I quickly realized, however, that, in the case of a downpour such as this one, a three gallon bucket just won't cut it. As a matter of fact, I spent most of the storm emptying the buckets into a larger water container (a 35 gallon trash can that used to be one of my recycling bins). I must admit, however, that it was the most fun I have had in quite some time.

After I had collected the water, however, a really good question was laid upon me. My mother, who still doesn't see the point in conserving water (she's still wrapping her head around my change to compact fluorescent bulbs), asked me what I was going to do with the water, now that I have collected it.

Now, I already know that you can use rainwater for irrigation, flushing toilets, car washes, and washing clothes, but I wanted to find a use for rainwater that nobody had though of before. So, I did some research around the Internet, and I came across a Web site that was, shall we say, "very interesting".

J. Galante, of B&A Products, has posted a homemade water filtration system, capable of turning rainwater into clean, potable water!

The system is highly inexpensive, since it uses many of the common items we find around our own home. (buckets, tubes, etc.). The instructions, presented on the site in GIF format, are easy to follow and set up takes around 15 minutes. The only downside that I have seen to this product, however, is that it uses granulated carbon for the filtration process. This downside is quite outweighed, however, by the practicality and affordability (this is a lot cheaper than using your old pool filter).

For instructions on how to build your own rainwater filtration system, head over to their Basic Survival Rain Water Filter System. While you're at the B&A Products site, be sure to check out some of the unique, and eco-friendly, products they feature there.

These photos feature the "rain barrels" I have installed at several locations around the house (I know they're only buckets but, hey, it's a start). I have placed these buckets at three unique locations around my house, and each bucket has a capacity of 12 quarts, or 3 gallons. This means that these three buckets alone are enough to conserve up to 9 gallons of water. Also add in the extra bucket that I have placed in the bathroom to conserve my unused shower water, and I will be conserving a grand total of 12 gallons of water!

Speaking of the bathroom, I have made my bathroom a little more eco-friendly by reducing the amount of water that my toilet uses with each flush. I did this by setting my toilet to only fill the tank halfway, which conserves at least 50% of the water I would normally use. So, if statistics say that every flush uses 20 gallons of water, then I would be conserving an extra 10 gallons a day. With the addition of the water conserved with my rain barrels, I will be conserving 22 gallons of water!

In addition to my "rain barrels", I have also replaced all of my incandescent bulbs with their compact fluorescent counterparts. As of right now, there are a total of five CFLs (two lamps, and three ceiling fan lights) in my bedroom alone! The thing I love most about these bulbs is the fact that they put out the same amount of light as a 60 watt incandescent, while only using 13 watts of energy. Not only that, but they last a lot longer, since they only put out a fraction of the heat as well (many CFL bulbs can last up to 7,000 hours, or 291 days).

I have also incorporated the notion of recycling into my home. My initial experiment is made up of three transformed garbage cans, which were purchased from my local Big Lots store. Naturally, one bin is used for paper and/or paper products, one is used for aluminum cans, and one is used for plastic products. The glass products, however, remain in a small cardboard box that sits in the corner of my bedroom. I have still yet to find a curbside recycling service, but I have made several attempts to contact my local Waste Management recycling service (which is located in Parkersburg, West Virginia).

EDIT ( July 17, 2008 ) - In lieu of a recycling center or curbside service, I have found recycling locations at the court house in Belfry, Kentucky (a mere 10 minute drive) and in front of my local Wal-Mart store.

One thing that I forgot to take a photo of is the many power strips that I have installed in the house. Into these power strips, I plug in any of the appliances that I know uses standby power and every night, before I fall asleep, I flip the switch to prevent these appliances from using unnecessary power from the system, which will cut down the household's carbon footprint substantially.

Here, we see the new, energy-efficient thermostat that came with our new air conditioning system. I had been complaining for quite some time about the air conditioning system in the house not being Energy Star rated, but that all changed just a week ago, when our system finally gave out (no, I did not sabotage it). Now, we have a highly rated Energy Star air conditioner and an even more energy-efficient, programmable thermostat. Not that it really matters, however. I barely use it anyway.

So, now you see some of the small environmental steps that I have taken to save money, and the environment. Future plans include the purchase of a hybrid car (which will have to wait until I pay off the loan on my current vehicle), driving less, and purchasing a composting bin for the garden. My current goal is to lower my carbon footprint by, at least, 20% in the next year.

Wish me luck!

This rivalry between the two began from the very moment Nye moved into the Studio City district of Los Angeles two years ago. According to a neighbor:

"Bill announced it: 'I'm going to best Ed Begley at his own game. I'm going to get him,'" she recalled. "He ordered panels for the garage, then rain barrels, then he had his windows done and he put in a vegetable garden."

According to MSNBC:

Nye, 52, pins the source of the rivalry on Begley, who became envious of Nye's new solar panels while filming a segment of his HGTV green living show called "Living with Ed."

