Water & Air – Filter Systems News

Source: "National Geographic"

Water is a major resource that we all take for granted. With approximately 70% of the Earth covered in salt water oceans, it’s easy to forget that there are places in the world that are without water. National Geographic is also concerned with how much water we use here in the United States and how that affects rivers, lakes, wetlands, underground aquifers, and freshwater species.

That’s why they’ve introduced the Water Footprint Calculator, an online questionnaire that asks questions about the way water is consumed in your home. National Geographic states:

“We live in a watery world, with the average American lifestyle fueled by nearly 2,000 gallons of H2O a day. What may come as a surprise is that very little of that—only five percent—runs through toilets, taps, and garden hoses at home. Nearly 95 percent of your water footprint is hidden in the food you eat, energy you use, products you buy, and services you rely on.”

The National Geographic Society encourages you to find out your Water Footprint and the “pledge to cut your water footprint and help return more water to rivers, lakes, wetlands, underground aquifers, and freshwater species.”

How many gallons of water do you think it takes to produce one pair of jeans? Levi Strauss & Company knows: typically 919 gallons. The New York Times reports that those 919 gallons “include the water that goes into irrigating the cotton crop, stitching the jeans together and washing them scores of times at home.” For Levi Strauss, that number is too high. That’s why the noted clothing company has pledged to reduce water use for the sake of environmental responsibility and as a response to water shortages possibly caused by climate change.

The company has a few ideas in mind:

“Levi Strauss has helped underwrite and champion a nonprofit program that teaches farmers in India, Pakistan, Brazil and West and Central Africa the latest irrigation and rainwater-capture techniques.  It has introduced a brand featuring stone-washed denim smoothed with rocks but no water. It is sewing tags into all of its jeans urging customers to wash less and use only cold water.”

Levi Strauss also recommends that their consumers take part in their initiative by not washing jeans regularly. Cutting back on a few loads of laundry could save gallons of water. For a possible alternative, the company recommends placing your jeans in your freezer, which can kill germs that cause bad smells.

Water shortages have been a concern for the company recently. In 2009 Levi Strauss joined several other major companies to form the Better Cotton Initiative, which “promotes water conservation and reduces pesticide use and child-labor practices in the industry.” And last year “floods in Pakistan and parched fields in China destroyed cotton crops and sent prices soaring. Roughly two pounds of cotton go into every pair of jeans that the company manufactures.”

Levi Strauss has implemented their nonprofit program and achieved surprisingly positive results: “A three-year independent study of Indian farms found those adopting the new techniques reduced water and pesticide use by an average of 32 percent, the initiative says. The profit was 20 percent higher than that of a control group using traditional methods.”

The company is aware that results will not be immediate, but is putting forth the best effort to ensure that water conservation becomes a major staple of the company’s future.

Instead of focusing on a Water Charity this Tuesday, we chose nonprofit organization Project WET. This organization focuses on water education through reaching out to teachers, community members, children, and parents in the United States and around the world. Project WET achieves this goal through publishing informative water materials in different languages, creating school curriculum for different age groups, and sponsoring trainings around the world. Project WET also organizes community water events such as the Global Water Education Village. This event is held every three years at the World Water Forum, the last one was held in Istanbul, Turkey. The goal of the Global Water Education Village is to discuss local actions in water education that are successful at reaching children.

Project WET is committed to reaching out to audiences around the world and in ushering water education into the twenty-first century.  Most recently, Project WET has teamed up with the National Park Service.  In a press release issued on June 22, 2011, Project WET and the National Park Service announced that they would be collaborating on an educational series titled, “Discover the Waters of Our National Parks.”  This science based program will include hands-on activities, videos, special workshops, online courses, guides and an internet portal. Project WET President, Dennis Nelson stated, “Water connects our national parks to each other and to the people of the United States through the water cycle, making national parks a perfect springboard for educating people about water.” This project is going be launched at select national parks within the next year, so keep a look out at your local park!

Project WET’s website offers lots of links for parents, educators, corporations and museums.  If you want to get involved, there are plenty of avenues for that, too. Of course, you can donate on their secure website in any amount you choose, but you can also choose some more innovative ways as well. For example, you can sponsor a classroom and provide a Water and Sustainability Kit which includes copies of various activity and educational booklets for every child.  If you want to be more hands on, you can train to become a Project WET facilitator. After completing the course, you can deliver workshops to teachers and educators in your area. A great way to get involved in your community for a worthy cause!

