Biogas in Vegreville, backyard bogs, and conspicuous green consumption
I admit it: I’ve been lax with the posting during the past few weeks. I’ve got a bunch of different reasons for my absence but they don’t really have a whole lot to do with Growing Our Community, so I’ll carry on as if things are back to normal (mostly because they are).
A few weeks back, I was reading a magazine article that discussed a biogas plant in Vegreville, Alberta. According to Alberta Venture, the biogas plant uses a number of technological processes to transform feedlot manure into fertilizers, reusable water, and energy. Highmark Renewables — the company behind the project — is working to bring its IMUS plant to market. Not bad for a small farming town who’s major claim to fame is being the home of the World’s Largest Ukrainian Easter Egg.
The Pacific Northwest certainly has lived up to its billing as a temperate rainforest over the past month, during which time there’s been all too little respite from a constant deluge of rain. The unusual conditions have placed strain on the District of Maple Ridge’s ability to deal with the runoff, and it’s interesting to me that the existing management strategies haven’t been as effective as I would have hoped. So how can people deal with flooded yards and saturated soil? There’s a good writeup on Cascadia Scorecard Weblog about backyard bogs. In essence, the entry discusses ways that people can convert soggy (or not so soggy) properties into water processing factories that reduce stormwater runoff and help keep harmful pollutants out of public water systems.
Treehugger has a thought-provoking piece on ‘conspicuous green consumption‘. The entry is based on an opinion piece by Daniel Akst, where he argues that many of the model, eco-friendly homes out there are simply giving lip service to ‘green’ living:
By now these environmentally conscious “green” houses are a staple of home design magazines, where they are presented as exemplars of both good taste and good intentions. The Colorado house, for instance, has won awards from the state and the Colorado Renewable Energy Society and has appeared in the Washington Post and on Home and Garden TV.
The question, of course, is what on earth are all these people thinking? How “green” can huge and, in many cases, isolated houses be? Wouldn’t it be better to risk traumatizing the children by squeezing into a 3,000-square-foot home, especially one close to shopping, schools and work? How many less affluent, less guilt-ridden Americans can afford to build such environmental show houses?
Last, but not least, in this week’s roundup is an extensive list of books for thinking about the future. There’s lots of good stuff mentioned in the entry and the first follow up comment — if anything piques your interest, be sure to add it to your reading list.
