What’s the secret?  The 25-year patterns of water consumption revealed in the DOI report provide tantalizing clues about the ability of the U.S. to sustain its legendarily consumer-centric lifestyle while stabilizing and ultimately decreasing its contribution to carbon emissions and other greenhouse gasses.

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Eco-conscious and green consumers around the globe are increasingly aware of the carbon footprint of their food choices, but what about the water footprint?

As water becomes an increasingly scarce global resource, the focus turns toward analyzing how much water it takes to grow particular foods.  Increasing awareness of the amount of water various foods require can help consumers make educated choices for the most environmentally conscious products.

Not surprisingly many of the same attributes that make for smart environmentally friendly choices also make sense from a water consumption perspective.  Not eating meat, choosing locally grown organic foods, and growing as much produce as possible in your own backyard are also the best choices for using the least amount of water.

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A study of about 3000 children in 32 schools in Germany found that installing water fountains, giving the children refillable water bottles, and using teaching lessons promoting the health benefits of water consumption reduced the risk of being overweight by 31%.

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SAB Ltd is the South African subsidiary of SABMiller which is the second largest brewery in the world .

Water Neutrality

In October 2008, Dr Deon Nel, Head of the WWF Sanlam Living Waters Partnership explained

“The concept of water neutrality, based on its carbon equivalent, has been used loosely over the past years; however, until now no-one has been able to quantitatively justify these claims. We believe that our scheme is the first in the world that allows participants to truly claim to be water neutral.”

Participants will replenish water supplies, by investing in projects that quantitatively supplement water supplies equal to their water usage.

Note: Water neutrality has taken on a form in certain areas that is significantly different to the process introduced here by WWF.

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]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/01/14/wwf-and-worlds-second-largest-brewer-replensih-water-in-south-africa/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/09/22/a-new-israeli-leader-but-can-she-address-environmental-issues/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/09/22/a-new-israeli-leader-but-can-she-address-environmental-issues/#comments Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:25:39 +0000 Amiel Blajchman http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/09/22/a-new-israeli-leader-but-can-she-address-environmental-issues/ With the recent election of Tzipi Livni to the leadership of Israel’s Kadima Party (the leading party in Israel’s ruling coalition), she has the opportunity to become Israel’s first female Prime Minister since Golda Meir and its second ever.

And Israel truly does need new leadership (regardless of its gender): it is important for the nation to move beyond the existential security-based questions of their relationship with the Palestinian people and their other Arab neighbours, as well as the still-ongoing formal state of war with Lebanon and Syria (there was a 1983 Lebanon-Israel peace treaty that was never formally implemented; and a Syria-Israel disengagement in 1984). Similar to other nations around the world, Israel faces environmental, economic and social challenges that its government is hard-pressed to address. Currently however, national issues tend to be addressed through a security framework, which is not always the most effective manner in which to tackle these issues.

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/09/22/a-new-israeli-leader-but-can-she-address-environmental-issues/feed/ http://ecoworldly.com/2008/09/17/16-unusual-international-perspectives-on-see-water/ http://ecoworldly.com/2008/09/17/16-unusual-international-perspectives-on-see-water/#comments Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:28:15 +0000 Gavin Hudson http://ecoworldly.com/2008/09/17/16-unusual-international-perspectives-on-see-water/ Last week, EcoWorldly looked at water from different angles and from different countries.

1. Govind Singh of Delhi, India sees water as a reminder of his city’s past glory and its present predicament. To support Delhi’s many kingdoms of yore, the city built sophisticated water storage systems, called baolis. Today, with its population of 16 million straining the city’s water capacity, Delhi may revisit its abandoned baolis. Singh describes the ancient baolis: “A baoli, or step-well, consists a vertical shaft from which water can be draw. The surrounding inclined passageways and steps which provide access to the well. These were built to provide a constant supply of water to the residents of Delhi and now lie in ruins – wasted and disused.”

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Image credit: Artur Bergman at Wikimedia Commons.

Photo courtesy of Jarhelm via Wikimedia Commons

It’s not often that we’re giddy about stepping into a bathroom but theirs has a gray (recycled) water system that reuses used sink water for the low-flow toilet. Kimball SF’s low-flow fixtures reduce their water consumption by a whopping 75%.

As Kimball sells office furniture it only makes sense for them to sell low or non-toxic furniture. About half of their display represents green furnishings. We would like to see this figure closer to 100%.

Even so, the SF Kimball office represents just another in a growing line of green Kimball Office showrooms as their Jasper, Indiana office rated Gold while the Chicago office earned a silver certification. Hopefully, their New York location will garner a gold certification.