So this week, Project WET is our pick for a great water focused organization. If you’re a teacher, parent or just someone interested in making a difference through water education, be sure to check out Project WET!

“Many civilizations have been crippled or destroyed by an inability to understand water or manage it. We have a huge advantage over the generations of people who have come before us, because we can understand water and we can use it smartly.”

– Charles Fishman, The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water

Charles Fishman, bestselling author of The Wal-Mart Effect has most recently turned his attention to water. The leap from discounted mega-giant to Earth’s most essential resource may seem like a big one, but Fishman is interested in relationships-whether it’s to Wal-Mart or water.  Fishman first began his flirtation with water in a 2007 article entitled, “Message in a Bottle”, published in Fast Company magazine. In this piece Fishman lamented, “Thirty years ago, bottled water barely existed as a business in the United States. Last year, we spent more on Poland Spring, Fiji Water, Evian, Aquafina, and Dasani than we spent on iPods or movie tickets– $15 billion. It will be $16 billion this year” (Fishman, 2007).

Fast forward to 2011, and Fishman tackles both the history and future of water in our world. The Big Thirst seeks to open people’s eyes to the reality of water in the twenty-first century. Similar to what the book and film, Fast Food Nation did for revealing the atrocities of the United States fast food industry, Thirst delves into people’s water consciousness. For example, do you know where your water goes when it swirls down the drain, flushes down the toilet or leaves your washing machine? A majority of Americans have no idea.

Also consider that most Americans don’t know where the majority of their daily water usage comes from. Do you? In 1999, a group of researchers used electronic water-flow sensors in 1,888 homes for four weeks. The results showed that the primary way American’s use water daily is by flushing the toilet. About five times a day per person if you want to put a figure on it. We literally flush 5.7 billion gallons of water down the toilet a day (Fishman, 2011).

The Big Thirst’s strength stems from Fishman’s ability to storytell. He connects you to your relationship with water in a multitude of ways. Take for example, this excerpt, “Like so much of modern life, safe, reliable water and sewer service is both essential and a complete mystery. We have no idea where our water comes from, we have no idea what happens to it when the dishwasher is done with it. We have no idea what effort is required to get the water to us, and no idea what’s required to get rid of it. That ignorance doesn’t matter, until things start to go wrong.”

Water is an essential resource in our daily lives- and most of us do not understand how much we rely on it, how much goes into getting it to our faucet, and what we would do if it were to stop flowing freely. Charles Fishman explores these questions through fascinating stories intertwining his personal travels to the water bottling plants of San Pellegrino, Italy and Poland Spring, Maine.  The main question being, why don’t we value our most essential resource the way we should?

With about 800,000 gallons of water you could grow an acre of cotton, brew over 500 barrels of beer, or supply seven NHL playoff games. If that number seems a bit high for an ice hockey match, know that the NHL thinks so too, which is why NHL Green, the National Hockey League’s sustainability initiative, is collaborating with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) for the NHL Water Restoration Project.

As reported in the New York Times, BEF, based in Oregon, aims to conserve water in the Pacific Northwest, though it is looking to expand to Washington, California, Colorado, and New Mexico in the future. The organization encourages water conservation with “water certificates.” Each certificate is “divided into 1,000-gallon increments, assigned serial numbers and sold to companies and individuals. Each credit retails for one dollar. Bonneville then pays water-rights holders to conserve water.”

The NHL has gotten involved with the organization and its water certificates for its recently hosted 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, the first “water neutral” series in NHL history. The water conservation effort is useful as hosting a playoff game involves water output in the form of ice, concessions, fountains, faucets, toilets, and resurfacing the ice.

With this program the NHL will use their water certificate credits to restore nearly one million gallons to the Deschutes River, which is between Lake Billy Chinook and Bend, Oregon.

“It is a scenic gem with the potential to support world-class recreation and functioning aquatic ecosystems,” the NHL stated in a press release.  “However, water rights holders, individuals who in addition to property ownership possess a legal right to remove river water for ‘beneficial economic use’, divert most of the river’s water at Bend.  These disruptions of stream flow have degraded habitats, resulting in poor water quality and a decline in the overall health of the river.  The NHL Water Restoration Project will help return the Middle Deschutes to the vibrant watercourse it once was.”

The NHL is now the first major sports organization to participate in the BEF’s water certificate program and also the first to make such a large push towards water conservation. It notes that many of its players first got started playing on ice ponds, so it’s imperative that they set an environmental standard for the future and for the future of ice hockey.

