Water | Solar One

Why Is Water Slippery?

by Dinaon 05/17/2018 in Education, Water

Kids ask some pretty hard questions, and sometimes the answers are extremely fascinating, which is why the FiveThirtyEight blog, best known for political polling and sports prognostication, has started this gem of a series called Science Questions from a Toddler. Since the Solar One community is full of both teachers and parents (and teachers who are parents!), we thought this might be of interest for all sorts of reasons.

This week’s topic: Why is water so slippery?

The answer has to do a lot with just how peculiar water molecules actually are.

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Tiny Eels, Big $$ & Native Rights on Long Island

by Dinaon 02/02/2018 in Economy, Sustainability, Uncategorized, Water

Native Americans of the Shinnecock tribe have been living in eastern Long Island since long before European settlers arrived in the 17th century. And while you might not expect a reservation to be located near now-trendy Southampton village, that’s exactly where David Taobi Silva lives and fishes, and he claims he has aboriginal rights to do so, even if it is against Department of Environmental Conservation regulations.

At issue are tiny glass eels that are illegal to harvest in New York, a regulation state officials call vital in protecting a depleted population. But Mr. Silva told the officers that he was free to gather the eels, citing an aboriginal right to fish locally that is based on Shinnecock tradition and ancient treaties that predate and supersede government laws.

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New Report Shows NYC Waterways Are Cleanest They’ve Been in 100 Years

by Dinaon 12/14/2017 in CSO, East River, New York City, Pollution, stormwater, Sustainability, Water

Being that Solar One is physically close to the water, the condition of that water is anything but an abstract notion to us. Water quality testing is one of our Education team’s most popular field trip offerings, we have a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) pipe running diagonally under the blacktop, and we host some of the Billion Oyster Project‘s little bivalve charges. Students who come to Stuy Cove can find out exactly what’s in our water on any given day.

And while most days, we generally do find at least a little bit of bacteria, a new report from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) shows that remarkable improvements have been made in recent decades.

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Back to the Future: Hydra Light and the Long History of the Electric Battery

by Dinaon 10/05/2017 in Products, Renewables, Sustainability, Technology, Water

A colleague recently brought the Hydra Light to our attention, a personal flashlight and charging station that runs on an electrolyte battery. While this design is patent pending, the basic technology behind it is as old- or older- than the pyramids. There is evidence that electrolyte batteries were known in ancient Persia and Egypt, and possibly across the ancient world. The windowless pyramids were lit with electric lights.

But how do electrolyte batteries work?

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Teachers! Check Out the New Green Design Lab Website

by Dinaon 10/15/2015 in Cleantech, Design, East River, Education, Energy Efficiency, Food, Global Warming, Green Design Lab, Native Plants, Organic Farming, Photovoltaics, Pollution, Recycling, Renewables, Sustainability, Technology, Waste, Water

gdl_blog The Solar One Education team is excited to launch our new, enhanced website, thegreendesignlab.org!

The new website is easy to navigate and offers new features for registering for our Professional Development Workshops, the Green Design Lab Energy Challenge, and a host of resources for our Sustainable Schools Network members!

Since its inception 6 years ago, the Green Design Lab has grown to reach teachers and students in over 400 schools. During this time, Solar One Educators have provided professional development training for teachers on our hands-on curriculum, in-class programming for students, and support for energy reduction and school sustainability projects. With the development and growth of the Green Design Lab Sustainable Schools Network (SSN), Solar One Educators have reached teachers across the United States.

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Tap Vs. Bottled: Can You Tell the Difference?

by Dinaon 03/17/2015 in Economy, Education, Green Design Lab, Pollution, Sustainability, Water

One of the simplest “green” lifestyle changes is to give up buying bottled water. Americans used 50 million single-use water bottles last year, and we have dismal national recycling rate of only 23%. Cutting them out of your life and budget makes good economic and environmental sense, and many bottled waters are actually tap water in a fancy package and nothing more. So is there really a difference between bottled and tap water- a difference you can actually taste?

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