Anybody who has ever watched the episode, entitled "I Spy Bill Nye", knows that Ed became envious of Nye's plans to install a wind turbine, not because of his solar panels. Remember, Begley already owned solar panels! The only reason Begley would have to be envious would be if Nye's panels were putting more power into his home than he was using.

So, what's next for our Green Team? While Nye has yet to comment on any future greening plans, Begley says that he is going to invest in an underground cistern that will conserve water, in order to replace the rain barrels he had previously installed, which, according to his wife Rachelle, looked horrible against their white home (the barrels were a reddish-orange color).

While it is unclear who the winner of this rivalry will be, I can tell you this: it is going to be a provider of much humor (and blog material) for many years to come.

NOTE: Watch for the Bill Nye "Eco-Bio", coming soon to Recycle This Blog!

Billboard

Clothes Hamper

Safe For Storing Valuable Stuff

Computer Workstation

Prison Cell

Toy Box

Small Fuel-Efficient Vehicle With Stylin' Tailpipe

Barrel

Replacement For Aging Shuttle Fleet

as yoo can see their ar menny possibul yooses for my krate other than putting me in it persunally i like the barrel wun i am trying to convinse tucker it wood be a grate advencher for him ha ha no im just kidding i woodnt want tucker to try to go over viagra falls in my old krate but seriously tucker their is a nice big peese of cheeze in their ok bye

The rain barrel ought to be one of the things people should own. A lot of us are just natually impulse buyers. We often buy things that we really don't need but we want because we have to have it. Well, for all you home gardeners and water-conscious people, a rain barrel is definitely one of those needed things. In fact, don't even think of it as an impulse buy because it's not. Think of it as an impulse investment. Sounds much better, right? The thing is, rain barrels are efficient and will provide long lasting usage for those who absolutely cannot stand wasted rain water.

Rainwater harvesting has been utilized by people for thousands of years and for a variety of purposes. Although today rain water use is limited to a few things due to unfiltered and unsanitary conditions of the water, ordinary everyday things like watering your plants, garden, and lawn can take its toll on your water bill when using the garden hose. Whether you’re a hands-on type of person or a shopper, you can either build your own rain barrel or find one online such as the popular Rain Catcher. Using rain water to complement the compost you use for soil will provide a healthy dose of completely natural nutrients for your garden.

Here’s a story:
When I was 18 and full of youth I would go for long hikes in the woods. One day on a beautiful shore I came across a bunch of old looking sheds .Most of them had sunken in roofs and sides fallen in. My curiosity peaked; what was in those sheds? I went up and saw that they must have been fishing shacks long forgotten by fishermen----maybe they died or moved away and nobody cared for those sheds anymore. I opened up the first shed and found three beautiful old barrels. I was hooked on barrels from then on. Where did they come from? What were they used for? All different sizes! Wow! Fantastic! Outside the sheds were lots of old fallen apart barrels, staves and heads.(a barrel head is the bottom and the top of the barrel). They could be pieced back together. Beautiful!

I collected up all the pieces I could find and put them in my car, couldn’t figure out any reason not to take them. They would just rot without any care. Besides, I figured the people who last owned them were not around anymore.

Those barrel heads began what has lasted twenty-five years with me. After I took them home my obsession began. New feelings. New moods to express.

Ten years later I was telling this story to someone who said “Oh! You mean you’ve been down to Amos Hagar’s place.” I said “Who?”

Well come to find out Amos was an old gentlemen who lived down there, and everyone looked up to him. He was a fisherman and also had a small mill there once where he would make lathes for the lobster traps and other things. At 80 years of age you can still see him up on roofs shingling today.

They said “Oh man don’t let Amos know you were rooting around his place. He is as straight as they come and a Christian man to boot. He saves everything - like a pack rat and knows where every piece of wood is.” I was scared.

This played on my mind until I couldn’t sleep at night(that’s bad karma). So I made him a nice piece of art on one of the barrel heads and went to see him. I told him my story, including when I tried to get one of the barrels out of the small shack but it wouldn’t fit through the door. He later said that the shed was built around the barrel. He says “Well Mrs. Balish I am glad you came and told me the truth, but what you did was wrong, to touch another mans property.”

I said “Yes, I have learned my lesson” and I was ready to take any tongue-lashing he was going to give me. So he says “Would you have happened to take an old blue punchin’ barrel top with the words Jamaican on it?” I confessed. Yes, it is home up on my wall.” He says “Well I accused someone else of taking that so I guess I owe them an apology.” I felt about an inch high, definitely learned my lesson. You see I found a big Butt (one of the biggest) barrel with hay in it, so I took the hay out and beat the bottom out of it and then put the hay back in it, but he knew it. You couldn’t fool him.

We then went for a walk down to the sheds and he showed me around. Everything was from the early 1900’s and the tools along with old wood were in excellent shape. His father had owned it all before him. He says “We have a throw away society today” and he keeps everything for everything has a purpose.

When I left that day we were best of buddies and still are….I go regularly to visit the old sheds and barrels, but I never touch anything. The artwork I gave Amos hangs on his wall today. I think he likes it.