Garnier, an acclaimed cosmetics company using natural ingredients in their hair and skincare products is committed to a greener and cleaner future. Garnier asked consumers to vote for the environmental cause they avidly cared about the most. The three causes voted on were Clean Water, Urban Greening, Recycling and Sustainability. The Clean Water category, received 52% of the votes and was the clear winner out of the three causes. The Recycling and Sustainability category received 36% of the votes, while Urban Greening received 12%.

In partnership with EarthShare, Garnier announced that they will donate $100,000 to three deserving charities: American Rivers, Oceana and the Surfrider Foundation. These charities work to protect public health, rivers and marine environments for the benefit of communities, wildlife and nature. Each group plans to put their winnings to work for cleaner and safer water.

Surfrider Foundation will direct the funds toward their water quality-focused programs: Ocean Friendly Gardens, Know Your H₂O and Blue Water Task Force. The Ocean Friendly Gardens program educates and assists people in applying conservation, permeability and retention to their landscapes, to revive watersheds and oceans. The Know Your H₂O project educates consumers about the link between freshwater management issues and the impact on our oceans. The Blue Water Task Force is a volunteer-run water testing, education and advocacy program for water quality.

Oceana will use Garnier’s donation to support its global ocean protection work. Protecting the pristine waters of southern Patagonia by preventing the expansion of Chile’s aquaculture industry, expanded oil exploration and drilling off the coasts of the U.S., Europe and Belize, are among the projects included.

American Rivers will apply Garnier’s support to protect and restore the nation’s rivers for comunities across America, through various conservation and volunteer programs, including Nation River Cleanup.

These winning Clean Water charities are very good causes. Michelle Ryan, Assistant Vice President of Sustainability at Garnier stated, “This program is just one small way we’re honoring causes within the community that we all care about.”

NBC’s Thursday night block of comedy is home to one of the most magnificent mustaches ever seen on television. That mustache, of course, belongs to the character of Ron Swanson, head of the Parks Department in Pawnee, Indiana, on the sitcom Parks and Recreation. Swanson, played in real life by actor Nick Offerman, is a burly stereotype of masculinity and creator of the Swanson Pyramid of Greatness. When describing the perfect office atmosphere he states, “The less I know about other people’s affairs, the happier I am. I’m not interested in caring about people. I once worked with a guy for three years and never learned his name. Best friend I ever had. We still never talk sometimes.”

But epic mustachery aside, actor Nick Offerman has pledged to utilize his most prominent feature for the good of mankind: to encourage water preservation. Offerman is teaming up with Budweiser, the famed beer company, for its “Grow One. Save a Million” campaign, which began on May 17. On average men use between 3-10 gallons of water every time they shave. So, in preparation for World Environment Day (this Sunday, June 5), Offerman is encouraging all men to drop the razor and save water. Budweiser’s goal is to conserve at least a total of 1 million gallons (or roughly 5 gallons per person) of water by June 5 through this program.

In a press release Offerman stated: “The only thing manlier than growing a big, burly beard is ripping a big, burly beard off of a charging grizzly with your bare hands. That, and saving the planet. Since no grizzly has had the balls to charge me since I went through puberty, I’ve decided to focus on saving the planet by joining with Budweiser to promote the ‘Grow One. Save a Million’ campaign.

Men, if you want to look manly and feel good about conserving water, join me and take the pledge on Budweiser’s Facebook page. And grizzlies, charge me. Just do it. I’m waiting, you babies.”

Every strand of hair left on your face is one drop of water not wasted. So, this weekend start growing the beard you knew you were always capable of…for a good cause. And while you’re at it read about several water conservation breweries.

Behind Every Great Beer is Great Water

Many craft beer geeks can wax philosophical about different malts, yeast strains and hop varietals, but it’s easy to forget about beer’s fourth ingredient, water. Beer is around 90 percent water, and many brewers throughout the world attribute much of their beer’s flavor to the water with which they brew.    

Not only is water a necessary ingredient in brewing beer, but hundreds of gallons of water are also used to sanitize brewing equipment. When all’s said and done, it can take anywhere from 8-24 gallons of water to produce a single pint of beer.   

Given this, it’s no surprise that the following breweries are doing their part to preserve and conserve water where they can. 

