 down such barriers that we can effectively learn to gradually shed our ego.
In conclusion, we can say that through academic institutions and Buddhist centers, the monastics and lay followers who study and practice early Buddhist teachings all play a role in the propagation of Theravada Buddhism in Hong Kong. The Buddha said, “Drop by drop is the water pot filled,”***** and in the same way, small efforts by Buddhists will facilitate the spread of Theravada Buddhism in Hong Kong.
Thera, Narada. 1993. The Dhammapada: Pāli Text And Translation With Stories in Brief & notes. 4th ed. Taipei: The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation.
Episodes
Water Conservation

Clean Water
Building Green health expert Alyssa Alvord explains why clean water is so essential to our health: We are lucky to have the water treatment that currently exists in this country; however, we still need to protect ourselves from the chemicals that do end up in the water supply.
We live on a planet that is 75% water, yet only 1% is drinkable. And that 1% is being increasingly compromised by chemical pollutants. Through water filtration, we can protect ourselves from the thousands of particulate, organic, inorganic, and microbial contaminants, many of them carcinogenic, which threaten human health.
Filtering your own local water is much greener than buying bottle water. A recent study determined that the importation of a one-liter bottle of drinking water from a well-known South Pacific island requires more than 14 pounds of water per bottle for manufacturing, transportation to the source and then on to the U.S. It also creates more than half a pound of greenhouse gases. None of these numbers account for the transportation and disposal of the empty bottles. Not to mention the fact that plastic bottles have been found to leach chemicals, especially when heated or frozen.
It's best to purify what comes to our homes from local systems. To find out more about that process, Kevin talks to water expert Dana Harrison.
Dana explains that it is crucial to get both the lead and chlorine out of the water that comes into our homes. And not just drinking water; during a ten minute shower, our skin absorbs approximately 8 cups of water and all the contaminants in that water.
Dana explains that a whole-house water conditioning system will remove all the contaminants of any water that enters your home.
Saving Green
Buying bottled water is much more expensive than filtering and drinking your own water. It can cost between $1 and $4 dollars per gallon. That adds up to about $400 dollars a year, per user, while the cost of a water filtration system and replacement filters will be between $100 and $200 dollars a year for most users.
It's the only way to go.
Easy Steps
Filter and bottle your own water.
As Sloan Barnett from Shaklee, a world-wide natural nutritional company, explains, it is easy (and green) to purchase your own water filtration device and carry a refillable, reusable glass or metal water bottle, rather than buying plastic water bottles.
Gray Water
Kevin explains to his father how the water from his vanities and showers will be piped directly to the garden for watering plants.
T
he water coming from the house will only contain a bit of soap, and because Kevin will use natural, biodegradable soaps, it can go right into the yard, ensuring that he will never need to use any extra water for garden.
Gray water is defined as nonindustrial waste water generated from domestic processes such as laundry and bathing. It's distinct from black water in the amount and composition of its chemical and biological contaminants like feces or toxic chemicals. Gray water gets its name from its cloudy appearance and from its status as being neither fresh nor heavily polluted.
Gordon Hopkins, Kevin's gray water expert, explains how the gravity-fed system will run into the yard without any pumps or tubs where the water might stagnate.
Kevin then explains that any pipes running through the straw bale walls must be covered in a sleeve, so that condensation does not collect in the bales.
Heating Water
Kevin explains how and why he has chosen to heat his home with radiant in-floor heating. For more information on radiant in-floor heating, please read our guide to Episode Two: Foundation.
While the radiant heating system will cost more than a forced air system would, Kevin will save lots on his heating bills.
Easy Steps
Stop those drips! A leaky faucet and/or toilet bowl can waste thousands of gallons of water a year, and fixing them is simple.
Next Week on Building Green: Landscaping
Reusing Swimming Pool Water
Hello Mr Contreras, I see the swimming pool water on your website and on your program, but do not see how one could reuse their swimming pool water on your irrigation.
