Congresswoman Judy Chu to Speak at January 31st La Verne Water Technology Conference
Mar0
Congresswoman Judy Chu to Speak at January 31st La Verne Water Technology Conference
La Verne, Calif. (PRWEB) January 28, 2013
The third annual University of La Verne Water Technology Conference will feature a discussion by Representative Judy Chu, D-27th District. During her scheduled luncheon and afternoon remarks, Congresswoman Chu will address key aspects of Congressional activities related to water, infrastructure, economic development and job creation. The event will be held on Thursday, January 31, 2013, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m in the Abraham Campus Center.
Representative Chu serves on the House Judiciary Committee, where she is a member of the Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security and the Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet subcommittees. She is also a member of the House Small Business Committee, where she is leading the Contracting and Workforce Subcommittee as the Ranking Democrat and serves on the Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access and Agriculture, Energy and Trade Subcommittees.
The conference will showcase the launch of the La Verne Water Institute, which is planned as the anchor for a water policy and “innovation cluster” in the San Gabriel Valley. The University of La Verne’s President Dr. Devorah Lieberman, Provost Greg Dewey and Executive Vice President Philip A. Hawkey will discuss plans for the Institute. Other key leaders speaking on the launch of the Institute and the overall water technology initiative are Mayor Donald Kendrick of La Verne and the Cynthia Kurtz, Executive Director of the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership.
This year’s theme for the La Verne Water Technology Conference is “water conservation.” Conservation is vitally important to Southern California, in an era of increasing population growth, and decreasing water supplies, most of which have to be imported from hundreds of miles away.
The event’s agenda includes William Steele of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees water policy in the United States and Michael Hurley of Malcolm Pirnie, who will present a water pricing discussion. In addition, a water agency panel will be moderated by Assembly member Christopher Holden with water agency speakers including Carolyn Schaffer of Metropolitan Water District, Richard Hanson of Three Valleys Municipal Water District and Joe Berg of Metropolitan Water District of Orange County.
Of particular interest this year to municipalities are new storm-water related regulations, which will lead to more local storage of storm water, but at a cost to municipalities and private landowners Dr. Matthey Wartian of Burns & McDonnell, one the nation’s largest engineering firms, will address implications of these new policies.
The afternoon’s engineering industry panel will feature top conservation experts led by Ms. Inge Wiersema of Carrollo Engineers, Dana Haasz of Kennedy/Jenks Consultants, and Paul Hauffen of ID Modeling. They will discuss current conservation projects, legislation and technologies related to conservation.
From the economic development perspective, Randall Lewis of Lewis Group of Companies, a nationally-recognized leader in real estate development, will share his perspectives on further growth of the La Verne water technology initiative. Following Mr. Lewis on the agenda will be Robert Swayze, president of Economic Development Results, which works with cities throughout the region. Mr. Swayze will present a discussion on the planned $ 1+ billion California Energy Commission’s EPIC funding program for renewable energy technology.
International best practices in water conservation will be addressed by Tim Brick of the Alliance for Water Efficiency. A globally-recognized leader in water infrastructure, Brick recently retired from the Metropolitan Water District board as past Chairman and a 28-year director. He will speak on programs underway in Australia and Israel, and will introduce Mr. Osten Ekengren, director of the Swedish Environmental Institute.
Reservations for the conference are available at: http://www.watertechnologyconference2013.eventbrite.com.
For further information, please contact Corinne Medina at University of La Verne, (909) 593-3511, ext. 4745.
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Related Renewable Energy Press Releases
Drought Relief with Water Independence
Sep0
Drought Relief with Water Independence
Pacheco, California (PRWEB) July 23, 2012
EcoloBlue is pleased to introduce the new EcoloBlue™ 1000 in an effort to offer relief from the impact of the current drought on American families. The EcoloBlue 1000 harvests water from the air producing 40 liters of water every hour and is equipped with a new Programmable Logic Control (PLC) integration. Harvesting water humidity liberates any area from reliance upon both well and municipal water that is impacted during drought. Incorporating solar panels or a diesel generator will allow water independence in a mobile or fixed environment.
