Articles populaires – Environmental innovation in France

24 septembre 2008

Composting sites

Yes, they have garbage here. They recycle paper, PET plastic, aluminun and other metal, and glass. They also encourage backyard composting. This is a windrow composting facility that is very similar to those we use in Toronto for yard waste. The windrow...

Posté par Graham Rempe à 20:00 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

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8 septembre 2008

Trams and bikes (but no cars) in Montpellier

The City of Montpellier is served by a network of comfortable low-floor trams. The trams operate on a prepaid computer card system. Cards are purchased at machines at each stop, and are read on the tram by scanners operated on the honour system. The trams...

Posté par Graham Rempe à 11:48 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

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21 septembre 2008

Getting into hot water in Meze

Meze, where we are living, is in the south of France. It is therefore quite feasible to utilize solar heat. The roof of our "vigneron", seen here, has, in addition to a number of skylights, a large solar panel for heating water. It has supplied all the...

Posté par Graham Rempe à 22:01 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

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6 octobre 2008

Invasion of the plant species

One of the problems with a great climate is that you never know what will grow there. Unfortunately, through global commerce, and just plain carelessness, "alien" species have been introduced, that proliferate wildly, to the detriment of the environment....

Posté par Graham Rempe à 10:33 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

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8 septembre 2008

Ecosite sewage farm, Meze

Sewage from Meze (where we are staying) and the surrounding area is treated in a series of lagoons before it is released into the Etang de Thau on the Mediterranean. The lagoons employ phytoplankton which consume the nutrients, then zooplankton, which...

Posté par Graham Rempe à 11:01 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

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23 septembre 2008

Wind power

There is a strong wind that blows from the Cevannes in the north down over the plains and on to the Mediterranean. It makes wind power a very viable option. In this case, a grape grower has a small turbine for use at his farmhouse. Wind power is harvested...

Posté par Graham Rempe à 16:59 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

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21 septembre 2008

A light for the times

Timed lights are commonly used in France, particularly in common areas. I, having three forgetful boys, would love to have more of them, in every common space in our house. As it is, we have a timer (which can be adjusted) on the switch that controls...

Posté par Graham Rempe à 22:06 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

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11 septembre 2008

Bring your own shopping bags, please

The shopping centres are vast, here in the land of the Carrefour chain. But you have to bring your own shopping bags, or pay for reusable ones at the checkout. We thought of this in advance, and so brought a number of good old Ontario "RCO" bags that...

Posté par Graham Rempe à 09:50 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

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29 septembre 2008

More wind about wind

I went for a bike ride today from Meze east along the N113 to Bouzigues. As I was leaving Meze, I ran into a convoy of super-jumbo trucks bearing the blades for wind turbines. They were coming off of the autoroute at the Sete exit, and travelling west...

Posté par Graham Rempe à 23:05 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

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27 septembre 2008

Recycling in Meze

Here in Meze we have a two bin system. The brown bin is for garbage, which is collected twice a week. The blue bin is for recyclables, which are collected once a week. Recyclables include paper, cans and certain plastics, but not glass. Glass must be...

Posté par Graham Rempe à 23:26 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

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11 septembre 2008

More on Montpellier's trams and traffic control

This is the tramway in Montpellier, running alongside a busy roadway. The tram surface is grassed, and separated from the traffic by a low concrete barrier. Here is a tramway stop next to the Corum, the modern opera house constructed at the opposite end...

Posté par Graham Rempe à 09:43 - Commentaires […] - Permalien [#]

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