I landed at the Ft. Lauderdale airport yesterday and there was a sign that said that to decrease water use, the airport has changed its thermostat from 74 to 78. Call me hopelessly brown, but it seems to me that they can attract more money to pay for more water via tourism if their airport is comfortable rather than politically correct. Water can be recycled, pulled out of the ocean and the air. The economic value of the savings is summarized by the market price for more water which is still measured in hundreds of dollars per acre foot. An acre foot is enough water to cover an acre one foot deep, or 325,851, gallons putting the price of water in gallons per cent. Skimping on use is pain for no gain. Or is masochism the main point of being Green?

The point of being Green is subservience to elites.

Being Green means everyone being equal -- just that some are more equal than others.

OTOH, being a good environmental steward requires rational analysis, acceptance of tradeoffs, critique of previous decisions, and a readiness to change with changing facts.

Any Greens want to joust?

Unless the facility is being penalized with a takings tax.

Still, this is likely a feel good measure.

The shame about water usage is we are required by law to treat all water to USEPA drinking water standards even the water that goes on the lawn. That is the real waste, the cost of treatment.

It is a shame the we are limited to a singular distribution system defined by the potable requirement even when non-potable uses account for the overwhelming majority of consumption.

Of couse part of the takings issue we don't want to artifically push streams into what is called a 7Q10 situation during a drought. It is to protect the donor waterbody as much as anything.

If cheap desalinization were perfected, that would solve many issues.

Isn't nanotube-based desalinization already in the works? At the current rate of price drop, that should be economical in a few years...

Or is masochism the main point of being Green?

Is a four degree temperature diff that noticeable?

Is a four degree temperature diff that noticeable?

Depends how close the temperatures are to the dewpoint. And in Florida...

"It is a shame the we are limited to a singular distribution system defined by the potable requirement even when non-potable uses account for the overwhelming majority of consumption."

Private well water is good for lawn irrigation.

I'm confused. How does raising the AC temperature help reduce water usage? Energy, sure, but water use?

Is a four degree temperature diff that noticeable?

Yes. Especially since it's really an 8 degree difference from the norm.

I'm confused. How does raising the AC temperature help reduce water usage? Energy, sure, but water use?

If it were in the west, I'd say they were using swamp coolers. But maybe they are using something similar where the part that radiates heat into the environment being well above the dew point even for Florida and hence can be cooled by evaporating water.

In Florida, at least, you have to keep the inside temperature at 74 degrees or below to retard mold growth.

Most large commercial/industrial Air Conditioning units
use water flow to boost cooling. The Condenser unit
sits outside, as a high temperature radiator,
if you blow air over it, you are limited in the rate at
which it can dump heat to the environment.
If you flow water, particularly in a series of louvers so it evaporates
the latent heat of vaporization gives a tremendous cooling
advantage.

It makes the units smaller, quieter, and more effective.

Now if the Ft Lauderdale airport wanted to be more
conscientious, perhaps they could design A/C towers
that ran on sea water.

"Or is masochism the main point of being Green?"

Actually, I think there are 2 main points: (1) sadism on the part of the Greenies (notice how the real sacrifices are supposed to be made by the proles, not the "elite" Greenies; and (2) it's another mechanism to make the Greenies feel good about themselves.

Pfui.

Is a 4 degree difference that noticeable?

I noticed as soon as I walked off the plane and was sensitive to the hard to read sign explaining it. I strongly recommend no one who likes 74 go to Fort Lauderdale airport any more. The object is to make things pleasant for tourists--not barely non-uncomfortable.

Another possibility here is that the "conserving water" claim is being used as an excuse for malfunctioning or underpowered equipment. This would work similarly to the way failure in national security can reinforce those who caused the failure. Ie, the airport is at 78 degrees F. The airport can state that it's that warm because the air conditioning doesn't work well and the air port isn't going to fix it any time soon, or it can claim that the temperature is that high because some great environmental good is being served.