2011/4.1, April 13 — Pond Liners, Rainwater Capturing, Book Notes and more

April 13, 2011

WATERSHAPES.COM

LESSONS LEARNED

Pond Liners and the Sun

‘When rubber liners are used in pond construction,’ writes Scott Cohen, ‘competent installers will first place an underlayment fabric to relieve concerns about soil off-gassing and protect the material from the wear and tear that can erupt with rocks, roots and other intrusions.’ But what about the effect of sunshine? [more]

VIDEO GALLERY

Capture Rainwater to Help the Planet

The Web site of St. Charles, Ill.-based Aquascape notes that ‘at least 36 states expect to face water shortages within the next five years. Capturing and reusing rainwater reduces the community’s demand on the municipal water supply, reduces the owner’s water bills and helps avoid strict water schedules.’ In this video, Aquascape documents the installation of a rainwater capture system at one Illinois home. [more]

YANKEE SLUGGER A-ROD
ORDERED TO CLEAN UP
APARTMENT COMPLEX POOL [more]

MY PERSPECTIVE

A Letter to the First Lady

Given the increase in sedentary lifestyles and obesity among America’s young people, WaterShapes editor Eric Herman applauds First Lady Michelle Obama’s much-publicized Let’s Move initiative. But he can’t help noticing that swimming seems to have been left out of the program. Eric has written a letter to the First Lady—and he hopes you’ll send it along as well. [more]

BOOK NOTES

On The Art of Construction

In his review of The Art of Construction: Projects and Principles for Beginning Engineers and Architects by Mario Salvadori, Mike Farley writes, “’[watershapers] may not be engineers, but we sure as heck need to know a thing or two about how structures work. This 150-page text provides some of the clearest explanations and illustrations of the way structures work that I’ve ever seen.’ [more]

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Can You Name that Tarzan?

Following his competitive swimming career, what Olympic gold-medal winner went on to appear in more than 100 Hollywood movies-including the Paramount Studios film ‘King of the Jungle’?

Here are some clues:

His real first name was Clarence.
He grew up in Hawaii.
He starred in ‘Aquacade’ at the New York World’s Fair.
He starred in the 1933 Tarzan movie ‘Tarzan the Fearless.’
He was the only actor to play Tarzan, Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers—the top three comic strip heroes of the 1930s.

Click here to see the correct answer.