Comment

Comment by Michael Welber on February 28, 2012 at 10:43am

Note that the percentage is for home water use and  not overall water use. Our own aqueduct authority has often said that 50% of home water use here, where many people do not even have lawns, is for landscaping. 

Comment by Meg Stout on February 28, 2012 at 10:39am

Awesome factoid (50-70% of domestic water use is for landscaping). Do you have a reference?

 

There's a new article on world water use in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (available online, published 13 Feb). More than 90% of fresh water used each year is for agriculture (not 70% as the old sound bite said):

 

"Agricultural production takes the largest share, accounting for 92% of the global water footprint. Industrial production contributes 4.4% to the total water footprint and domestic water supply 3.6%."

 

Another fact from the article - the United States is a net exporter of water, in the sense that the water it takes to produce the goods we export is greater than the water it takes to produce the goods we import. If you subtract what we import (234 gigatonnes) from what we import (314 gigatonnes), we "lose" 80 gigatonnes of water per year. That as much water as flows out of the Mississippi river in 8 weeks on average.

 

For insight into the impact of "exporting" our water, I googled up a random NPR article on water shortages in the US North East: When Rivers Run Dry.

Comment by Michael Welber on February 28, 2012 at 9:07am

I have written a piece for the March 4 issue of the Key West Citizen that ties World Water Day and aquaponics together. It makes the case for conserving water and illustrates how AP helps in that goal. Statistics show that 50-70 percent of home water use is for landscaping. We have a six month dry season  here in the Florida Keys and watering lawns and exotic plants uses a lot of water, brought down from the mainland by an aqueduct. 

Comment by Chris Schup on February 7, 2012 at 10:01pm

This is fantastic—it’s great to read the details of everyone’s plans here.

Comment by Pamela Greenewald on February 7, 2012 at 9:41pm

James and I of Angel Gardens Aquaponics will be demonstrating a small media-based system for the backyard enthusiast on March 23rd and 24th at the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens Annual Spring Garden Festival in Gainesville Florida.Crowds were wowed 2 years ago the first time we displayed an aquaponics system. Angel Gardens will be promoting World Water day with T-shirts and the 9 square foot media-based system will be raffled off at the festival with a portion of the proceeds going to support non-profit aquaponics ventures with youth that are in the planning stages.  Signup sheets for upcoming workshops in April and May will be available. These will be on the raft as well as media-based systems. Visit our website at www.angelgardens.com for more information about the workshops or email us at gardenangel22@gmail.com.

In April around Earth Day we will be setting up a demo at the PNC Bank and then we will set one up at the Science fair at O2B Kids in Alachua, Florida.

Comment by Sylvia Bernstein on February 7, 2012 at 11:50am

Fantastic, Tawnya and Matthew!  Keep those ideas coming!

Comment by matthew ferrell on February 7, 2012 at 11:03am

We are having the regional news paper publish an article for us that week.  Unfortunately are not a daily but a weekly publication.  We will also be giving a tour to 150+ people who are coming for our annual Bull Sale here at Reymann Memorial Farm.  Anyone who'd like to stop by and see us are encouraged to do so.  Fresh rib-eye sandwiches will be for sale up on the hill.  Call 304-874-3563 if you need any assistance on getting here.

Reymann Memorial Farm
1695 State Route 259 N
Wardensville West Virginia

Comment by Tawnya Sawyer on February 6, 2012 at 9:28pm

Sylvia- Colorado Aquaponics is going to host a free aquaponics webinar on March 22nd from 7:30-9pm MT. I will send more details and how people can register. Great job putting on another event. Thanks.

Comment by Sylvia Bernstein on February 6, 2012 at 6:30am

Fantastic energy in here!  I love how so many people are looking for ways to promote AP!  I'll gather the ideas onto a separate, "clean" page soon that we can link up to the UN, etc.  Meanwhile, just to throw in my contribution I'm working on doing a lecture at Univ. of Colorado through the Sustainable Design program about aquaponics as a sustainable design technique.  

Comment by Chris Schup on February 6, 2012 at 12:17am

GO Meg.

Comment by Meg Stout on February 5, 2012 at 8:28pm

SLO - got it. Was planning to do that, but didn't remember the fancy name.

Bus tubs ordered. I've got one presentation coming up in less than two weeks, so will post pictures of my demo system in advance of that.

Comment by TCLynx on February 5, 2012 at 4:52pm

SLO stands for solids lifting overflow.

Basically the overflow drain with a T at the top and a pipe going down near the bottom of the fish tank to pick up the solids but not risk becoming a siphon.

Comment by Meg Stout on February 4, 2012 at 8:50pm

Excellent with the bus tubs -

I was thinking of the concrete tubs because I used one last spring when I bought my fish (hadn't been able to move my grow bed outside yet). But, yes, it'd be a bear to deal with, even with just hydroton inside.

I have too many acronyms in my head - what do you mean by a 1" SLO drain? Thanks!

