Across the West, a historic drought - the worst in over a century - has sparked a water crisis Sprinkler System that for the first time has forced California officials to impose mandatory statewide water restrictions.
"We need water," Gov. Gerry Brown said today. "We're gonna have to get water."
Watch: Extremely dry conditions fuel wildfires in at least five states.
There have no been no fewer than Sprinkler System Installation a dozen raging wildfires, from Idaho and Oregon to Arizona, Washington and Nevada.
The Bully Fire in Northern California chewed through 10-square miles and destroyed eight homes. The landscape has become a tinderbox and water reservoirs are now bone dry. About 2,200 firefighters have been working hard to keep the flames away.
Nevada's Lake Mead is now at its lowest point since the Hoover Dam was built, officia ls said.
In https://www.yelp.com/biz/ams-landscaping-phoenix-3 today's announcement, officials in California announced that it is illegal to let sprinkler systems flow into the street, hose down sidewalks and driveways or use an open hose to wash your car.
"I think my husband has been guilty of coming out late at night and doing a little secretive watering underneath the trees," resident Pam Ferko said.
Scofflaws faced fines of up to $500 a day.
Previously, residents had ignored the governor's pleas to cutback - statewide, water usage actually went up - so now Californians are being encouraged to rat out their neighbors.
"Our water complaint calls have gone up exponentially from the last two years," said Terrance Davis of the state's Department of Utilities.
Lawn sprinklers and car washes aren't the only culprits though.
Agriculture uses 80 percent of the state's water. The drought is projected to cost $2 billion in crop losses this year, which will mean higher food prices nationwide.
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A landscape restoration of a rubbish dump has won the Energy, Waste and Recycling category at the 2008 World Architecture Festival in Barcelona, Spain.
Spanish architects Batlle and Roig have returned a 150 hectare rubbish dump back to nature.
"La Vall d'en Joan" (The Valley of Joan) project, designed by Spanish architects Batlle and Roig, has transformed a 150 hectare site in the Garraf Natural Park, south-west of Barcelona into a green terraced agricultural landscape.
In awarding the prize, judges Sprinkler Installation Luis Mansilla -- Mansilla + Tunon architects -- and Martin Keiding -- editor-in-chief http://gilmour.com/sprinklers of Arkitektur DK -- described the scheme as: "a perfect example of bringing dead nature back to life by converting rubbish into a beautiful piece of landscape architecture...using few and humble means".
Joan Roig of Batlle and Roig Architects told CNN: "The idea was to create a system of hills and banks in a way that would avoid erosion from water and to give the rubbish dump back to nature with a natural design."
Work to transform the site -- the largest landfill in Spain -- began in 2000 and was completed earlier this year. It is a striking redrawing of a previously scarred and polluted landscape.
The landfill has been servicing Barcelona's metropolitan area for over 30 years. More than 20 million tons of rubbish was spread around the valley before the site was closed in 2006. In some places, you would have to dig down over 100 meters before you found soil again.
But this isn't just a cosmetic make over. There is an underground drainage system on site which filters contaminated waste fluids. Part of this recycled water is then used to irrigate the park. "The whole project is very sustainable," Roig said.
Furthermore, the dump is also utilizing the bio gas that is emitted to provide electricity.
Some of the rubbish has remained above ground. Housed in large steel cages which flank the entrance to the site, Roig says they serve as a permanent reminder to visitors of the site's previous life.
Judge, Martin Keiding told CNN: "It's a very beautiful and simple design. It is landscape architecture that is inspiring. It is a very good example that everyone could look at and say: 'We could do the same.' This competition is about pointing out good examples that could inspire architects."
Batlle and Roig's winning design was one of eight short-listed projects in the Energy, Waste and Recycling category, which was notable for the variety of entries.
They range from state of the art, hi-tech plans such as the Digital Beijing designed by Studio Pei Zhu and Urbanus, right down to low-cost, primitive ventures like the Community Cooker devised by Kenyan company, Planning Systems Services.
The communal cooker is turning Sprinkler System rubbish into fuel to feed residents of one of Africa's biggest slums -- Kibera -- on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. The project was highly commended by the judges.< br> "Sustainability is a very important issue and so are the questions about rubbish, especially in Third World countries," Keiding said. "The community cooker is a way of introducing a solution directly into the society."
Keiding, himself a trained architect, believes that Energy, Waste and Recycling is the most important category at the inaugural World Architecture Festival. "We are facing big problems, so it is a great opportunity for architects to work seriously with this problem on many different levels.
"I think flashy executive buildings are interesting in one sense but they are not interesting if they are not dealing seriously with this matter. In my opinion you can throw them out. We have to be far more serious about integrating aspects of sustainability into architecture."
Both Mansilla and Keiding noted that engineering and architecture had to combine to deal with issues concerning waste and recycling. They said that achieving sustainability was a difficult task but it also represented a great opportunity for architects to contribute to the sphere.