“It’s time to think wisely about where our water comes from, who puts what into it, where it goes, and who is responsible for it,” she says, “Fresh water is the most significant political, economic, and ethical problem that the United States and the world will face in the 21st century,” Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton “Remarks in Honor of World Water Day” George C. Marshall Auditorium, Washington, DC, March 22, 2012.
According to National Climatic Data Center, 55 percent of the United States is now in moderate to severe drought. Current drought conditions surpass the record set in December 1956. No relief is in sight and the extreme drought is expected to continue. This drought will affect millions of Americans with increased food prices and water quality issues. As published by Bloomberg Online, ““It might be a $ 50 billion event for the economy as it blends into everything over the next four quarters,” said Michael Swanson, agricultural economist at Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) in Minneapolis, the largest commercial agriculture lender. “Instead of retreating from record highs, food prices will advance.”
Food prices are and will continue to skyrocket. The major contributing factor is the drought effect on the corn crop, 75% of the food that you buy in stores has some type of corn additive. As of July 17, 2012 Corn prices were up 35%. Additionally, Cattle ranchers are losing as much as $ 200 dollars per animal.
Water quality will be comprised due to the lack of recycled atmospheric water. Ground water, which is found in aquifers below the surface of the Earth, is one of the Nation’s most important natural resources. Ground water is used to provide a large portion of the Nation’s population with drinking water, it provides business and industries water for their purposes, and is used extensively for irrigation.
The water level in aquifers that supply a well and municipalities are directly impacted by a number of factors. Droughts, seasonal variations in rainfall, and pumping affect the height of the underground water levels. If a well is pumped at a faster rate than the aquifer around it is recharged by precipitation or other underground flow, then water levels in the well will decline. This decline will certainly happen during drought, due to the extreme deficit of rain. The water level in a well can also be lowered if other wells near it are withdrawing too much water. Drought interrupts the water cycle.
Water Cycle:
Water covers more than 80 percent of the earth’s surface. It is found in oceans, lakes, rivers, and underground in aquifers. The water that exists today is the same water that existed billions of years ago. This is because water is a limited renewable resource. Water is a renewable resource because it moves through the oceans, rivers, ground, and atmosphere. It falls from the sky as rain or snow when the atmosphere is saturated. Precipitation that falls on the land enters the groundwater through percolation or travels to streams, rivers, and lakes as runoff. Water in streams and rivers is carried to the oceans, where it evaporates and forms clouds—where the cycle starts all over again.
Drought and Water Supply:
Drought can disrupt the public water supply blending ratio that blends substandard and better-quality water in order to achieve compliance with drinking water standards. In areas where there are aquifers, heavy pumping causes water levels to get so low that the wells used to provide better quality water will no longer produce enough for blending in the correct proportion.
Drought and Ground Water Quality:
Drought has a cumulative effect on ground water quality. Agricultural areas that utilize constant irrigation increases water hardness causing additional water quality issues.
Contamination risk increase during drought. According to the EPA, if crops, weeds, algae and bacteria fail to capture nitrates and break down pesticides, those concentrated contaminants will be carried down to ground water at a later time.
Global Solution:
EcoloBlue, Inc. is the leader in atmospheric water production and although we cannot solve the world’s drought problem our technology will alleviate some of your drought stress and provide you with 99.9% pure water for you and your family by using patented technology to harvest the moisture in the air and filtering it through a 12 stage process. EcoloBlue provides a global solution, Me Thierry Mayard-Paul inaugurated the EcoloBlue Industrial 1000 at the St. Joseph Hospital in Fort-Liberte, Haiti.
About EcoloBlue Life & Energy:
EcoloBlue offers a sustainable product line that includes solar, wind, water and biodegradable plastics – with a major emphasis on renewable water filtration, purification and delivery.
