If you haven’t guessed by now, I really have fun with calculators. Yes, I know they aren’t always accurate. Yes, I know they often are designed to inflict guilt (and are

This is the water calculator!

often successful). Yes, I know they don’t always represent the entire picture…. But heck, they’re fun.

So today, my calculator of choice measures a “water footprint”. The calculator, presented by a New York-based project called H2O Conserve, asks you a number of questions. You answer and BAM! Your water use gets compared to that of the typical American, all accompanied by handy and sometimes cute graphics. My favorite is the one that accompanies the ‘I don’t brush my teeth’ answer. (Which I do, by the way. I just wanted to see the graphic….)

I am below the national average, but just barely at an individual water use of 1,072.20 gallons per day. Written out, that seems staggering.

The calculator also offers handy suggestions of how to decrease my water use, but some of them are just plain against my cultural habits. For example, it says I can save 10 or more gallons of water a day by not flushing the toilet and “letting it melow” instead.  Somehow I don’t think that would fly with my colleagues at work.

But some of the tips are also interesting. For example, the calculator says I can save water by getting an efficient dishwasher, rather than washing dishes by hand.

If you want to see how much water you use, click here. And if you missed it, click the tag ‘calculator’ below to find out what an ecological footprint is… and how you measure up!

After a tumultuous year, the zHome project has started off on a new foot with its Monday groundbreaking. The project is a 10-unit townhome development in the Issaquah Highlands that uses smart design and technology to create all the energy it consumes. It plans have net zero carbon emissions and cut water use by 60 percent.

I first wrote about the project last December here when Noland Homes was the

Courtesy of David Vandervort Architects

builder on the project and planned to develop it at its own cost. A lot has changed since then: namely Noland dropped out and Howland Homes came on (and will develop it at its own cost). But the project has finally broken ground and, as Brad Liljequist, zHome project manager for the city of Issaquah, says in the project’s inaugual blog post (yes it has a blog here) it “takes my breath away a little bit” to be at this stage in the project’s life.

zHome has a nifty Web site that can answer all and any of your questions from what materials are being used to how they’re doing it to how to buy into it. For more information, visit it here.

Courtesy of David Vandervort Architects

This solar panel from the groundbreaking comes wrapped in a bow!

The latest rendering

Though a necessary part of life, we don’t do much talking about toilets. However, in the last week I’ve been hearing a lot about toilet efficiency, toilet brands and how to test them.

This product could be yours!

So when I got a press release for the Brondell Swash Ecoseat, I wasn’t surprised but rather perplexed. The Ecoseat bills itself as an ”ecofriendly” way to save trees. Rather than flushing 100,000,000 rolls of toilet paper worldwide per day representing 55 million trees each year, the press release says, you can do simply buy this product and wipe all that eco-guilt out of your life.

The product is a battery operated “dual wand seat with an integrated bidet which features adjustable water pressure (for a refreshing feminine and posterior wash) and push button controls.” In other words, it uses water rather than paper to clean you off.

Is it really environmentally friendly or are the company’s claims eco greenwash? In June, the Washington Post carried a story by Blaine Harden about how energy use in Japan is soaring and how one major factor is high tech toilets that “warm one’s bottom, whisk away odors with built-in fans and play water noises.” They also play relaxation music like “Ave Maria.” But they also consume energy at an alarming rate because they are always plugged in. The article says people are also using the toilet more, because it’s a comfortable space. Some even get addicted to it.

Here in the U.S, old fashioned toilets are getting more and more water efficient.

This is what your toilet would look like

Recently at a water conference i attended, Water Expert Roger Van Gelder told attendees that new super efficient systems using 1.0 gallons per flush or less can be just as strong or stronger than older models that used seven gallons. The water use of a toilet doesn’t make it a better toilet and stronger toilet, he said, instead it’s the product’s systems that do the job.

But with all toilets, he said, you have to actually test the toilets to see how well they work. “Anything that you get, you can’t really believe what it says on the box.” 

So how about believing the Swash Ecoseat’s box. It is battery operated so it doesn’t plug into the wall. But it still uses energy. What do you think readers, is it greenwash or a green solution?