogo crowdsourcing campaign to raise money to build a manufacturing plant. 

Prototype Solar Driveway by SolarRoadways 

Think about the enormous surface area of asphalt exposed to the sun - all of the miles and miles of roads, parking lots, and driveways.  Imagine if the sunlight reaching those roads could be collected and converted into electricity to make communities less dependent on fossil fuels.  Solar tiles in roads allow energy to be produced close to where it will be used, which is much more efficient than transporting energy over long distances.  Decentralizing our energy sources also makes us much more resilient- for example, severe weather would be less likely to lead to widespread power outages. 

One more perk of using solar tiles is that the solar energy captured could be used to melt snow and ice on highways and driveways during winter.  The benefits would be huge:  energy and resource savings (no need to buy and transport salt!), increased safety and no more salt contamination of the surrounding environment.   

Thoughts?

(This post was shared on Reduce Footprints Meet & Greet LinkUp and Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural Party Hop )