November 2010 Archives

Fiji Water, the most fashionable and popular bottled water brand in the U.S. and the world, has been going through some major turmoil this week and nearly closed down its plants that draw and bottle water from an aquifer in Fiji.

 

Last week, the military government of Fiji ordered Ratu Epeli Ganilau to deport David Roth, Director of External Affairs at Fiji Water.  Ganilau then actually resigned from his position as Minister of Defense, National Security, and Immigration rather than go through with the order.  Instead, Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum gave the order and deported Roth for behaving "in a manner prejudicial to good governance and public order."

 

Following this major blow, the Fijian government imposed an "extraction tax" of 15 cents per liter of water taken from the aquifer--an astronomical increase from the one third of a cent per liter they were paying up until now.  This tax affects companies extracting over 3.5 million liters month in Fiji... which ends up being only Fiji Water.  In response, Fiji Water announced on Monday that it would be closing it plants in it's namesakes country.

 

This is the second time this tax has been proposed.  In 2008, the government tried to impose a 20 cent/liter tax and after Fiji Water temporarily closed its plants, the government backed down.  The company ships $150 million of water each year, which adds up to about 20% of Fiji's exports.  They also spend over a million dollars each year on local projects and employ hundreds of residents.

 

Fiji Water President John Cochran said just days ago that "[Fiji] is increasingly unstable, and is becoming a very risky place in which to invest."  However, in a statement issued this evening, the company declares that "Fiji Water will reopen its bottling plant, effective Wednesday morning, Dec. 1... Through our discussions, we have also agreed to comply with Fiji's new water tax law." They also added that their company "is committed to working with the Fijian government, and remains dedicated to helping the country's economy and its people."

Photo Credit Fiji Water

In 2009, two friends from the Netherlands recognizing a mismanaged surplus of water in their own country while other parts of the world were dying from thirst, decided to create a system that could redistribute this water to help those in need.

So, they started a worldwide online community of dedicated tap water drinkers and philanthropists called jointhepipe.org.

Over the past two years jointhepipe.org has become one of the largest social communities for water, and has just recently won a Dutch Design Award for its clever reusable water bottle design.

This award winning design consists of pipe shaped water bottles that if connected would create one large pipeline. The connected bottles also symbolize a connected community dedicated to helping others obtain clean drinking water.

This is not only a unique physical representation of the jointhepipe.org's community but one of their main sources of funding. Over 4,474 bottles have already been sold, which have funded the completion of over 27 water projects, giving water access to over 10,000 people in Africa, Asia, and other disadvantaged areas of the world.

These unique bottle designs are sure to turn heads, and are a great way to spark conversation and to help educate the public on water issues in your own community.

You can get your hands on your own piece of the pipeline by going to jointhepipe.org and joining the 1,992 member strong community in their fight to provide everyone with their right to clean water.

View the video below to learn more about jointhepipe.org:

One great way to be more sustainable is to  eliminate single-use plastic bags by replacing them with reusable ones.  Well, that may be the right answer to the problem, but you have to be careful of what types of reusable bag you use.

 

There are reports that several types of plastic reusable bags contain levels of lead that may cause issue when they are disposed of, seeping dangerous heavy metal into the groundwater.  They may also be harmful if paint from the bag begins to flake off and touch food.

 

Many New York City residents are frustrated by the news, feeling that using reusable bags should be reducing waste, not creating potential water pollution. Yet there is a solution to the lead problem: don't use plastic reusable bags. Instead, try canvas or other cloth bags. 

Bags such as those made by The Cloth Bag Company are made in the United States and can be made from either 100% cotton or EcoSpun®, a fiber made from recycled soda bottles. Bags can also be printed with a customized image such as a company logo using silkscreening or heat transferring, neither of which will leave you worrying about dangerous heavy metals.

Other companies such as One Bag At A Time also offer tons of great options for reusable, non-toxic bags, including bags made of the plant jute, which is completely biodegradable in your garden or compost pile once you've gotten years of use out of it.  They also offer canvas-like bags made of recyclable, non-toxic, and non-allergenic polypropylene. Bags can be made in dozens of colors, including custom designs. One Bag At A Time also makes a wide variety of specialty bags such as insulated, wine, and lunch bags. 

Also check out ReuseIt.com, who makes "reusables for every part of your life." They also give ideas for all types of reusable products, including gift wrap and produce bags.

 

New York Democrat Senator Charles E. Schumer has written the Food and Drug Administration to investigate the issue, but in the mean time, start thinking about the benefits of using toxic-free bags such as those made by The Cloth Bag Company or One Bag At A Time.

Photo Credit: One Bag At A Time

Ironically enough, the "City of Water" (as it is affectionately called) was not a big believer in the purity of its own public water sources. So in 2008, the city of Venice, Italy fronted a citywide campaign to promote its tap water in the hopes that they could wean their citizens off of bottled mineral water.  With each individual drinking more then 51 gallons of bottled water a year, Italians have become one of the largest consumers of bottled water in the world.  