All About Architecture o Nature and the Environment
The motion, filed in South Carolina federal court, questions whether Roof's attack was plotted and carried out wholly within the state, and therefore not a federal case, as well as whether the hate crimes he was convicted of were punishable by death.
"A finding in his favor on this motion would resolve the case, since he would not challenge further the resulting sentences of life in prison without the possibility of release," the lawyers wrote.
Roof was sentenced to death last month after he was convicted of hate crimes in federal court. He killed nine black churchgoers during a bible style at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston in June 2015.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for more details.
The Congressional investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election continues to grow, as yet another Trump associate, Boris Epshteyn, has acknowledged that he has received a request for information from lawmakers.
Epshteyn, a Trump campaign adviser who briefly served in the White House communications office, confirmed to ABC News that he has received a request for information and testimony from the House Intelligence Committee. His lawyer provided a brief statement to ABC News.
"Like many others, Mr. Epshteyn has received a broad, preliminary request for information from the House Intelligence Committee. This is a voluntary request. Mr. Epshteyn has not been subpoenaed nor do we anticipate that he will be. We have reached out to the Committee wth several follow up questions and we are awaiting their response in order to better understand what information they are seeking and whether Mr. Epshteyn is able to reasonably provide it."
The Trump associate, 34, most recently served as the special assistant to the president in charge of surrogate operations before leaving his post in March.
The White House offered no explanation for his abrupt departure. Although a senior Trump administration official initially told ABC News that they were "exploring opportunities within the administration" for Epshteyn, he has since joined the conservative-leaning Sinclair Broadcasting as a political analyst.
Epshteyn grew up in Moscow and met Trump's son Eric at Georgetown University, where he received his law degree. Following the campaign, he served as senior adviser to the Trump-Pence transition team and director of communications for the Presidential Inaugural Committee before joining the White House press office.
A frequent on-air guest during the campaign, he became well-known for combative television appearances and http://cnspainters.com/ friction with repor ters behind the scenes.
In a recent interview with Bill Maher, Epshteyn sparred with the progressive political commentator about whether Russia meddled in the election.
"You would have to ask Russia if they tried to meddle ... Whether there was an attempt at meddling, again, how would I know?" Epshteyn said. "Again, if you have a problem with how the president is handling his foreign policy, you can speak at the ballot box in three and a half years."
Epshteyn app ears to be the sixth Trump associate whose activities are being examined in the rapidly widening Congressional investigation.
Gen. Michael Flynn, who served briefly as Trump's National Security Adviser, is the only person of interest to receive a subpoena for records. Flynn has declined to provide them, citing his Fifth Amendment rights.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, informal advisor Roger Stone, and former foreign policy adviser Carter Page have also been asked by lawmakers to voluntarily hand over relevant records. All three have said that they are cooperating with the investigation.
ABC News reported on Tuesday that Michael Cohen, Trump's personal attorney, has also been asked "to provide information and testimony" about his contacts with Russian officials. Cohen told ABC News he "declined to participate" because "the request was poorly phrased, overly broad and not capable of being answered," but denied that he has any links t o Russia.
Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, could also be asked to testify. In an interview with ABC News' Martha Raddatz, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, has called for a review of Kushner's security clearance following reports that he sought to establish a "backchannel" with Russian officials.
ABC News' Katherine Faulders, David Caplan, Nicki Rossoll and Erin Galloway contributed to this report.
Even though a rechargeable battery also uses chemicals it does so in a different way. The chemistry is used primarily to move electrons from one place in the battery to another. The chemicals do eventually wear out, but at a far slower rate than a standard electrochemical battery. When a rechargeable battery is put to use electron flow moves from one part of the battery to another. When the battery is recharged that electron flow is reversed. Common rechargeable batteries include;
Lead-Acid batteries (common car battery)
Nickle Cadmium (NiCad)
Nickle Metal Hydride (NiMH)
Lithium Ion (Li-ion)
Lead-Acid Battery: The first rechargeable battery was invented by Frenchman Gaston Plante in 1859. This is the lead-acid battery so commonly found in gasoline or diesel engined cars. The battery consists of alternating plates of lead and lead dioxide. Between these plates is a solution of sulfuric acid. As the battery is used (dischar ged) the lead on the lead-plate combines with the sulfur to create lead sulfate. This process also frees up an electron. Then the lead dioxide, some hydrogen ions, sulfate ions, plus electrons from the lead plate, work together to create lead-sulfate and water on the lead dioxide plate.This reaction is completely reversible by applying more voltage to the battery than it produces. The excess voltage (about 13.4 volts) breaks up the lead-sulfate, combines the sulfate with water (producing sulfuric acid) and rebinds the previously free electrons back to the lead plate.
These lead-acid batteries last a considerable amount of time, have no "memory", and though heavy are quite reliable. They are also quite cheap (despite what you pay for them) to produce.
