permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>]

(From a comment I made on Facebook):

Many aquatic plants and organisms (fish, crustaceans,snails insects, 
microorganisms) could probably withstand and process/purify level 5
municipal sewage mixed with stormwater (household, commercial waste plus 
runoff water from streets, roadsides (highways), parking lots, etc.). At 
least they could initiate the purification process, reducing the 
effluent from level 5 to something lower. Then it could be processed by 
progressively more aggressive biological systems known as living 
machines and constructed wetlands. At some point this purified or 
semipurified water could be made suitable for use in a Green Cooling
System. I see this GCS as essentially a "section of natural forest with
complete integrated functional ecosystem" installed on a rooftop,
i.e. a glorified "swamp cooler" (uses dewatered air chilled in a
machine that circulates that air through chambers cooled by evaporating
water with high pressure spray). A green system could simply use water 
in radiators installed in a building's living space that cool instead of 
heat in summer and heat instead of cool in winter, obtaining heated
water from solar collectors year round, stored in summer in large 
insulated tanks awaiting use in winter. The Green Cooler would consist 
of an ecologically appropriate multi-layered simulated forest
complete with fountains, waterfalls and rock-embedded streams
allowing cooling and purification of the water as it is first
exposed to the sun, then the watercourses wherein temperature would be
additionally reduced through contact with stones embedded in the bottom 
and sides of the streams and along and in the waterfall then further 
temperature-moderated, biologically processed and detoxified as it flows 
over and through multi-storied plant ecosystems and biologically active 
soil to finally filter through a deep layered bed of stone,
gravel, sand and bioactive aerobic fine soil (siltation pond fines
aggregate, 100 mesh to 300 mesh) to finally be contained in a catchment
for filtering and pumping throughout pipes leading to radiators
in all the building's living spaces. Small, efficient, low pressure 
"whisper" fans powered by small individual solar photovoltaic collectors 
mounted in a room's windows connected to a small battery, could 
circulate air through the radiator to more completely and efficiently 
cool or heat a room's interior.
Talk about stacked functions! Same system provides heat in winter and
cooling in summer with the added benefit of becoming part of a city's
public park system providing citizens with a prime ecotourism site
and other functions: 4)an educational site for students on any 
educational level, especially those participating in curricula that 
includes architecture, green building (contractors), landscape 
architecture, planning and design/construction (three different 
professions), urban gardeners, permaculturists and ecology. ‎5th 
function, obvious, the GC's presence on the building's rooftop 
eliminates considerable square footage that would otherwise be a solar 
thermal collector needing temperature reduction or heat deflection, all 
costing money and energy. 6th function: add food producing and livestock 
forage gardens to the system. 7th function: a world class permaculture 
demonstration and teaching site, encouraging interest in the practice 
and study of permaculture.