Tag: conservation
On Oct. 12, Imagine a Day Without Water
October 11, 2017Can you even begin to imagine a day without water? That’s what we’d like you to do on Oct. 12: “Imagine a Day Without Water.” Not just your personal use of water – brushing your teeth, flushing your toilet, taking a shower – though those rituals are vital. Water is also essential to a functioning economy….
Fireflies could wink out without some bright conservation ideas
June 24, 2017Some summer rituals are universal: picnics and red, ripe watermelon; afternoons in the water to beat the heat; and chasing fireflies across the lawn as they light up the night. Yet one of those rituals is in danger of vanishing. Over the past decade, and probably much longer, fireflies have been blinking out of existence….
Love Monarchs? Consider creating a butterfly garden to save them
May 25, 2017Monarchs are probably among the most well-known butterflies — they’re certainly easy to identify with their orange and black wings. We’re seeing fewer every year, though, and scientists are concerned enough that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering protection under the Endangered Species Act. Why? Mainly because of climate change and a shrinking…
Keyhole garden design holds the key to saving water
February 28, 2017In 2013, we wrote about one of our favorite gardening concepts: hugelkultur, in which large chunks of rotting wood buried deep underneath a garden’s soil will save water and, eventually, turn into compost. Well, we have a new favorite: the keyhole garden. A recent Rodale story does a great job of explaining the concept in detail,…
Water you waiting for? Teach kids about the importance of H20 today
January 16, 2017It’s no secret that the Earth’s clean water resources are shrinking rapidly. Pollution, waste, drought — all play a role in draining our supplies of potable H20. There are, of course, many ways we can conserve water. The trouble is, it’s often hard to convince people that water is a finite resource. As long as…
Some water-saving tips for cold weather
November 29, 2016Even though it looks like the Lehigh Valley region is in for some heavy rain over the next few days, we’re nowhere near out of the woods when it comes to the DEP’s drought warning. That calls for all of us to make some smart decisions when it comes to water use. As we’ve stated…
Dumpster pools and hydrants are not the way to chill out
August 8, 2016Philadelphia’s Dumpster pools have been all over the news, so it seems a good time to remind everyone (especially with a wave of 90-degree-plus weather predicted for later this week) that it is NOT cool to use hydrants — or Dumpsters — to beat the heat. While the idea of using a trash receptacle for a pool is pretty…
Install a rain barrel to keep that garden growing
July 7, 2016We’re entering the hot stretch of summer, when temperatures hover in the 90s and rain doesn’t arrive often enough to keep our vegetables and flowers sufficiently watered. It also means the water table will start to drop. In fact, the U.S.G.S. is already showing areas of the state that are nearing — or already in —…
Fertilize lawns, gardens responsibly to keep your water supply clean
March 30, 2016Spring has sprung, which means many of us are itching to get outside and start working on helping Mother Nature turn things green again. One springtime ritual, however, regularly leads to green, polluted waterways: over-fertilization of lawns and gardens. As the Penn State Extension office points out, “Lawn fertilizer contains the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus,…
Out with the old, in with the new year!
December 28, 2015What’s a new year without resolutions? As 2015 draws to a close, we’ve come up with a few simple ones that just about anyone can keep and — no surprise — they all have to do with water. You don’t have to keep all of them to make an impact – just one or two…