Nickel Cadmium Battery: These batteries are similar to the lead-acid type except that electrodes are nickel-hydroxide (instead of lead-dioxide) and cadmium (instead of lead), with potassium-hydroxide (instead of sulfuric-a cid) as the electrolyte. NiCad batteries suffer from a "memory effect" in that if the battery is discharged to a certain level then fully recharged after x number of recharges the battery will stop discharging once it reaches that point again. e.g. if the battery is routinely discharged to 50% of capacity it will stop producing current when it reaches that capacity again after a recharge. On the upside NiCad batteries lose little energy to the air, do well in the cold, and can take a trickle charge.
Nickel Metal Hydride:This battery is similar to the Nick el Cadmium except that it uses a hydrogen absorbing alloy of metals (this alloy is a metal hydride; good at storing hydrogen) instead of cadmium at the negative electrode. NiMH batteries have two to three times the storage capacity of NiCad batteries. They have a long shelf-life, wide operating temperature range, and like NiCad do not "leak" a great deal of energy to the air. A.K.A. self-discharge.
Lithium-Ion: The lithium ion battery has the three same basic internal structures; a cathode, anode, and electrolyte. In the case of the Li-ion battery the cathode is either lithium cobalt oxide, lithium iron phosphate, or lithium manganese oxide. The anode is typically graphite or a lithium graphite alloy. When Li-ion cells are discharging, the lithium is extracted from the anode and inserted onto the cathode. When the Li-ion cell is charging the lithium-ions reverse flow; depositing ions onto anode from the cathode. The electrolyte is typically a lithium salt.
Lithium-ion Electrician Service College Station batteries, unlike NiCads, do not suffer from a "memory" effect, do not self-discharge readily (only about 5% per month), and can be charged and discharged hundreds of times.
Energy Density: Energy density is the amount of energy http://www.dictionary.com/browse/electrician storage per kiogram of weight. By this measure the following battery types store; (source for table below allaboutbatteries.com)
SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - Landscape artist and environmental activist Jamie Durie is on a mission to make gardening sexy -- and to save the planet one backyard at a time.
"Gardening is no longer a granny sport," the Australian gardening celebrity told Reuters during a recent visit to Singapore, where he is landscaping a luxury housing compound.
"Gardens are now a reflection of your personality as much as the rug on your floor or the jewellery around your neck. They are a connection to nature, a sanctuary."
A self-confessed frustrated architect who "paints with plants", Durie is a bit of a pin-up boy for gardening.
A qualified horticulturalist, he is the founder of the award-winning PATIO Landscape Architecture Design (www.patio.com.au) and author of five books on landscaping. He was host to popular Australian TV garden makeover show "Backyard Blitz" and currently hosts long-running American gardening and outdoor show, "The Victory Garden", for U.S. network PBS.
Durie also trained with former U.S. vice president and environmentalist Al Gore to become an environmental ambassador.
Q: How can landscaping help the environment?
A: Any plants that you can get into the soil will help absorb carbon dioxide emissions, and yes, it is possible to have urban developments and sustain the environment -- that's where landscaping comes in.
Also, if you take care of your own garden, it encourages others to do the same and then we'll be saving the environment one small backyard at a time. That's why I try and make gardens sexy, an evocative space that provides a destination, not just something that you see from behind your kitchen window.
Q: So, is gardening fashionable now?
A: Certainly! People are becoming more creative and they recognize that gardens are as much a part of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjreVlm Ebis their decor as their living room. There's also a trend towards going back to nature, towards organic produce because of all the chemicals and hormones and gene splitting... that is more dangerous than actual warfare. Growing organic produce has never been more popular and it will continue to grow. We're in the middle of an organic revolution.
Q: What inspires your designs?
A: Everything. I travel extensively, so I often gain inspiration from the natural landscapes I see. You have to be receptive to your https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ae451 surroundings and keep your eyes open. One of my designs was based on a crack in the pavement. The bigger my library of concepts, the more I've got to give.
Q: Creating a beautiful garden can be very expensive and also requires space -- luxuries many people don't have.
A: That is true, but I want the homeowners of today to fast-track to what the older generation have achi eved after years of working: the nice house with the big garden. See what gardens can do for you! They give you peace and tranquility. My advice would be to look at the value of your property and use that as a benchmark to decide how much to spend on your garden. If you're spending less than 5 percent, that's skimping, you can do better. And if you don't want to do it for you, do it for your kids. Do it for the environment. It's your responsibility.
Q: Do you have any tips for city-dwellers who would love to have a garden but who don't have the time or the space?
A: Go to your local nursery and start taking photos of plants you find attractive. Go to the botanical garden on the weekend and see how plants are arranged. Fall in love with the plants and then take them home. By growing a plant, you're empowering yourself, giving yourself https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjreVlmEbis confidence, demystifying nature.
Everyone can have a little patch of paradise, there's no excuse not to.
