LED Lighting Pauline Lee Early in December, the Nobel Committee will award three scientists the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics for their research in the 1990’s that has made possible the creation of modern white-light light emitting diode (LED) lamps. With 20 percent of the world’s electricity used for lighting, it’s been calculated that optimal…
Tag: Conservation Corner
Features, November 2014
Conservation Corner – November 2014
Pauline Lee Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) should remind you of a weed we commonly see in the cracks on streets and sidewalks. This plant grows easily in poor soil. Its stem is round and smooth and trails the ground like a small vine. Young plants’ green stems turn reddish upon maturity. Their small, egg-shaped to oblong…
Features, October 2014
Conservation Corner – October 2014
Record rainfall still leaves Arizona in drought condition Pauline Lee On September 8 Chandler and Sun Lakes received a record breaking rainfall of over five and one-half inches. Our streets, yards and golf courses were flooded. Our rainfall has given our plants a wonderful soaking to allow them to grow without any irrigation for at…
Generals, September 2014
Conservation Corner – September 2014
Pauline Lee According to some estimates, 30 percent of the water used indoors by an average household is due to toilet flushes. To reduce this waste, as a part of the National Energy Policy Act, a 1994 federal law required new toilet water tanks to use a maximum of 1.6 gallons per flush, an improvement…
Features, August 2014
Conservation Corner
Pauline Lee Monsoon season brings much-needed moisture to our Arizona deserts. Yet when rain falls on the roof or impervious paved ground, 80-95 percent of the water is lost as runoff flow, diverting a precious resource. Fortunately at Sun Lakes, our developers designed the roadside drainage so that our runoff feeds into our lakes where…
Features, June 2014
Conservation Corner – June 2014
According to a paper published in Science in November 2013, the dry regions of the world will become drier, whereas the wet areas will become wetter. This prediction is supported by Grace satellites that have measured declining groundwater reserves worldwide between 2003 and 2012 because of long term droughts. Arizona has been in a drought pattern…