As we were checking out this morning’s blog posts, we saw this over at Treehugger: The US Consumes 1500 Plastic Water Bottles Every Second, a fact by Watershed.

We knew American’s were a plastic-loving bunch, but this number really struck home. Not only for its excess, but for the opportunity all those plastic bottles represent. Unfortunately, the sad fact is that only about 20 percent of those bottles make their way into the recycling bin.

In this economy, just think of the new jobs could be created if  we focused on this “resource.” Here’s a sample of what we can make by recycling those 47,335,389,000 plastic bottles used each year:

Clearly, we need to significantly reduce our use of plastic bottles. But there are already billions and billions of them in our landfills. Realistically, we’re not going to end our addition cold turkey either. We’d like to see more businesses use recycled plastic, especially for clothing and carpet.

What would you do with all those discarded plastic water bottles?

Water covers more than 70 percent of the earth, unfortunately 97 percent of it is salt water. Of the remaining three percent, most of that is frozen and inaccessible, leaving a mere .5 percent available for human use.

more water facts

• Fewer than 10 countries control more than 60 percent of the planet’s fresh water.
• Every year, more than 1.5 million children die from water-related disease.
• Water.org says that one in eight people do not have access to clean water.
• An American uses more water in a single five-minute shower than most poor people in the third world use in a day.
• Water shortages have been reported near water bottling plants, including those in Wisconsin, Texas, Florida and New Hampshire.

who’s using the water?

Of course, water is a renewable resource, but mother nature is not able to keep up with the pace of human activity.

Population growth means more agriculture, manufacturing, and sanitation. Agriculture accounts for the vast majority of our fresh water demands. Often regions devote 70 percent or more of their water towards growing crops for food or commodities such as cotton.

As part of Blog Action Day, we want to bring your attention to the water waste in the textile industry. Textiles are the third biggest user of water and cause of water pollution.

You may be surprised to learn that the fiber to make one simple cotton tee uses 713 gallons of water. Then, dying that shirt can take almost eight gallons. That’s a lot of water. Did you know that more than 2 billion t-shirts are sold each year? That’s a lot of water!

climate change and everyday choices

When you think about climate change causing sea levels to rise, more drought, longer droughts, world population increases and the precious little fresh water we have for all the creatures on this planet, we believe that water is better used for food than for clothing. Especially because there are excellent alternatives. We now have recycled PET fabric that’s as soft as cashmere and stronger than cotton. And we have ways to dye the fabric that use no water at the point of coloration.

We encourage everyone to make smart choices about water use every day. Everything from taking shorter showers, to using non-toxic cleaning supplies to choosing clothing that’s not needlessly consuming and polluting our fresh water. Together we can fight climate change and water scarcity.

The Clean Water Act was passed in 1972, yet, 19.5 million Americas get sick from drinking tap water. New York Times article Toxic Waters offers an in depth look at scope of the problem. Clearly there is much to be done more than 35 years after the law was passed. Naturally, we encourage civic action such as pressuring local, state and federal officials to enforce and strengthen the laws is needed. But we began thinking about what each of us can to do improve water quality right in our own communities. Here are four suggestions you can start using today:

1. keep drugs out of the toilet

Every year more and more prescription drugs are found in our water supply. That’s right, your drinking water may contain trace amounts of antibiotics, birth control hormones, antidepressants, and other pharmaceuticals. The waste water treatment plants do not have the equipment to filter these out of our drinking water systems, so it’s critical that you dispose of unused pills and liquids the right way.

Some communities have set up programs where the local pharmacies will accept old medications. Next time you pick up your prescription, ask if they’ll take back any old or unused drugs. Your garbage company may also have a program for household hazardous waste, so you should also check with them.

If that’s not an option, the Office of National Drug Control Policy has a PDF flyer on the federal guidelines for disposal. It says to:

• Take your prescription drugs out of their original containers.
• Mix drugs with an undesirable substance, such as cat litter or used coffee grounds.
• Put this mixture into a disposable container with a lid, such as an empty margarine tub, or into a sealable bag.
• Conceal or remove any personal information, including Rx number, on the empty containers by covering it with black permanent marker or duct tape, or by scratching it off.
• Place the sealed container with the mixture, and the empty drug containers, in the trash.

2. don’t kill the fish with cleaning products

Since World War II some 75,000 chemicals have been introduced into the American household. The vast majority of these have never been tested by the E.P.A. But there is help for consumers, the E.P.A. created a program called Design for the Enviornment (DfE) which puts products through a scientific review looking for potential human health and environmental effects. A list of consumer cleaning products is available online.

3. steer clear of some soaps and shampoos

The impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP’s) has only recently come to scientists and government officials attention. The E.P.A. sites fragrances, cosmetics, lotions, soaps, and other products we use every day as emerging contaminants in our water supply. Skin care products often contain harmful ingredients, including: “parabens (mimic oestrogen in the body), formaldehyde releasing preservatives (Diazolidinyl Urea, Imidazolidinyl Urea) and artificial fragrances (in nearly everything).” Read the label before you buy!

4. no more toxic lawn care

The sad fact is that no truly environmentally safe product is available to spray on our weeds. Here are a few ways to get rid of those pesky, uninvited guests in your yard, courtesy of the Ecology Center:

• More mulch using a layer of newspaper or corrugated cardboard as a base. Do not use plastic, it doesn’t breathe and kills beneficial organisms in the soil.
• Use native plants which often compete well against the weeds and are appropriate for your regions water supply.
• Tackle them early and pre-spout: dig, amend and rake the soil. One tip, don’t dig deeply as that will encourage the deeper seeds to sprout.

Clearly some of these tips are easier to follow than others. Personally, I have a large yard full of weeds and am not sure how I’d manage clearing it with mulch, or God forbid pulling the weeds by hand. But, I am going to try! What steps are you going to take to ensure clean water for your community?

photo credit: Oldmaison / Flickr

The man who brings wonder to the world every night with Cirque du Soleil, wants to bring clean water to everyone in the world. Guy Laliberté’s OneDrop Foundation is staging a two hour online event tomorrow, October 8, at 8pm ET.

The live webcasts from around the world will bring together environmentalists, politicians, and celebrities. The organization has called on some pretty heavy hitters: Shakira, Bindi Irwin (Steve Irwin’s daughter), Vice President Al Gore, Salma Hayek, Bono, and many others.

The question is, with Guy broadcasting from the International Space Station and all these big names, why isn’t there more buzz for this event. Facebook shows only 2,311 “confirmed guests.” That seems pretty low. Showtimes’ Dexter had over 13,000 people saying they’d be watching the season premier.

Maybe people just have too many other crises on their minds at the moment? Or people just do not think that the lack of clean water for one in eight people on the planet or that 3.5 million people die each year from water-related disease is a major problem.

Where do you see accessible, clean water on the scale of things the world needs to address? And if you think it’s important, what are you doing about it?