Author: Adel Takacs

During the Friday afternoon meetings in the Greenbelt community, we discuss ways we can live a more sustainable lifestyle, fun facts we learned during the past week, or simply what comes to mind about our environment and other aspects of our lives. One of the most interesting tidbits of information we discussed was when we were talking about the differences between bottled water and tap water.

People buy bottled water because they want quality controlled, clean water. However, people are much more likely to get infected drinking bottled water than tap water. Companies that put out bottled waters fall under the regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; the policies regarding quality control and testing are the same as for any other food. On the other hand, tap water and the water reservoirs are under the city’s regulations and are tested multiple times a day; this results in a much cleaner source of water than bottled. While this was already an interesting fact, we also learned that according to the American Water Works Association, Greenville, SC, has the cleanest tap water in the nation. I found this to be the most fascinating fact of Greenville and of drinking water in general. Since then, whenever I see someone buying water, I throw some facts at them and tell them how much better tap water is.

On top of being better for us, it is also much better for our environment. You can get one water bottle and be set for life, instead of wasting multiple plastic bottles a day.

 

So I encourage all of you to go out and buy a water bottle and start drinking tap water!

 

-Adel Takacs

Nature around us uses solar energy constantly and efficiently. Energy form the sun powers the growth of plants, and as a result, through different food cycles, life in general. Like all living things, we rely heavily on solar energy even without knowing it.

 

Our household appliances are powered by electricity, including our washing machines, electric stoves, hair driers, and fridges all use electricity, not to mention the light bulbs that illuminate the house. The list of devices that use electricity goes on endlessly. If the electric energy comes from fossil fuels, a flip of a light switch or recharging a cellphone produces carbon emissions and depletes natural resources. Therefore, the quest to turn solar energy directly to electricity is a very important step toward sustainable living.

 

Solar cells are becoming more efficient and reliable today, and Furman is committed to use this option to replace our source of electricity to a sustainable form. There was an announcement in August that a new solar farm along Poinsett Highway will substitute another 5% of the university’s total energy usage to solar. The increased use of this clean source of power is great news for everyone who cares about sustainable living.

 

This complex way of using energy from the sun, however, is not the only way we can use this great resource in our everyday life. There are creative ways to get away without the use electric power. Here is one idea: instead of using the dryer one could let the warm South Carolina sun  dry all the laundry.

-Adel Takacs