Over the last three years, California has suffered from a prolonged drought that has hurt agriculture and stressed water supplies for major urban areas. In addition, the state’s massive system of dams and pipelines designed to turn desertland into productive farmland has further compounded the problem. This has led to a steep decline in the population of wild salmon, trout, sturgeon, and other fish that normally need adequate amounts of water to survive.

As a result of changes in water supplies and their effects on fish populations, the National Marine Fisheries Service has ordered the state to cut its water use by 5-7 percent for cities and agriculture from major water suppliers. This has prompted the state to either cancal requests for water or begin thinking about how to conserve water. In the long-run, the state will have to devise ways to substantially reduce water use.

Green Irene can help Californians meet that challenge. A Green Home Makeover is a simple way of figuring out how to reduce water use in homes. A Green Irene Eco-Consultant will walk you through simple steps you can take to cut water use right away. Usually, this will also mean saving energy and money. For example, by using low-flow showerheads, you can save nearly half of the water used in the shower. This can translate into thousands of gallons per year for every person.

The state has a goal of cutting water use per capita by 20% by the year 2020. In order to meet this goal, homes will have to play a big role in reducing their water use. Let Green Irene get you on the path to using less water without changing your lifestyle. Find your Local Eco-Consultant today and get a Green Home Makeover to get started. Then browse Green Irene’s line of water-saving products at ShopGreenIrene. Water scarcity represents one of the biggest problems of the 21st century, and your role in helping solve it will be critical to society.

Commentary: As you may know, it isn’t enough to purchase solar panels without cutting your energy use. In fact, if you do not cut your energy use first, your home solar system will in fact be more expensive. The way to cut your energy use is through energy efficiency and conservation practices, and that’s where Green Irene is ready to help. A Green Home Makeover will help you implement specific steps to begin saving energy and go green. Not only will you save money on reduced energy costs, but you it will also lead to a cheaper solar system in case you will be purchasing one. It will also help you Go GREEN in other ways by reducing waste, improving indoor air quality, and making better use of water. Find your Local Eco-Consultant today to get a Green Home Makeover!

Despite advances in technology, falling prices for raw materials and an ever-growing number of installations, solar PV panels are still not affordable for most families. Typical setups for even mid-sized homes can come in at well over $20,000 before rebates and incentives.

Fortunately, local, state and federal government agencies are continually adding programs that bring solar PV panels ever closer to affordability. Net metering programs allow you to sell excess electricty back to your utility. Many agencies offer rebates that cut from 30-50% off of the total cost of a system. The Obama Administration recently announced changes to the federal tax code that remove a cap on renewable energy tax credits. And, private companies have stepped into the fray offering a variety of innovative financing and group purchasing programs.

What’s next? Well, new loan programs are springing up (now in California, and hopefully elsewhere soon) that allow you to finance the full price of your solar installation and then pay it back (with interest) via your annual property tax payments.

Several cities are already out of the gate and running:

• Berkeley launched a pilot program in November with funding of $1.5M. The program sold out in NINE minutes, and 39 homeowners signed up. A bit of pent-up demand, perhaps?
• Palm Desert launched its program in August 2008 and has already funded over $7.5M in projects. The Palm Desert program is also open to energy efficiency projects and upgrades.
• San Diego and other California cities and counties in the planning phases.

How expensive are these loan programs? Interest rates for the programs launched so far are in the 7% range, which compares favorably with current home equity loan rates (if you can even get one).

The crazy oversubscription rates demonstrated by the Berkeley and Palm Desert programs clearly show that there’s huge demand out there, so we hope that more governments and companies step in to fill this need!

Excerpted from Low Impact Living.

Commentary: Green Irene offers products and services that can help your home or office begin reducing its water use immediately. Our Green Home and Green Office Makeovers are your first step to assessing what you can do to reduce your water use and your overall footprint. You can find a Local Green Irene Eco-Consultant right away to schedule an appointment. Green Irene also carries various products at ShopGreenIrene that can help your home or office begin reducing water use right away. Finally, Green Irene’s greenbase contains many tips and techniques that can also help you reduce water use and help California or any other state meet water use reduction goals. Learn more today by contacting your Local Green Irene Eco-Consultant.

The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) has formally adopted policy principles supporting the goal of reducing per capita water use by 20 percent statewide by 2020 and committing the association to aggressively support water conservation and water use efficiency as part of a comprehensive solution to the state’s water challenges.

The principles, adopted on March 30 by ACWA’s Board of Directors, express strong support for achieving the 20 percent aggregate reduction in water use statewide in a manner that recognizes local conditions. The conservation and water use efficiency principles give urban and agricultural water agencies flexibility to implement programs that work for their service areas.

The principles are intended to expand on ACWA’s 2005 water policy document, “No Time to Waste: A Blueprint for California Water,” and guide the association as it considers legislative and regulatory proposals on conservation.

“With these principles, we are significantly raising the bar on conservation as an industry,” ACWA Executive Director Timothy Quinn said. “We are making a strong statement in support of achieving real reductions in water use statewide. We want to own the goal but ensure local flexibility to get there. We are committed to working with the legislature, state agencies, and other stakeholders to create a policy framework and sound technical foundation to do that.”

The principles state ACWA’s support for measuring, reporting, and monitoring water use statewide as a way of providing accountability and transparency toward meeting conservation goals. They also state ACWA’s support for the use of volumetric pricing wherever appropriate for urban and agricultural water supplies to encourage conservation and efficiency.

The ACWA Board also adopted a formal policy statement on proposals related to Delta Vision. The statement expresses support for the physical solutions laid out by the Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force and the cabinet-level Delta Vision Committee and commits ACWA to work cooperatively to develop an effective governance approach to the Delta.

ACWA is a statewide association of public agencies whose 450 members are responsible for about 90 percent of the water delivered in California. For more information, visit www.acwa.com.

Excerpted from Water and Wastewater Use.

Rosamaria Caballero Stafford
Co-Founder and the Original Green Irene