This is no surprise in a country that bottles a shocking 12.5 billion liters of water a year, with all but 1 billion being used for domestic consumption.

Officials first started promoting the switch to tap water in order to help reduce Venice's carbon footprint as well as reduce its large amounts of plastic waste. Collecting the mountains of plastic bottles discarded after consumption became such a burden that trash collectors were forced to dedicate two trash days solely to collecting plastic.

Italy obtains most of its water from natural springs, notorious for their purity. However, marketing campaigns from several of Italy's 502 mineral water companies have created an unjust prejudice towards Italy's tap water. Nonetheless, the dedicated efforts of Venice officials have allowed for the tap water initiative's continued success. By the end of the campaigns first year the city reduced its plastic waste by 12 percent and raised the percentage of dedicated tap water consumers by 13 points. Currently the city is preparing a new promotion to provide thousands of reusable plastic containers to its "citizens on the go," and has just recently printed new posters displaying the face of the current mayor, Giorgio Orsoni, to help boost public awareness.

Our hats go off to the city of Venice for its continued endorsement of a more sustainable water resource and a healthier environment for its citizens.

Photo Credit: Bridge of Sighs, Eustaquio Santimano used under Creative Commons Copyright.

 

 

The vote this week to ban single-use plastic bags in Los Angeles County in grocery and convenience stores brings the United States one step closer in reducing their plastic waste. 

The ban is expected to receive final approval within the next month and will take effect by phasing out plastic bags from major retailers by July 1, 2011 and by January 1, 2012 for smaller stores.  This new law will also include a new ten cent fee per paper bag and ensure that any reusable bags will be safe to use and not include toxic amounts of heavy metals such as lead and cadmium.

 

While the new law will not include the city of Los Angeles, this still marks the largest ban on plastic bags in the country, affecting about one million people. Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas puts this accomplishment into perspective by stating, "Single use bags take a significant toll on our environment and infrastructure. The vast majority of plastic bags ultimately end up clogging our storm drains, threatening our local waters and wildlife, and become blight within our communities."

 

Congratulations to Los Angeles County!  However, there is so much more work to be done. California alone uses 19 billion plastic bags, over 95% of which end up in landfills or the oceans.  But we can change this simply by bringing our reusable bags to the store and encouraging others to do the same. As Ridley-Thomas said, "Don't you dare give up; we've done too much work [trying to ban plastic bags] to turn around now."

View the video of the Los Angeles County rally to ban plastic bags below:

Photo Credit: Sticker Made from Plants Not Plastic Ban The Bag 1, Plan It Green Printing from Flickr used under Creative Commons Copyright.

Contaminated water and lack of water account for over 3 million deaths per year worldwide. Many countries in Africa are especially hard hit because they lack proper sanitation services to purify what little water that they have.

In April 2011, the Swiss emergency response company, Vestergaard Frandsen, will be changing the lives of millions of rural families in western Kenya by distributing 4 million LifeStraws--for free. These devices allow a person to place one end of the straw directly in any water source while internal filters trap harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites and allow the drinker to receive purified, clean drinking water. Each unit purifies 18,000 liters of water, which adds up to three years of use for an entire family.

Although the company invested $24 million in this water purifying system, they are able to give millions of LifeStraws away at no cost to Kenyanfamilies. How do they manage this? Each family that uses the device will be purifying their water with this environmentally friendly tool instead of boiling their water--a method which requires the burning of either wood or
coal and in turn produces carbon. And each family that is converted from boiling adds to the amount of carbon credits that Vestergaard Frandsenreceives and therefore adds to their profit as well. Projects such as this, that help reduce carbon in the atmosphere, are able to collect carbon credits that polluters can then purchase.

Because of the significant profits that the company will be collecting from polluters paying for credits, Vestergaard Frandsen is able to not only give away millions of family-sized LifeStraws, they also will set up free repair and replacement shops around the western area of Kenya for families to fix and trade in their used units. It is in their best interest to have as many individuals as possible using their product so that more boiling (and burning of coal or wood) is prevented, creating more carbon credits.

This innovative business model shows us all that with a little initiative and green thinking, we can help those in need, make money, and save the planet all at once.

Photo Credit: Vestergaard Frandsen

The National Geographic Water Footprint Calculator is awesome. It is basically a quiz that asks you questions ranging from how long your showers are to how much beef you eat.

Although at the end of the quiz I got my water footprint "score", the most interesting thing was learning about all the things that affect your water footprint that you would not normally think of. I found out that that daily water use, like taking showers and using the toilet, only accounts for 5% of water use and that surprisingly, 1 pound of beef takes 1800 gallons of water to produce! Diet turns out to be the biggest portion of our total water usage. Furthermore, flying and car trips don't only effect your carbon footprint, but also your water footprint.

So, take the test and take the pledge to reduce your water use. The average American uses 2000 gallons a day (twice the global average). Can you do better? I got 1,460..