green is universal

Turning Cow Poop Into Flower Pots

Posted at 12:36 PM on March 17, 2008 comments (0)

By Ryan Hanrahan, NBC Hartford

Global warming, pollution, rising energy costs have all played a part in raising our environmental awareness. NBC30 was the first (and only) station in Connecticut to produce a weekly segment on environmental issues that affect you and your family. The goal is to not only raise awareness, but help our viewers become more environmentally friendly.

"Going Green" started back in March when we looked at a man in Bristol who made it his mission to clean up downtown, one piece of trash at a time. From there we've taken tours of the shoreline on Segways and shown you how to recycle your kid's.

We spoke with a travel agent in Enfield about how you can take a "green" vacation and how the Regional Water Authority in New Haven went green with a funky looking building.

Some of the most memorable stories haven't exactly been the most pleasant. The Freund dairy farm in Canaan has found a way to go green with cow poop by using solid manure to make flower pots. My photojournalist and I climbed up a ladder on that Canaan dairy farm into a room that housed the "manure separator". Surprisingly, the smell wasn't any worse up there than it was on the rest of the farm. That changed, however, when Matt Freund turned on the machine. The apparatus that separates liquid manure from solid manure gave off the most foul smell imaginable, in fact nauseating. I quickly jumped down to the ground for fresh air while my brave photographer held in there for a few moments to get good video.

The one story I've had the most questions about involved a building company from New Milford. Steve Schappert constructs low energy (or zero) energy homes using solar panels, clever design, and ground heat pumps. Since the state of Connecticut subsidizes 50 percent of the solar panel purchase it's actually possible to SAVE MONEY on your monthly mortgage payment thanks to the state pumping equity into your house. I know it's cliche, but it's a great way to save green by going green.

Going Green has been a huge success. Most of that success, however, falls on you, our viewers. You have sent in your Going Green story ideas, and you've told us how YOU are going green. As always we want your suggestions, you can post it here on this blog or you can email me us directly at goinggreen@nbc30.com. Doing your part, however small, to reduce your impact on the environment can go a long way in helping to curb the ongoing global warming crisis.

Thanks again for your help.

Ryan Hanrahan
NBC Hartford
http://nbc30.com/goinggreenblog/