March 2010 Archives

A campaign was launched this week against the construction of Nestle Water North America's first Pacific Northwest bottling plant. The plant, which is proposed to be built in Cascade Locks, Oregon, 45 miles outside Portland in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge, would source the water from a nearby spring that also feeds a fish hatchery.

The opposing coalition includes The Sierra Club, Food and Water Watch, Columbia Riverkeeper and local residents. They argue, rightly, that it is silly to have a water bottling plant in an area with an abundant and very clean public water supply.

A natural resource manager for Nestle working on the project argues, "If bottled water wasn't present [in stores], people wouldn't just be turning to tap water, they'd be turning to sodas and sugary beverages." Which, in our opinion is also true.

This is a great reminder for us that we not only need to slow the growth of bottled water, but provide more viable solutions for people to conveniently get access to clean tap water wherever they may be.

The coalition against the plant has gathered 3,700 signatures. The plant will not be built without a fight.

The Floating Sensor Network, a project at UC Berkeley is developing tiny robots that float (or swim) in rivers or any fresh water to monitor changing conditions in real time.

Although this sounds like a strange, science-fiction like concept, these devices have the potential to give all kinds of new information to water managers. Having a way to monitor water while it flows from its source is very difficult. This provides that information literally while it happens.

They become especially useful in catastrophic events such as a major flood. The robots can tell which direction water flows are going and can immediately tell if this water becomes contaminated. So, before water enters pipes for drinking or other uses, someone will already know the condition of the water and whether it is safe.

See a test of the robots in the video below. Although they are huge right now, the development team plans to eventually make them the size of golf balls. I can tell you, I would be a little freaked out to run into one of these while canoeing.

For an overview of the project, visit the the project website.


 

Clinton Spoke at an event on Monday in Washington, co-sponsored by Water Advocates for World Water Week, where she outlined the impending world water crisis. It is an often overlooked subject, especially in foreign policy, despite the fact that water will become an increasingly important international issue in the years to come. It was great to see the administration giving attention to the issue on a global scale.

 "Floods and droughts now touch more people than all other natural disasters combined. And inadequate access to water supply, sanitation and hygiene cause the deaths of more than 1.5 million children each year, She said. "Water challenges are most obvious in developing nations, but they affect every country on earth. And they transcend political boundaries. As water becomes increasingly scarce, it may become a potential catalyst for conflict among countries."

Clinton pledged US support for dealing with the water challenges the world faces. She outlined five 'streams of action' the US would take. The first, is to help build water capacity at the local, national, and regional levels in countries around the world. Second, is to elevate and coordinate diplomatic efforts with these countries. The third is to mobilizing financial support for water issues. Fourth, is to harness the power of science and technology to solve. And Fifth, to increase partnerships with non-profits and the private sector.

(Watch highlights from the talk below)

The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) has issued a press release and video to rebuke the claims made in Annie Leonard's new video 'The Story of Bottled Water', released on World Water Day earlier this week.

The IBWA is making several claims, none too impressive, to defend the bottled water industry. The most outlandish claim made was that the bottled water industry is helping consumers to be healthy, while tap water activists are discouraging the public from drinking water by scaring them.  Bottled water is sold, no matter who's figures you use, at hundreds, if not thousands of times the price of tap water. I am not sure how extremely expensive water could possibly encourage people to drink it.

The IBWA also corrected Annie Leonard's Claim that plastic bottled have a 20% recycling rate with the real facts. Bottled water actually has a whopping 30.9% recycling rate. Additionally, they claim a third party analyst evaluated the bottled water life cycle this year and confirmed that "bottled water products have a very small environmental footprint" (with no additional details provided). For some reason none of this comes off as very compelling evidence for the case of bottled water.

 The funniest part of their response is the "rival" Youtube video, complete with a fake journalist from "BWM Reports" posing questions to industry spokespeople about their environmental responsibility. Really? Are people supposed to be impressed by the "tough questions"? The video is below:
 

If there is one thing we can take from World Water Day, it is that we should be thankful that many of us here in the US have access, in one way or another, to safe and clean drinking water.

To really appreciate how lucky we are to not worry about where we are going to get water everyday, it should be our duty to conserve what we already have. Although there are many things that businesses and the government needs to do to improve water efficiency and conservation, all of us, the users of all this water, can make a huge difference right in our own homes.

Wateruseitwisely.com is a great resource on water conservation. Their list of 100 ways to conserve water at home is fantastic. The only problem is that these 100 tips can be a little overwhelming. So, as your trusty water blogger, I have narrowed the list down to 10 very easy and meaningful ways that you can conserve more water today. Specifically, these tips do not require buying a new device or spending any money. They are all simple things you can do right now!

1) When washing dishes by hand, don't let the water run while rinsing. Fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water.

2) Run your clothes washer and dishwasher only when they are full. This can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.

3) Shorten your shower by just a minute or two and you could save up to 150 gallons per month.

4)  Turn off the water while you wash your hair to save up to another 150 gallons a month.

5) Designate one glass for your drinking water each day or refill a water bottle. This will cut down on the number of glasses to wash.

6) Turn off the water while brushing your teeth and save 25 gallons a month.

7) Water plants only when necessary. More plants die from over-watering than from under-watering.

8) Report broken pipes, open hydrants and errant sprinklers to the property owner or your water provider.

9) Set a timer when watering your lawn or garden to remind you when to stop. A running hose can discharge up to 10 gallons a minute.

10)  Share water conservation tips with friends and neighbors.

The complete list can be found here.

Annie Leonard, well known as the creator of the short film and consumer critique 'The Story of Stuff', has released a new film on one of our greatest consumer excesses: Bottled Water.

The new short film called The Story of Bottled Water, runs just 7 minutes and is a great rundown of the politics and problems of the bottled water industry. If you need a quick refresher on the idea of manufactured demand and basically why bottled water is evil, this is the one to watch. Make sure to pass it around to your unconvinced friends and get them on board (see film below).