Tag Archives: Target


Water Conservation And Low Flow Shower Heads

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Low flow shower heads are an easily implemented choice to cut water use. If you assume that at least one person in a household takes one shower every day, installing <a target=”_new” href=”http://www.plumbersurplus.com/Search.aspx?search=low+flow+shower+head&SSAID=317007″> <b>low flow shower heads</b></a> can save several hundred gallons of water. In addiition to saving water, you will save money on heating the water.

When we enjoy a long shower, we typically don’t think about all the water that goes down the drain. You can still take long showers while considerably cutting the water consumption by installing a low flow shower head.

Regular, code-complying showerheads have flows of up to 3 gallons per minute. These are not efficient shower heads. <a target=”_new” href=”http://www.plumbersurplus.com/Search.aspx?search=0.5gpm+shower+head&SSAID=317007″><b>The best low flow shower heads</b></a> can have flowrates as low as 0.5 gpm, and still give you a nice shower experience. And of course, shortening the length of your shower time, on top of installing water reducing showerheads, can cut the water usage even more.

In an average home, water consumption for showers accounts for 20-30% of the total usage. Let’s assume your yearly water/sewer bill is maybe 400 dollars and you have 2 showers in your house with normal heads. You could be spending 200 dollars per year on water for your showers, if you are a family who takes long and frequent showers. Translated into gallons, that could be as much as 21,900 gallons each year, based on 3 gpm shower heads and two 10-minute showers daily. Replacing just one shower head with a very water saving, water saving shower head that uses 1 gpm, instead of 3 gpm, will save you $40 each year. It might not be a lot. Remember, you will also save use of electricity, gas or oil.

You can buy low flow showerheads that will give you just as nice a shower as a normal shower head. Low flow shower heads that just reduce the flow of water, without special discharge nozzles, might not make a long shower that much fun anymore. Hotels do use such a shower head to help reduce long showers. I still do like a long shower myself on occasion. A lot of water is wasted on a daily basis with lengthy showers.

Oxygenation is one of the techniques applied in some low flow shower heads. These types of shower heads add air to the water stream with the result that it feels invigorating.

You can usually expect a 1-2 year payback time when you buy low flow shower heads. If you decrease your shower times, on top of installing low flow showerheads, you will get an even shorter payback time.

There is really more to it than only saving money. We must conserve water any and every way we can. Water shortages are more and more widespread everywhere.

We we cannot delay: we must start to <a target=”_new” href=”http://www.greenandsustainablehomes.org/category/water-conservation”>conserve water</a> today.Low flow showerheads are a outstanding and cheap opportunity to conserve water.

What the Competition Doesn’t Want You to Know About LED Signs

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For years now LED Signs have been taking over the old neon style signs.  From the simple OPEN sign to the more complex scrolling LED Sign the diversity and capabilities of LED’s continue prove this technology worthy of its popularity.

BLI Lighting Specialists has enhanced its LED Sign offering to include fixed static LED signs and scrolling electronic LED signs. If you have never used a LED Sign getting your customers attention is one of the best most useful purchases you can make to publicize or display a message to your targeted audience . 

Today, modern LED signs are configured to deliver ease of programming and   in presenting your message. Static or moving messages (depending on your needs) will target the customers that are in your facility and supply selective information to them in a non-obtrusive manor. It’s really that simple, the LED Sign gets their attention and you provide the message.   Along with this versatility comes an opportunity to display adds on your sign for other businesses or customers, presumably for a fee of some sort.

These eye catching LED signs are simple to operate . Depending on the sign, programming is effected through a remote control or via a pc.   The on board memory of your message means that you’ll be ready to change messages easily when needed .

Full color scrolling message signs are expensive, the single color and 3 color LED Signs are reasonably priced and is your better investment .

If you want your message to be heard, it must be seen. With these bright LED Signs you will attract the attention to your message that it deserves. Since these signs are programmable you will be able to alter your massage as often as you would like. Most signs have the power to store from 14 – 150 messages for subsequent use.

 

Palace Resorts; Certified Environmental Quality In Tourism

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In today’s environmentally conscious society, the health of the world is on the minds of many; even Mexico vacation travelers are looking for resorts that match their environmental concerns.