Flagships Product:
The EcoloBlue Industrial AWG’s produce from 250 to 6000 liters of water every day. The EcoloBlue 1000 harvests water from the air, producing 40 liters of filtered water from the atmosphere and is equipped with a new Programmable Logic Control (PLC) integration. Incorporating solar panels or a diesel generator will allow for water independence. The EcoloBlue 1000 or any EcoloBlue Industrial Unit can be operated in a mobile or fixed environment. Custom configurations are available.
The EcoloBlue 30™ is a sleek, state-of-the-art atmospheric water generator (AWG) that eliminates reliance on municipal water systems, well water or any other standard water source. Air is the only water source required for the EcoloBlue 30™. Once it pulls humidity out of the air, it filters and purifies the water. The EcoloBlue 30™ sustainably delivers a continuous supply of delicious, 99.9% pure water quietly, energy efficiently, without plastic bottles.
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Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Green Planet Water Rolls onto US Turnpikes at HMS HOST Motorway Plazas
Apr0
Green Planet Water Rolls onto US Turnpikes at HMS HOST Motorway Plazas
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) March 04, 2012
Category innovator Green Planet Bottling has won an enormous share of the retail travel market with distribution in the HMS Host Motorway Travel Plazas along the turnpikes of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maine, Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia and Illinois.
HMS Host facilities are the recognized leader in providing complete travel, shopping and dining solutions for motorway and travel plazas in North America. A complete list of locations is available here: HMS Host Motorway Locations in the US.
This enormous expansion is in addition to Green Planet Water’s steadily gaining shelf-share in HMS HOST International Airport kiosk locations across the US. “We consider our brand the preferred water for travelers,” said Green Planet CEO Danny Rubenstein.
Green Planet’s unique 100% plant-based bottle is derived from completely renewable plant resources. The bottle is recyclable, commercially compostable and reusable when hand-washed between uses.
“We are a society on the go and access to bottled water is a necessity,” said Janet DiGiovanna, Chief Marketing Officer of Green Planet Bottling. “When we’re traveling, we need an alternative choice, and Green Planet is the better bottle. We know that travelers appreciate Green Planet’s wide availability with HMS Host.” Green Planet’s petroleum and BPA free bottle is filled with vapor distilled water, with minerals carefully added for taste, in three retail sizes: 350 ml, 500ml, and 1 liter.
“Green Planet is leading the industry in responding to consumer concerns with our completely plant‐based bottle,” said Rubenstein. “Green Planet bottles reduce dependency on oil and provide an alternative to petroleum-based plastic bottles,” he added.
Here are a few of the environmental benefits of Green Planet Water:
Making the Ingeo source material for Green Planet’s bottles produces 60% less greenhouse gases and uses 50% less non-renewable energy than producing traditional plastics like PET & PS. (1)
The bottles are commercially compostable in 84 days. (2)
The bottles are reusable (when hand-washed between uses), which helps to reduce waste.
The bottles are recyclable (in all recycling programs that accept #7 bottles). (3)
Bottles are filled by regional suppliers using water that has been treated by vapor distillation to remove all impurities, with minerals added for taste.
Regional distribution ensures that less fuel is wasted to transport the bottles.
About Green Planet Bottling
Founded in 2009, Green Planet is the leading bottled water company to market a 100% plant-based bottle. Offering the better bottle solution, Green Planet’s bottle is recyclable, reusable (when hand-washed between uses), petroleum and BPA free and will commercially compost in just 84 days. The water in Green Planet’s bottles is vapor distilled for purity with minerals carefully added for taste. It is bottled regionally for distribution, reducing transit miles and total carbon footprint.
Where to Buy Green Planet Water
In addition to Chicago area markets, such as Dominick’s, Green Planet Water is available to consumers at supermarkets in the Western US, including Albertson’s, Lucky, Safeway, SaveMart, Lunardi’s, Nugget Markets. Green Planet Water is growing rapidly in retail distribution. For the most current retail availability list, visit this link on the Green Planet website.