Sierra Nevada 

If you bought a 12-pack of Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale or seasonal beers between August 1 and last Friday, you might have helped save a waterway without knowing it, thanks to Sierra Nevada’s Wild Rivers program. A portion of the proceeds from those beers will be donated by Sierra Nevada to the Western Rivers Conservancy and River Network. Even though this promotion ended last Friday (Sept. 17), there’s a good chance that Sierra Nevada will continue its Wild Rivers campaign. Sierra Nevada first launched this campaign in May of this year.  

Sweetwater Brewing 

Sweetwater Brewing of Atlanta, Ga. is also committed to protecting rivers, and one in particular. Since launching the “Save the Hooch” campain in 2006, the brewery has raised more than $150,000 for the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. These funds have been used to support UCR’s water quality and river patrol programs. This summer, Sweetwater raised funds by selling paper fish and t-shirts that read, “I gave of my liver to save the river.” We should all be so giving. 

Great Lakes Brewing Co. 

It seems good breweries aren’t often far from the water, and this is especially true of Great Lakes Brewing Co., which is just a stone’s throw from Lake Erie. Great Lakes Brewing established the Burning River Foundation in 2007 as a result of their popular Burning River Fest, which they throw every year. Both the fest and foundation take their name from the “‘watershed moment’ that raised a new level of eco-consciousness—the 1969 burning of the Cuyahoga River.” Proceeds from the festival support the foundation, which in turn “provides resources for the sustainable future of our waterways.”

And Great Lakes Brewing Co. isn’t the only brewery looking out for the Great Lakes. Every year, craft brewers and cheesemakers attend the Great Lakes Craft Brewers and Water Conservation Conference to discuss ways to use less water in their crafts. This is imperative, since any “water-intensive” businesses within the watershed must implement water conservation measures in accordance with the Great Lakes Compact. The conference will include presentations on the following: “water conservation, water auditing, rain water harvesting, wastewater treatment and recycling, water science behind the Great Lakes Compact, waste to energy installations, and CIP processes for both brewers and cheesemakers”.

Stone Brewing Co.

Stone Brewing’s Bill Sherwood will be among the brewers in attendance at the Great Lakes conference next month. This is not surprising considering that Greg Koch, something of a celeberity in the craft beer industry, is a tap water advocate — so much so that the brewery’s bistro participated in UNICEF’s Tap Project. Through the project, Stone asked its patrons to not only drink tap water, but to make a donation of $1 to UNICEF, which would provide clean drinking water to a child in need for 40 days. While this step may not seem as much about “preservation” as the others, it’s refreshing to see a brewery advocate tap water over bottled, which wastes resources and often depletes natural reservoirs.   

Anheuser-Busch InBev  

It’s not just the smaller, craft breweries that are doing their part to save and protect water. Earlier this year, Anheuser-Busch InBev announced its desire to become the world’s greenest brewer, a goal that the company hopes to achieve by reducing its water consumption by 30 percent by 2012. If the company can do so, it will likely be the most water-efficient brewer in the world.

Miller Coors (SABMiller) 

Not to be outdone by its biggest competitor in Anheuser-Busch, Miller Coors is also taking its own steps to conserve water. The company boasts several breweries with a water-to-beer ratio of less than 4:1 (the industry average is 5:1), and Miller Coors aims to reduce its water usage by 15 percent in 2015. This would put their water-to-beer ratio at 3.5:1.

September has been named Miller Coor’s Water Stewardship Volunteer Month. This is the second year that Miller Coors employees across the nation have spent the month resting water quality and cleaning up rivers and beaches. Like Sierra Nevada, Miller Coors has partnered with River Network, as well as The Nature Conservancy.

Miller Coors also encourages people to conserve water in their own homes with its Water Conservation Challenge.

New Belgium Brewing

If you’ve been counting along, you might notice that New Belgium Brewing is No. 7 on our list of six breweries committed to water conservation. I’m ashamed to say I overlooked one of the most environmentally-conscious breweries out there, but fortunately Melani over at TapHunter.com reminded me to check them out.

When I did, I found that New Belgium published a water usage report last year showing a reduction in water usage for the year prior to that (2008). At that time, they were using 3.8 barrels of water for every barrel of beer.

And like many breweries in this post, New Belgium isn’t only interested in conserving the water it uses to brew with. This past summer, they used their appropriately-named Skinny Dip beer to draw attention to the Save the Colorado campaign, of which they are a partner. The Colorado river now runs dry before it reaches the Sea of Cortez, and it faces a myriad of threats, such as climate change, species extinction, invasive species, dams and population growth. If you want to support a brewery that is committed to water conservation and sustainability, you can’t go wrong with New Belgium.