Seth Wheeler had Squares to Spare : History of Toilet Paper

Ever heard of Seth Wheeler?

He is the man we probably should thank everyday. He first conceived of the present day perforated toilet paper roll and dispensor. His first patent forerunner for this idea was in 1871.

In 1883 Seth was granted a patent that most resembles our present day roll of perforated toilet paper supported in the center with a tube. His company, Albany Perforated Wrapping Paper, manufactured this paper.
Seth also had patents for mounted brackets that held the rolls.

Fast forward to today where twenty-six billion rolls of toilet paper, worth about $2.4 billion, are sold yearly in America. Americans use an average of 23.6 rolls per capita a year. 

Not a bad legacy.

Victory Garden War Posters : Is it Time Yet?

Could you imagine 20 million Americans right now deciding to plant a garden?

During World War II, 20 million Americans did just that and planted so called "Victory Gardens." By some estimates about 40 percent of all vegetables produced in the U.S. came from Victory Gardens. The Department of Agriculture estimated over one million tons of vegetables were produced during World War II.

Here are some slightly encouraging posters from both World War I and II.

Today Michelle Obama will host a groundbreaking for a 1,000 square foot White House garden on the South Lawn that will include 55 kinds of vegetables. Eating local and freshly grown food is good on so many levels.

Is it time for a new era of "Victory Gardens"?

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Deconstructing Dredging Equipment For the Coal Ash Spill

Last Tuesday Tennessee approved the start of river dredging for the cleanup of the coal ash spill at TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant about 40 miles west of Knoxville.  TVA wants to remove the ash from the Emory River while not disturbing the native or original sediments and restore the Emory River navigation channel flow to an elevation of 710 feet. 

How are they going to do this? Three Ellicott 370HP dredging machines will provide the backbone. 

Think of these as big floating vacuum cleaners with a huge rotating bristles. Each dredge has a capacity to pump up to 5,000 gallons per minute water with up to 20 % solids a distance of 6,000 feet. Basically, one dredging machine can move 3,000 cubic yards of material during 24 hours of operation. 

The 'bristles" are a 32" diameter cutter head which will allow dredging to a specific depth. A GPS on board will allow the dredge to be placed with precision. Bathymetric surveys will be utilized on a monthly basis to verify progress of the ash removal. 

These dredges are still small enough to be hauled easily to different locations.

Check out this 3D Animation of this dredge in action.

Related Posts:
Aerial Footage of Spill
Cenopheres
How Do You Cleanup a Fly Ash Spill

Facebook for Trees : Encouraging Green Infrastructure in Georgia

Do you and your family celebrate Arbor Day? My family doesn't. In fact, we usually cut down a random tree on this day. OK. I am just joking.  

Seriously, I just googled when Arbor day is celebrated and learned that Arbor Day is actually celebrated  on different days depending on what state you live in. South Carolina is in December, while Georgia is celebrated in February. Go figure. 

The playing field to empower, encourage, and educate the public about the importance of trees is ripe for innovation. I think the Georgia Urban Forest Council and Georgia Forestry Commission have just stepped up to the plate with their new social networking website: The Grove.

54 acres of forested land each day in the Atlanta area alone are lost due to land development. Their hope is to reach a broad audience of people who could then get informed and excited about Georgia's green legacy and spread the word. They may be on to something. No other state's forestry agency has a social networking program designed to encourage residents to plant trees.

Georgia residents are encouraged to plant a tree with family and friends, upload their photos of planted trees and post their stories to share the experience with other Grove members. An interactive Tree Match Tool provides guidance on choosing the right tree to commemorate a special event, as well as information on tree planting, tree care tips and the benefits of maintaining a healthy urban forest.

They have future plans to create bulletin boards, wikis and social networking applications for other sites such as Facebook to increase their visibility. Check out the site.

Also learn more about the social skills of social media from Eric's recent presentation posted at Water Words that Work and learn what are the Five Toughest Questions About Social Media. Good stuff.

Warning Graphic Images of Drought in Snow

The skies have opened up for the last two days. So much so, that I literally got on my boots to check how much flow was coming out of my retaining wall's weep holes in my backyard, how much flow was being bypassed from my rain barrel, and how much flow was in the ditch in our front yard. Water still amazes me.

As a bonus, we even had close to 3 inches of snow last night. Now, Clemson is a one snow a year town. So, needless to say, all schools in the area are cancelled today. So, it looks like I will be on a micro vacation.  Time to fashion some sort of sled from assorted materials in the garage.

Even with all this rain and snow, I still wonder whether we will ever come out of this drought. Here is why:

The little red spot over Clemson shrinks and expands but never goes away. We have been in a drought 8 of the last 10 years.
No improvement really on the horizon.

We have a 5% chance of getting enough precipitation to end the drought in six months. I am not sure if I like those odds.
We would need close to 20 inches of rain in the next two months to put a nail in this drought's coffin. I am not buying any nails soon.


Finally, here is the last four year's worth of water elevation data for Lake Hartwell. Notice any patterns?