For those that live in arid regions of our nation, swimming pools need draining every 1-4 years due to an increase of Total Dissolved Solids. Our swimming pool company, located in Lake Havasu, Arizona, established over 15 years has not drained a swimming pool in over 11 years. We control the TDS build up with Aquazerves and reuse the water on irrigation. It works beautifully, saves the small town of Lake Havasu over 15 million gallons a year and makes our customers proud. Proud of conserving water and proud of how wonderful their pools look. We offer an invitation for you to Lake Havasu so you can see for yourself how a small simple device can save BILLIONS of gallons of water each year.
You can check out our website, listed above for more information about the Aquazerve.
Thanks for your time,
Jeanne
Water treatment system
Hi,
I can't find any mention of the water system/company used for the whole house treatment.
Would you mind letting me know what was used?
Thanks,
DominiquePLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that pursuant to Article 2 of the Eminent Domain Procedure Law of the State of New York, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Dering Harbor shall hold a public hearing as a Special Meeting on Monday, April 26, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. prevailing time, at the Dering Harbor Village Hall, Locust Point Road, Dering Harbor, New York, to hear any and all persons either for or against the acquisition by eminent domain of the fee simple or such lesser interests in the property of 9A YOKO ROAD LLC; situate at 9A Yoco Road, in the Village of Dering Harbor, Town of Shelter Island, County of Suffolk, State of New York and designated as SCTM# 0701-001.00-03.00-008.000, more particularly described in a deed dated February 24, 2017 and recorded in the office of the Suffolk County Clerk on April 12, 2017 in Liber 12908, page 220. The acquisition of the referenced property is intended for the furtherance of public water supply facilities and related municipal purposes.
NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN THAT THE PROPERTY OWNER WHO MAY SUBSEQUENTLY WISH TO CHALLENGE THE CONDEMNATION OF ITS PROPERTY VIA JUDICIAL REVIEW MAY ONLY DO SO ON THE BASIS OF THE ISSUES, FACTS AND OBJECTIONS RAISED AT SUCH PUBLIC HEARING.
In the event Governor Cuomo’s Executive Orders suspending portions of the Open Meetings Law due to COVID-19 restrictions are extended, the meeting of the Board of Trustees and aforementioned public hearing shall be held by video conference/ZOOM. The Village Clerk can be contacted to obtain information on accessing the meeting.President-elect Joe Biden’s recent nomination of Tom Vilsack to serve as the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is causing widespread outrage among food justice activists and Black farmers. They cite his controversial tenure as USDA chief during the Obama administration and subsequent activities as clearly disqualifying him for this cabinet position.
As USDA head under Obama, Vilsack claimed to improve USDA’s history of neglect and racist treatment of Black farmers. He claimed to secure settlement funds for Pigford, a 1999 class action lawsuit filed by Black farmers against the USDA for discrimination. To back up this claim, Vilsack cited the 2012 Census of Agriculture showing an increase in the number of Black farmers.
But the data from this report was later found to be either misleading or false. In reality, the National Black Farmers Association found that discriminatory practices persisted during Vilsack’s tenure as Agriculture Secretary. Black farmers continued to experience great difficulty receiving loans, and the share of money loaned to non-white farmers as a percentage of the total declined.
In 2010, Vilsack fired Shirley Sherrod, a long-time Black civil rights activist, from her then position as the Georgia State Director for Rural Development for USDA. This firing was in response to a virulent and racist attack from Andrew Breitbart, founder of the notorious far-right Breitbart News, who edited then published portions of Sherrod’s speech at an NAACP event.
Subsequent release of Sherrod’s full speech showed the extent to which Sherrod’s words were manipulated by Breitbart, which prompted apologies from White House officials. Vilsack is rightfully still the subject of widespread contempt among Black farmers for his role in this incident.
After his Obama administration appointment, Vilsack landed a job leading the U.S. Dairy Export Council, a lobbying group representing corporations in the dairy industry. This was no surprise as Vilsack maintained close ties with agribusiness as USDA chief where he frequently implemented pro-corporate policies which deregulated poultry factories, accelerated the approval process