Green trends in New York City

[Cornish Steve]

I attended a business meeting today on Madison Avenue. In light of discussions we've had here recently, I couldn't help but notice a couple of minor things:

- The taps in just about every airport today are driven by motion; they stay on only as long as your hands are there. It was true too of all the taps in this office towering above the city.

- The men's urinals at Newark airport have gone hi-tech; they are now water-less. There's a sign above each one stating that this saves about 25,000 gallons of water annually per urinal.

Multiply these comparatively simple changes by a few thousand, and we're saving many millions of gallons of water. Quite a change in mindset.

[sirearl]

I attended a business meeting today on Madison Avenue. In light of discussions we've had here recently, I couldn't help but notice a couple of minor things:

- The taps in just about every airport today are driven by motion; they stay on only as long as your hands are there. It was true too of all the taps in this office towering above the city.

- The men's urinals at Newark airport have gone hi-tech; they are now water-less. There's a sign above each one stating that this saves about 25,000 gallons of water annually per urinal.

Multiply these comparatively simple changes by a few thousand, and we're saving many millions of gallons of water. Quite a change in mindset.

Or the equivalent of running 1 Hummer:rolleyes:

[ozskins]

dear goldctrsteve (http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/member.php?u=4220)

this is a business we are expanding into, the average office/commercial building can save 80% of the water consumption through a range of technologies, there is even a new pipe heat exchanger to recover the heat lost through the waste water pipes, the other joy is that for most of this the ROI is 12-24 mths and great long term cost savings as well as saving the planet and there is up to 30% funding available for most businesses here in the uk

[DanMartin]

I've noticed a few public toilets in the UK have started installing Dyson Airblades (http://www.dysonairblade.co.uk/) hand dryers. They look like trouser presses in which you insert your hands. Apparently they're more hygenic, more energy-efficient and twice as fast as standard hand dryers.

[Cornish Steve]

Taking a taxi last night from Madison Avenue to Penn Station, the number of lights and huge screens everywhere was staggering. The effect was rather special - typical New York - adding to the life and energy of the city, with many thousands of people on the streets as a light snow was falling. I'm sure London is just as bright and cheerful as we approach the holiday season.

While I'm all for doing things day to day that reduce our energy consumption, life would be rather dull if that was our only criterion. You can't help but enjoy the holiday spirit in the centre of big cities.