Travelers In addition to the HMS Host Motorway Plazas, consumers will find Green Planet Water in dozens of international airports, including San Francisco, San Jose, Phoenix, San Diego, Ontario and Portland, Oregon, as well as in hotels such as the SF Hilton, The Del Coronado in San Diego, Mandarin Oriental in Miami, and Hotel Felix in Chicago. In addition, it can be found in museum cafés around the US, including the California Academy of Sciences and The Chicago History Museum.
It is served at Apple, Inc.’s corporate headquarters and many fine dining restaurants such as Greens in San Francisco. Health, wellness and sporting facilities (Yoga Works), various golf and country clubs, as well as college (University of California at San Diego) and high school campuses across the US have embraced Green Planet Water for their members and students.
For the latest updates on Green Planet Water distribution, news and special events, please visit the Green Planet Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/GreenPlanetBottling .
(1) NatureWorks
(2) From an independent study by the Biodegradable Products Institute
(3) http://www.allbusiness.com/chemicals/plastics-rubber-industry-plastics/14119966-1.html
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Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Out with the Old and in with the New! Affordable Housing Property in San Diego Replaces 18 Solar Hot Water Systems
Apr0
Out with the Old and in with the New! Affordable Housing Property in San Diego Replaces 18 Solar Hot Water Systems
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) February 22, 2012
In the latter part of 2011, California Solar Thermal, Inc. (CST), a San Diego-based solar company partnered with Ekim Builders, Inc., a San Diego based sustainable building construction company to install eighteen (18) solar hot water systems for Astro Vista Apartments in Linda Vista; a section 8 property with over 300 tenants.
Astro Vista Apartments previously had an operating solar thermal system installed in the 1980’s, but with the onset of the California Solar Initiative (CSI) Thermal Rebate program and additional federal incentives, the current property owner decided the time was right for a new system. “With the incentives that are now available and the new developments in solar thermal technology and system monitoring, it was a no brainer.” The project total will include 108 solar collectors and the system will offset more than 94,400 Ibs of carbon annually.
Astro Vista Apartments is not the only housing community to take advantage of the state-wide rebate program. “Because of the CSI-Rebate program, we have been able to develop multiple solar thermal projects across San Diego, LA County, Orange County and beyond” says Neal Rosow, representative of California Solar Thermal. “We’re trying to save the world, one apartment community at a time!” The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), CSI and other state and federal programs have helped significantly in the facilitation of solar thermal projects across the state of California. The funding for the CSI-Thermal program comes from public utility ratepayers and exceeds $ 250M. The CSI Thermal Program offers cash rebates of up to $ 500,000 for Multifamily and Commercial properties and up to $ 1,875 for homeowners. For more information visit CSI-Thermal at http://www.csithermal.com.
All 18 systems will include a SunReports remote performance monitoring system. This allows both the owner and installer to track system performance and access real-time data. For more information, visit http://www.sunreports.com.
CST offers KIOTO Clear Energy solar thermal collectors as an integral part of their solar hot water systems. KIOTO Clear Energy is a subsidiary of Austrian-based GreenOneTec, the largest manufacturer of flat plate solar thermal collectors in the world. For almost 20 years, they have been improving their manufacturing processes and now use a completely automated assembly line. Visit KIOTO Clear Energy at http://www.kioto.com.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA SOLAR THERMAL
California Solar Thermal, Inc. is dedicated to raising awareness of solar thermal technologies and their environmental and economic benefits. They specialize in commercial and multifamily solar hot water systems and provide turn-key renewable energy financing solutions. Visit http://www.californiasolarthermal.com or call (888) 867-2611 for further information.
