Great Ideas - Rain Barrels and More

I don't usually ever click on banner ads. I try to stay on task and clicking would cause me to go elsewhere. Like going to the store for milk and ending up taking a convoluted trip throughout the store as I change isles with every thought that comes to mind. So you see, banners ads don't serve me well. We also don't use banner ads for our online water conservation store www.aridsolutionsinc.com.
Yesterday however, I was drawn to click on a banner ad for "Since Sliced Bread.com". I was was drawn by the subtitle "What's Your Common Sense Idea?" I often hear from customers how happy they are that someone thought of all the nice features our rain barrels come with. The locations of the fittings are well thought out, logical. Harvesting rainwater and recycling water are truly a common sense ideas.

I won't be submitting the use of rain barrels for the contest that is hosted by Since Sliced Bread.com, but I encourage you to think, submit and hope your idea gets the publicity it needs to flourish, and the $100k prize is nice too!

rain barrels
recycling
rainwater harvesting
contests
water conservation

Middle Rio Grande Children's Water Festival

Well another fine Children's Water Festival has come and gone. Susan Gorman, a small staff of year-round volunteers, and about 45 event voluteers and a couple dozen presenters put on another extrodinary event. This was Susan's last Water Festival as she is going on to pursue other passions.

Rumor has it the City of Albuquerque will be taking over this fabulous event and carrying on the work Susan has deveoloped and grown into the wonderful entity it has become. I hope they compensate her well for all the work it took to make this what it is today. Susan has brought 1000 kids a year for the last 6 years to learn all about water and what it will take to maintain it for years to come. The educational impact is immeasureable. Thank you Susan for all you do, have done, and will do for our community.

You can contact Susan via her web site www.pioneerwest.net

This picture is of me, in the hat,(Lisa Ayres) as the 2005 Water Wizard. Susan's Water Wizard character is very popular with the kids. I asked water trivia questions and riddles, correct answers earned a treat.

The kids in this picture are utilizing a model to see why the Rio Grande runs red.

Please encourage and support educational venues such as the MRG Children's Water Festival. It puts the knowledge where it is needed most, right now and in the future.

New Mexico
water festivals
Albuquerque
environmental impact
water
water conservation

Children' s Water Festival in Albuquerque, NM

Later this week, Oct 13th & 14th, is the annual Children's Water Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This is the sixth year it has been taking place at the convention center. It is put on by Susan Gorman of Pioneer West and her army of volunteers. Pioneer West, www.pioneerwest.net is a non-profit organization.

This event is supported by very large businesses and other entities. PNM, Sandia National Labs, the City of Albuquerque all send volunteers and provide some monetary support. This is the third year I have been involved. Being a small entity, in more ways than one, Arid Solutions Inc. is a financial supporter and I have voluteered for both days of the event for the last three years.

This year I will be the "Water Wizard". My job is to greet the kids as they arrive, all 500 of them each day, yes that is a total of 1000 kids, and entertain them a bit while they wait for directions as to where to go next. The kids will visit 5 different classrooms all demostrating some aspect of water. The hands-on learning activities will incorporate water science, geography, history, and the future of our water.

So I am not just a rain barrel manufacturer and seller. I am deeply concerned with our fresh water crisis. So concerned I will don a sparkly blue costume, hat and all to help bring up the next generation to be more aware and respectful of our water quality and supply. Look to this blog next week for pictures of the event!
New Mexico
rain barrels
Albuquerque
environmental impact
water
water conservation

What's This Rain Barrel Made Of?

We had the pleasure of attending the New Mexico Solar Fiesta at the end of September. What a wonderful experience. It is so satisfying to talk to so many people who understand the need to conserve, whether it be energy or water.

Our booth was full of visitors almost non-stop for the whole two days of the event. We always get some interesting questions and I love answering them. A couple questions I hadn't heard before were, "Can dogs knock these rain barrels over?" and "Are your rain barrels bullet proof?"

A more typical question is "Are these made from recycled plastic?" The answer is no. First, if they were we could not offer the colors we do. Our rain barrels are made to last for years. I think items used once such as yogurt containers or disposable razors should be made from recycled plastics. Items made to be useful for years justify new material.

Our rain barrels are made from virgin High Density Polyethylene(HDPE). Some very interesting information has come out in the Sept.5, 2005 Plastic News. There is now a system of measuring the environmental impact of design materials. The system, Okala ecodesign course, (Okala means life-sustaining energy in Hopi) assigns points to materials used in products. The higher the number of points, the higher the environmental impact. Recycled HDPE is 13, virgin HDPE is 25. Recycled aluminum is a 24. So as you see HDPE is right next to recyled aluminum. The highly-polished stainless steel in favor now has a rating of 130!

So the next time you question yourself about just how "green" a product is, it may be better than you think! Come take a look at ours, www.aridsolutionsinc.com

New Mexico
rain barrels
recycling
environmental impact
sustainability
water conservation