Among the list of ecologically minded resorts in Mexico is Palace Resorts, with 13 high-end all-inclusive properties located throughout Cancún, the Riviera Maya, Cozumel, Riviera Nayarit, and Punta Cana.  Palace Resorts set the standard in five-star, all-inclusive resort accommodations, has made the move to also be environmentally friendly.

These all-inclusive Mexico vacation resorts have interpreted steps to earn Certificado de Calidad Ambiental Turística, (certificate for environmental quality in tourism) from Mexico’s protection environmental agency – PROFEPA (Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente) for complying with the environmental regulations, as well as gives back to the community.

Below are some steps the company is taking to make their resorts more environmentally friendly.

Palace Resorts Environmental Committee
In an effort to relieve natural resources and supply more green areas throughout all of its resorts, Palace Resorts has created an environmental committee, “Comité Ambiental Palace Resorts”, whose mission is to forbid and control pollution and debasement of the environment through the efficient use of the resources with the target of sustainable development.

To that end, the committee works with all the resorts to educate personnel on caring for the environment, reduce the amount of waste and trash generated, advance the purchase of environmentally friendly products, implement a recycling and trash sorting program to reduce waste, regulate emissions from all the resorts to reduce their carbon output, administer a series of “green areas” at all the properties, implement the use of “green signs”, which include the original names and descriptions of the flora currently planted, and much, much more.

Paperless Technology
In an effort to reduce the amount of paper used, Palace Resorts has invested in state-of-the-art electronic technology and posted electronic schedule boards throughout all of the resorts, thus eliminating the use of printed schedules. Additionally, Palace Resorts offers online reservation and confirmation of all accommodations, as well as an online resource where guests can book tours, rental cars, tee times and spa treatments.

Saving Energy
Palace Resorts has made it a priority to conserve resources, not only in the populace spaces, but also in all the rooms at many of its resorts. Over the last three years, the company has been working to install state-of the art “light switches” that are triggered by inserting your room key. When the room key is inserted in the provided slot, the lights and the air conditioning in all the rooms can be controlled individually. However, when the room key is removed, everything turns off, thus decrease the expenditure of electricity.

Reuse & Renew
With 12 all-inclusive resorts and more than 6,000 rooms brand-wide, Palace Resorts has enforced a linen reuse program that reduces its carbon footprint and the use of natural resources.

Giving Back
Over the last two years, Palace Resorts has implemented a system where all the unused food at its restaurants is donated to local food banks and shelters throughout the regions where they operate. Through this program, Palace has not only reduced waste but has helped feed the less fortunate in its communities.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Palace Resorts has made the commitment to reduce its use of bottled water throughout all of their resorts. To this end, the company has installed a state-of-the-art water filtration system at each of its properties that will not only reduce its dependency on bottled water but also help the resort irrigate the grounds. However, in the instances when bottled water is preferred, Palace Resorts provides 1 ½ liter bottles as opposed to ½ liter bottles in effort to provide additional servings and cut down on the accumulated waste from the 1 serve containers. Furthermore, with the consent of event organizer, Palace Resorts is working to provide pitchers of water versus water bottles during all event coffee breaks. Lastly, to further reduce waste, Palace Resorts is working to implement a comprehensive recycling program throughout all of the resorts.  

Saving Indigenous Wildlife
Palace Resorts is pleased to support an integral protection sea turtle program that is working to establish protection efforts along the 7 miles of beach on the coast of Quintana Roo state. In three camp sites located at Moon Palace Golf and Spa Resort, Cancun Palace, Beach Palace and Sun Palace, that have been specifically authorized by the SEMARNAT (Mexico’s Environmental and Natural Resources Agency), Palace Resorts has saved 117,676 sea turtle eggs since the programs conception in 2005. The purpose of the program is to not only preserve and protect the eggs that sea turtles come to shore to lay, but to also provide environmental education, training, investigation and continuously evaluation of this majestic creature and work in concert so that they may carry on and thrive for years to come.

Palace Resorts’ “Green Thumb”
In effort to enrich and establish “green areas” that are representative of the natural vegetation throughout all of the Palace properties, Palace Resorts has established several environmentally friendly nurseries at the Centro de Distribución Palace (Distribution Center) with nearly 200,000 indigenous plants that represent a cross section of species collected from the jungle, wetlands, mangroves and coastal dunes. This distribution center offers several services, including acting as a impermanent home to local plants that are relocated during building or renovation of properties, a cultivation center used to nurture replacement plants to those that become damaged or unhealthy and to offer a base of operation where the Palace team of gardeners can work to repair and foster the future health of natural vegetation, coastal thickets, mangroves and dunes that serving as natural barriers in event of storms and hurricanes.

