Travis Eller
National Geographic
"Seven Energy-Smart Zoos and Aquariums"
Brian Handwerk, May 23, 2013
This article is about a zoo in Seattle that has taken up a bunch of new energy efficient features. They use a large amount of water and energy to periodically drain the different exhibits in the zoo to clean the water and generally keep them hygienic for the animals. Previously this had required a huge amount of water and energy to be used and was incredibly wasteful. Now they have installed a new water filtration system that would be loved by people who are ecocentric. This new system simulates how the environment would keep it's water supply clean. The water is put through an engineered version of the water cycle using evaporation and rainwater collection. Not only is this water system more efficient for the zoo, it also prevents the dirty water from the zoo from ending up in the Puget Sound (body of water next to Seattle). Another very cool part of the new water system is the fact that it uses plant roots in another part of the zoo to filter the water before it is put back in the habitats of the zoo's animals. This is a great example of being able to use a natural solution to a modern problem. Instead of using modern cleaning processes which can include nasty chemicals this zoo has come up with an interesting "green" way to do the job.
One interesting thing about this article for me personally is that I have been to this zoo before. It was one of the things I loved to do when I visited Seattle. I think that I owe a large part of my appreciation of nature to the fact that I was able to see so many amazing animals at this zoo.
National Geographic
"Seven Energy-Smart Zoos and Aquariums"
Brian Handwerk, May 23, 2013
This article is about a zoo in Seattle that has taken up a bunch of new energy efficient features. They use a large amount of water and energy to periodically drain the different exhibits in the zoo to clean the water and generally keep them hygienic for the animals. Previously this had required a huge amount of water and energy to be used and was incredibly wasteful. Now they have installed a new water filtration system that would be loved by people who are ecocentric. This new system simulates how the environment would keep it's water supply clean. The water is put through an engineered version of the water cycle using evaporation and rainwater collection. Not only is this water system more efficient for the zoo, it also prevents the dirty water from the zoo from ending up in the Puget Sound (body of water next to Seattle). Another very cool part of the new water system is the fact that it uses plant roots in another part of the zoo to filter the water before it is put back in the habitats of the zoo's animals. This is a great example of being able to use a natural solution to a modern problem. Instead of using modern cleaning processes which can include nasty chemicals this zoo has come up with an interesting "green" way to do the job.
One interesting thing about this article for me personally is that I have been to this zoo before. It was one of the things I loved to do when I visited Seattle. I think that I owe a large part of my appreciation of nature to the fact that I was able to see so many amazing animals at this zoo.
I agree. Green-based approaches to solving problems should be more looked into. This is a great example of how one problem can be solved without causing another problem. I also like the fact that the zoo deals with their problems themselves and actually benefits from it, rather than placing the problem in the hands of others.
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