Bravo, Alvaro! We should all leave places better than when we arrived. And sometimes, it's just a matter of picking up a few bits of trash. I've done the same and amazed at what's left, especially if there are enough receptacles to collect the trash. Our resort areas here, Lake Tahoe for example, has had to bring in law enforcement to make sure people don't pollute the beaches during the Fourth of July weekend. One year, volunteers collected 8000 pounds of trash, including clothing, camp furniture and tents, as well as cans, bottles, and paper. With intensified enforcement, they only collected about 2000 pounds. But isn't it sad that people need cops to make sure people clean up after themselves?
Oh, and I'm glad you mentioned rooftop solar panels. In the western US, people think it's perfectly okay to have vast solar arrays in the desert or other wild spaces instead of rooftop. They fail to understand that solar panels are only about 25% efficient and a lot of the energy is lost in long-distance transmission over power lines. And sometimes, birds fly into those lines and are maimed or killed outright. (I used to work in an wildlife rescue and have seen this.) Wind turbines kill millions of birds every year. So rooftop energy production at the market place (homes/business) is a much more efficient and safe way to go and save natural spaces and animals in the bargain.
Hi Sue! This problem you describe with Lake Tahoe is similar in Spain. Here, during summer parties, the beach is also left very dirty and it is disgusting to see how people leave public and natural places. Like you, I think that people should be made aware of the damage that this causes and the penalties should be made much tougher.
As for solar panels, you can imagine, the south of Spain is a gold mine for solar panels. Extremely efficient and simple.
Great post thank you. We rely solely on rain water for household use, gardens and animals (5 sheep, 3 steers, 7 chickens, 1 duck).
A bit of dust and organic matter also collects from the roof so we filter and treat with UV.
Others in our community use the public supply with its cost and added chemicals and sometimes are restricted use. They also have to deal with storm water off their roof. Crazy.
Where do you live? I'm curious. In my area we depend a lot on water from reservoirs and wells, rainfall is minimal and we have to collect as much as we can.
Hi Álvaro, we're in the North of Aotearoa New Zealand; rainfall is about 1200mm a year with about 25% of that over summer months, so we have 5 reservoir tanks totalling about 125,000 litres. Some years we carry about half over but other years it gets close to being fully used. For just the household (no garden or animals) some people manage with 25,000 litres storage.
Fortunately there is rain, where I live there is less than 400 mm per year and there are even years with less than 300 mm. Every drop of water is precious.
Yes, I saw that Spain has very low rainfall in places and there is discussion about recycling water. It may get much worse for some people as the climate changes. Too little or too much.
Solar panels generate a lot of electricity, which is like removing a lot of atmospheric CO2. As I live in Spain, a country with a lot of sunshine, I can say that they are the future, at least in my region. How about in yours? Are they becoming popular?
Bravo, Alvaro! We should all leave places better than when we arrived. And sometimes, it's just a matter of picking up a few bits of trash. I've done the same and amazed at what's left, especially if there are enough receptacles to collect the trash. Our resort areas here, Lake Tahoe for example, has had to bring in law enforcement to make sure people don't pollute the beaches during the Fourth of July weekend. One year, volunteers collected 8000 pounds of trash, including clothing, camp furniture and tents, as well as cans, bottles, and paper. With intensified enforcement, they only collected about 2000 pounds. But isn't it sad that people need cops to make sure people clean up after themselves?
Oh, and I'm glad you mentioned rooftop solar panels. In the western US, people think it's perfectly okay to have vast solar arrays in the desert or other wild spaces instead of rooftop. They fail to understand that solar panels are only about 25% efficient and a lot of the energy is lost in long-distance transmission over power lines. And sometimes, birds fly into those lines and are maimed or killed outright. (I used to work in an wildlife rescue and have seen this.) Wind turbines kill millions of birds every year. So rooftop energy production at the market place (homes/business) is a much more efficient and safe way to go and save natural spaces and animals in the bargain.
Hi Sue! This problem you describe with Lake Tahoe is similar in Spain. Here, during summer parties, the beach is also left very dirty and it is disgusting to see how people leave public and natural places. Like you, I think that people should be made aware of the damage that this causes and the penalties should be made much tougher.
As for solar panels, you can imagine, the south of Spain is a gold mine for solar panels. Extremely efficient and simple.
Great post thank you. We rely solely on rain water for household use, gardens and animals (5 sheep, 3 steers, 7 chickens, 1 duck).
A bit of dust and organic matter also collects from the roof so we filter and treat with UV.
Others in our community use the public supply with its cost and added chemicals and sometimes are restricted use. They also have to deal with storm water off their roof. Crazy.
Where do you live? I'm curious. In my area we depend a lot on water from reservoirs and wells, rainfall is minimal and we have to collect as much as we can.
Hi Álvaro, we're in the North of Aotearoa New Zealand; rainfall is about 1200mm a year with about 25% of that over summer months, so we have 5 reservoir tanks totalling about 125,000 litres. Some years we carry about half over but other years it gets close to being fully used. For just the household (no garden or animals) some people manage with 25,000 litres storage.
Fortunately there is rain, where I live there is less than 400 mm per year and there are even years with less than 300 mm. Every drop of water is precious.
Yes, I saw that Spain has very low rainfall in places and there is discussion about recycling water. It may get much worse for some people as the climate changes. Too little or too much.
thank you, alvaro.
Thanks to you for reading me one more day! 🙏
Thanks for sharing. Good piece and I didn't know about solar panels being so effective! I've been thinking about doing it on my house at some point :)
Solar panels generate a lot of electricity, which is like removing a lot of atmospheric CO2. As I live in Spain, a country with a lot of sunshine, I can say that they are the future, at least in my region. How about in yours? Are they becoming popular?
They are! In northern US. Still pretty expensive but we do get tax credits.
I hope that many will join in the change. In Spain it is a gold mine, you generate a lot of electricity.