Comment by TCLynx on February 4, 2012 at 6:30pm

I've got Buss Tubs set up for a tiny demo system!  Works for the flood and drain since a concrete mixing tub is too heavy to lift with gravel in it (it will bow and bust)  But a buss tub is just barely movable with media in it.

Of course I also have the Single zipgrow tower systems that I can deliver to people's homes so they can pick their lettuce fresh all week.  (My neighbor even let the grand kids put a goldfish in her bucket, I fear it will cook if it gets any warmer.)

I've got a few tiny gurgle gardens set up but they would barely work for a beta fish, they are more so people can take their plants in pots of gravel home and keep them alive.

Petsmart has the little plastic petcage/aquarium's for $12.99 here and one of those could get a 1" SLO drain to tie into other beds and might support a small goldfish, beta fish or some guppies and be hooked up to whatever containers you like as grow beds and put a bin with 20 watt pump down under the table.

Comment by Meg Stout on February 3, 2012 at 4:38pm

I was thinking of putting together a system with two concrete mixing tubs (one with media and a siphon, the other with floating raft). Then I was thinking of one of those 27 gallon rubbermaid totes you can get at home depot for $12(?) and/or a 5 gallon water bottle. The tote would be the sump, the water bottle would hold showy fish. Or (if my daughter prevails), I'd have the showy fish in a nice plexiglass fish tank, with overflow running over into the sump.

This lets me demonstrate both media and floating raft, show off fishes, and do it all in a package that isn't completely intimidating (either to haul or to buy - ahem).

Thinking I'd pimp the system a bit to hide it's DIY origins...

Comment by rick kennerly on February 3, 2012 at 2:53pm

Portable demonstration project:  help me out here.  I'm thinking a tiny barrel-ponics project, using

• either half Heineken beer kegs (the tiny ones in the grocery stores) or those bottled water jugs that look like mini-5 gal water cooler bottles.  
• build a rack of 1x2 lumber
• Plastic fish, 
• a pound of media, and 
• a stop at the garden center for fresh herbs.  

Ditch the siphons; use flood and drain by switching the pump on and off.  

Add a disco ball and maybe a laser or two and we've got a desktop demonstration unit. If you were really fancy, LED chaser lights to track the path of the water (green in the fish tank, light blue, inside the grow bed down in the media, back to the out flow to the fish tank).  

 I'll need help emptying the 3 kegs.  Other ideas? 

Comment by Tom McLemore on February 3, 2012 at 10:41am

Well the old saying in Texas is "Whiskey is for drinkin' and water is for fightin'." No matter what we do that mind set isn't going to change real fast down here. Texas is in the 2nd worse drought in history and we have just begun to fight over what's left of our precious resource.  We just need to give folks an alternative in their choice of water uses. And do a good job of educating them about the water conservation aspect of AP. We will probably never solve the worlds water problems but we can show local folks how to use the resource a lot more efficiently than they are right now.

I too am working on a portable system to carry around to farmers markets and schools. As soon as I get it finished I will post pics and construction info.

Comment by Malinda Douglass on February 3, 2012 at 10:17am

Perhaps just seeing the terms "aquaponics" and "UN" used in association caused a knee-jerk reaction for me.  I understand that the UN is not the issue here and apologize for getting off track.  I truly agree that raising awareness about aquaponics is vital, and this is a great opportunity to do so.  Aquaponics undoubtedly does address the water issue in a very smart and resourceful way and we need to get the word out however we can.  The water issue is extremely complex one of human rights but has been damaged by the loving relationship between government and profiteers, particular in the developing world (and soon to be coming here, as Rick mentions.)  I just hope that aquaponics doesn't ever fall into the same hands.  Rick, you are right.  Water is the next oil and the wars of the future will be fought over it.  I would just hate to see the wars after that be those over lettuce.  So grateful to have a venue of people here committed to making a difference in smart ways! 

Comment by Chris Schup on February 3, 2012 at 10:07am

Rick, I’m with you on the transportable system idea. If you’d like to check out a concept, contact Raychel Watkins (member). She and I are cooking up a plan to build and use a mobile set-up in the Honolulu Board of Water Supply’s workshop series. We’ll weave together an educational, hands-on session and invite the class to assemble a small AP system. They’ll see for themselves how easy it can be. Oahu is facing a fresh water crisis. According to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, with current water use patterns and population growth predictions, the island will exceed the aquifer's ability to recharge itself by the year 2020. While it’s not the driest land on the planet, my area saw only two inches of rain in the past eight months.

Comment by Tom McLemore on February 3, 2012 at 7:44am

Just so you know... I’m not a big fan of the UN, but I am a big fan of AP so if the UN is willing to spend some of that money we send them to help us  promote AP then I’m for it! Order your T-Shirt and get the word out about the benefits of AP and how we can grow more food using less water. If you don't look good in a T-shirt give it to a cute girl to stand beside you when you talk. Just saying....

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