Every Day is Earth Day for Plumbing and Mechanical Professionals

April 22, 2010, marks the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day. From its inception, tens of millions of people have participated at the national and grassroots level, and support for this important event grows exponentially each year. With global warming and sustainability in general becoming more and more critical to the health of the planet and our future, plumbing and mechanical professionals have devoted themselves to improving the efficiency of natural resources used by the products they recommend and install.

The construction industry overall has been well ahead of the “green” movement for decades and approaches every day as Earth Day. But, plumbing and mechanical professionals are particularly focused on solutions that conserve ever more of two of our greatest resources: water and energy.

Water conservation measures go well beyond fixing leaky faucets and installing low flow toilets (although these two solutions alone save millions of gallons of water each year). Organizations such as the International Code Council® develop building codes that are a tremendous resource for a variety of sustainable solutions. Their latest publication, the Public Version 1.0 of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC), covers virtually every major category of sustainable design for the construction industry. Because many sustainable applications focus on water and energy conservation, a huge portion of these solutions are plumbing and mechanical based.

For example, systems for collecting and using rainwater, graywater and other non-potable water systems are outlined. An extensive list of water-saving fixtures and appliances that serve commercial and residential users is also provided. In addition, these codes include water-saving measures for landscape irrigation, commercial car washing systems, and pools, spas and fountains.

Renewable energy systems such as wind turbines, biogas, solar thermal and photovoltaic cells, as well as alternative energy technologies like geothermal heating, and energy recovery are just a few examples of dramatic energy-saving solutions being developed by code and mechanical professionals.

Water purity is another vital aspect of environmental protection that is the focus of many plumbing professionals. One startling example is that over 40% of the world’s population do not have access to proper sanitation and safe drinking water is unavailable to 1.1 billion people. This crisis is so critical on a global level that safe water and basic sanitation have surpassed global warming as the highest priority for many global councils.

These issues claim the lives of millions of people each year. To work towards eradicating the global sanitation crisis which will, in turn, lead to purer water overall, the Code Council is providing its expertise and assistance by partnering with the World Toilet Organization and other international organizations.

Conserving water and all other precious resources is critical to ensuring Earth Days can continue for centuries. Plumbing and mechanical professionals and the entire construction industry are doing more than their part to preserve natural resources for the long term.

Contact the Code Council’s Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas (PMG) Group Resource Center regarding PMG codes and related products and services at 1-888-ICC-SAFE, x4PMG or pmgresourcecenter@iccsafe.org. For more information on the International Green Construction Code, including a free download of the public version, visit www.iccsafe.org/igcc.

The International Code Council (ICC) publishes building safety, energy efficiency and fire prevention codes that are used in the construction of residential and commercial buildings. Most U.S. cities, counties and states choose the I-Codes based on their outstanding quality. The ICC’s Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas (PMG) Group is devoted exclusively to providing PMG products and support to jurisdictions and construction industry professionals across the country and around the globe, with one or more PMG code adopted in 49 states. The over 200 superior products and related services were developed specifically by and for plumbing and mechanical professionals. Contact the PMG Group for additional information at 1-888-ICC-SAFE, x4PMG or visit www.iccsafe.org.