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, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
The Nexus of Water and Energy: Cleantech Innovation Can Help Preserve the Balance Between Diminishing Resources
Aug0
The Nexus of Water and Energy: Cleantech Innovation Can Help Preserve the Balance Between Diminishing Resources
Houston, TX (PRWEB) August 09, 2011
Water and energy are two of the most important substances on Earth and are symbiotically intertwined. This year’s upcoming WATEC Israel 2011 will shine a timely light on the Water & Energy Nexus that is proving to be a topic worth discussion. Energy production depends on water, and water purification depends on energy. However, this intrinsic connection has been threatened in recent years, as both water and energy are being depleted at an unsustainable rate. Fortunately, due in large part to Israel’s innovative water conservation technologies and exploration of new alternative energy sources, overuse and inefficiency with regards to water and energy consumption may soon become a thing of the past.
Although the amount of water on Earth remains constant, less than 1% is suitable for human use, and that number is shrinking fast. Agricultural use accounts for 70% of global water consumption, but roughly a third of freshwater use for agricultural purposes is unsustainable. Freshwater sources like lakes and rivers are shrinking fast. And as the world population continues to grow and the number of developing economies increases, personal and industrial water use is expected to skyrocket.
The outlook on energy is not much better. The vast majority of the world’s energy comes from fossil fuels and coal. Both are nonrenewable energy sources that are being used up at an alarming pace. As with water, energy sources are being depleted at an ever-increasing rate due to economic development and overpopulation.
The looming energy and water shortages cannot be addressed one at a time. They must be addressed together in a comprehensive manner. Without energy, water becomes unusable, and without water, energy cannot be produced. Energy fuels nearly all of our daily water usage. The hot water in our homes is generated by electricity. Energy is used to create freshwater via purification and desalination. Energy is used to transport water through pipes and on trucks. As energy sources dwindle, the prospects of water consumption as we know it become increasingly dim.
While energy is the driving force behind the creation of usable water, water is what makes that energy in the first place. The process of electricity creation is dependent on water vapor. Nuclear and electrical power plants need to use water as a coolant in order to function properly. Water is an essential aspect of the process of mining coal and petroleum. For energy to power our world the way it does today, a constant supply of freshwater must always be accessible. As important as the water and energy industries are individually, they are just as important to one another.
With freshwater and energy sources around the world being used up at an alarming rate, it should come as no surprise that Israel, a small nation with a dearth of freshwater and natural resources, is one of the world leaders in water conservation and energy-efficient technology. Israeli scientists invented the drip irrigation system for watering crops. Drip irrigation provides a more energy efficient way to water crops by directly watering the roots of the plants. The excess water is then collected for reuse. Drip irrigation requires little energy and recycles its wastewater, and has helped curtail agricultural water use. Today, recycled water constitutes three-quarters of the water Israel uses for agriculture.
Israel is also a leading innovator in desalination technology. In 2009, the world’s largest reverse-osmosis desalination plant was opened in Hadera, Israel. Each year, the plant purifies 127 million cubic meters (about 34 billion gallons) of seawater from the Mediterranean. Israeli advances in the reverse-osmosis method, in which water is forced through several membranes at a high pressure, have helped make it the most popular form of desalination and made the procedure five times cheaper in the past 20 years. Israel has also made breakthroughs in increasing the energy efficiency of desalination. Israeli technological firms are working to find ways to use solar energy to improve the efficiency of distillation, an effective method of desalination that is expensive to operate due to high energy consumption.
Although Israel has created many successful ways to save water and energy, it still plans to do more. The country plans to increase its use of renewable energy sources 10% by the year 2020. It is currently working with the company Better Place to establish one of the biggest electric vehicle networks in the world. In 2009, the WATEC Conference on renewable energy and water technologies, held in Tel Aviv, Israel, attracted 20,000 visitors from 94 different countries, and another one will be hosted in November 2011. Attendance at the WATEC 2011 event is projected to easily exceed that of 2009, and with 150 international delegations from over 90 different countries already signed up, the conference should be highly successful and more globalized than ever before. The nexus of water and energy, for better or worse, is unbreakable. Due in large part to Israeli ingenuity, the nexus can continue to flourish in the foreseeable future.
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, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.