Palace Resorts, the company that set the standard in five-star, all-inclusive resort accommodations, offers twelve all-inclusive properties throughout Cancún, the Riviera Maya, Isla Mujeres, Riviera Nayarit, Cozumel and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

At each of the Palace Resorts, guests are provided with sumptuous, yet affordable accommodations, fine cuisine, 24-hour room service, top shelf drinks, sensational entertainment, wireless Internet, non-motorized water sports and unlimited select tours. Palace Resorts’ unparalleled level of service and comfort found at each property makes them a leader in providing world-class resort vacations in Mexico. 

Now, with their commitment to the environment, Palace Resorts have added yet another reason why Palace Resorts all-inclusive resorts are a favorite among travelers.

 

Moon Palace Cancun All Inclusive 

When is a Certified Renovator Requires?

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THE LAW REQUIRES!

Federal law 40 CFR Part 745 requires individuals go through certain information before renovating six square feet or more of painted surfaces in a room for interior project or more that twenty square feet of painted surfaces for exterior projects in housing, “child-occupied facilities” and schools built before 1978.

A “child-occupied facility” means a building or portion of a structure , built prior to 1978, visited regularly by the same child, under six years old , on at least 2 individual days within a week ( Sun. through Saturday time frame ), provided that each day’s visit lasts at least 3 hours and the combined every week visits last at least six hours, and the combined annual visits last at least 60 hours. 

Child-occupied facilities may include, but are not limited to, child care centers, pre-schools and kindergarten classrooms.  They may be located in target housing or in public or commercial buildings.

April 22, 2010 federal law 40 CFR Part 745 will require contractors that agitate lead-based paint in homes, child-occupied facilities and schools built before 1978 to be certified and follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.

 

Any contractor that “Renovates, Repairs or Paints” (RRP)  must have at least one someone that overseas that job that is a Certified Renovator .  This certification must be given by an approved EPA certification provider.

The RRP now overseas and gives all lead safe work practices training to all workers at that job site.  The RRP is also responsible for set up of the job site, safe practices while working on the work site, testing for lead, rubble removal, establishing workers make clean areas, debris removal, record keeping and cleaning confirmation procedure.

All workers that will be exposed to lead , must be trained as in accordance with 40 CFR Part 745 and applicable state requirements (Oregon) OR OSHA 1926.62 and (Washington) WAC 296-155-17625.  Please note both Oregon and WA are in process of committal to writing their own new code.  At the time of the publication of this manual, they were not in completed or adopted.

WHAT INDIVDUAL MUST FOLLOW THE LAW?

Anyone who is getting paid to perform work that disturbs paint in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978, this may include but is not limited to:

  • Residential rental property owners/managers
  • General Contractors
  • Special Trade Contractors, including

⇒ Painter workers

⇒ Plumbers

⇒ Carpenters

⇒ Electricians

 

WHAT ACTIVITY ARE SUBJECT TO THE LAW?

Any activities that disrupts paint in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities, including:

  • Remodeling and repair/maintenance jobs
  • Electrical work
  • Plumbing
  • Painting
  • activity
  • Window replacement

 

WHAT HOUSING AND ACTIVIES ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE LAW?

Exclusions are:

  • Homes built in 1978 or later
  • Homes for elderly or disabled persons, unless children under 6 reside or are be like to reside there.
  • Zero-bedroom dwellings (studio apartments, dormitories, etc.)
  • Homes or components declared lead-free by a certified inspector or risk assessor. Test kits must be acceptable to EPA, check the website www.epa.gov/lead for the most current acceptable kits.  At the time of publication of this manual only 1 test  was accepted by EPA “Lead Check”.  However Lead Check does not work for drywall or gypsum board.
  • Minor repair and maintenance activities that disturb six square feet or less of paint per room interior, or 20 square feet or less on the exterior of a home or building.

Note: minor repair and maintenance activities do not include window replacement and projects involving demolition or prohibited practices