A few water-related news articles from around the world we thought you’d like to see.

treating wastewater is bad for the environment

Yes, you read that correctly. The engineers at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago wanted to know what their carbon footprint was and to figure out how to reduce it. One of their conclusions: disinfecting wastewater increases greenhouse gas emissions.

step away from the rain barrel

If you live in Utah and capture the rainwater that falls on your property, you’re breaking the law. State Senate Majority Leader Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, wants to change that. He’s introduced a bill to allow people to store up to 2,500 gallons for use on their property. This isn’t the first time this issue has debated. Last year it didn’t pass. But a new provision requiring people to register as a rain-gatherer (our term, not theirs) may help this bill become law.

4 billion gallons contaminated daily

Each day the natural gas industry pollutes 4 billion gallons of water a day just during the drilling process. The Environmental Leader reports that an innovative company has devised “water reclamation process that uses osmosis technology to recycle wastewater in the oil and gas industry.” We’re pleased to see, and not at all surprised, that the company has also found that it’s not only saving water, but energy and transportation costs too.

sun-powered desalination plants

One might not expect to hear that of all the countries in the world, Saudi Arabia is trying to wean itself off of oil. At least, that’s the plan when it comes to providing clean water for its people. The Kingdom gets 50 to 70 percent of its drinking water from desalination plants. And to convert all that salt water to fresh, they use 1.5 million barrels of oil each and every day. The new solar-powered desalination facilities should reduce water and energy costs by 40 percent.

our most important resource

Earlier this month Grist interviewed author Stephen Solomon to talk about how water will once again be the planet’s most important natural resource. Solomon just published a new book Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization (adding to our reading list now). The interview covers how water scarcity and climate change are inextricably linked. Even if you don’t plan on reading the book, read the interview, you’ll have a better understanding the problem and opportunities.

can australia teach us how to deal with drought?

In the opinion pages of the Sidney Morning Herald earlier this week, they suggest that the Yanks can learn from Australia’s years of drought. You may not know, but the Colorado River is drying up. They’ve already been though that when the Murray Darling ran dry. While the piece has a number of good points, what we thought was interesting were the comments. Some folks don’t think there are any worthy lessons from Down Under, while others seem to think we just can’t learn. What do you think?

Earlier in January we were applauding H&M’s new eco-friendly spring 2010 line. The collection features garments made from recycled PET as well as organic cotton and linen. However, we’ve been following developments as reported by EcoTextile News, which appear to show that the supplier of the “organic” cotton may have been pulling a fast one.

On January 24, Ecotextile News relayed a story broke in the German edition of the Financial Times.  Which reported that an independent lab tested the fibers and found that approximately “30 percent of the tested samples” contained genetically modified (GM) cotton. The cotton in question comes from an Indian supplier. And it appears as of the local authorities suspected fraud last April.

Yesterday, Ecotextile News had an update where the lab, Impetus, clarified their findings. It seems as if the lab, which was not hired by Financial Times Deutschland, but was doing routine analysis, wasn’t even sure where the samples came from. And there’s a question about where the contamination may have occurred: pre- or post-ginning. And then there’s an issue with the level of GM material; if the supplier had really tried to sell fake organic cotton, the level of GM material would be much higher.

H&M, C&A, and Tchibo used the contaminated cotton in a number of their collections. They’ve even been accused of selling products as “organic” even when they knew it wasn’t. The Organic Exchange insists that the claims are unfounded. Organic Exchange Senior Director LaRhea Pepper explains,

When a crop is grown organically, it means that the farmer has followed all the principles and systems of organic farming. In some cases, a very small amount of contamination may occur due to factors outside of the farmer’s control such as cross-pollination from GMO crops that may be growing in other fields away from organic cotton. Organic cotton certifiers conduct tests on plant, seed or soil to ensure that any pesticide residues and/or GMO’s are below a fine “tolerance” level and do not indicate deliberate fraud or carelessness on the part of the farmer. If there is any contamination of GMO material in certified organic cotton, it would likely be the result of pollination from GMO cotton plants or contamination in the gins or mills where cotton products are produced.

So, is this a case of smoke, but no fire? Or are the test results an indication of some larger problem? Where do you weigh in?

Since the utter devastation in Haiti due to the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that shook the island nation on January 12, Americans have been generous. No doubt you already contributed to one of the successful texting campaigns by the Red Cross or YéleHaiti or the Hope for Haiti Now benefit that was televised on TV and radio stations around the globe. These efforts and others like them have raised tens of millions of dollars.

But that’s just not enough.

Given the scope of the devastation, which killed more than 250,000 people and left millions homeless, it is going to take years to repair the country and billions of dollars from generous people worldwide.

Two of our AirDye® licensees have arranged for a generous portion of their sales to benefit the people of Haiti.

julieapple gives 50 percent

Between noon February 3 and midnight (ET) February 5, Julieapple will donate 50 percent of the purchase price of any bag to the Haiti Outreach Program (HOP). HOP has worked in Haiti for over ten years. Since the earthquake, the organization has been providing clean water, medicine, clothing and medical personnel to the people of Haiti.

Set an alarm so you’re sure to stop by the Julieapple store between February 3 and 5. Pick up an eco-friendly, life-loving, hardworking bag and help the people of Haiti.

a lot to say about haiti

Sisters Alison and Jennifer over at A Lot To Say feel passionate about doing the right thing. They are putting their money where their hearts are and giving a generous portion of any purchase with the promo code gec is used at checkout. Not only is A Lot To Say donating to the Green Energy Council, who will use it to support water and clean energy projects in Haiti, but you’ll also get a 10 percent discount.

Check out A Lot To Say tees, tote bags, umbrellas, scarves, or other items made with 100 percent recycled PET fabric and AirDye technology to support the clean energy and clean water for Haiti.

We encourage you to be generous. Even if you’re not interested making a purchase, consider a donation to one of the worthy causes mentioned above.

Seems like each week there are more and more stories in the media discussing water scarcity and water quality. With so many floating around, we’ll choose a few each Friday that we think everyone should know about. So, here is the first batch of water-related stories from around the world:

crisis in haiti

Of course, we’ve all been glued to the T.V. and computer monitors following  developments in Haiti. We know that even before the 7.0 earthquake, the island nation’s infrastructure was less than ideal. And since 10 days ago, there simply isn’t any infrastructure at all. Water, food, and shelter are continuing to flow in from around the world. According to Yobie Benjamin’s article yesterday in the San Francisco Chronicle’s online edition, water tanks are being installed around the city and hundreds of thousands of liters of water have been distributed, but it’s just not enough, nor is it sustainable. Benjamin is looking for the public to help pressure the U.S. government to get a large-scale solar powered water filtration system delivered. If you’ve got connections, the author asks you to reach out to Bobbie Dunphy or tweet him at @yobie.

hazards of growth

Water quality problems are not new for China. This week J. Carl Ganter published a well-documented piece in Circle of Blue called Tracing Kunming, China’s Freshwater Hazards. Ganter examines one of China’s newest projects, the Kunming International Airport. The airport is supposed to be a model for green development. Unfortunately, the construction is wreaking havoc with the local freshwater supply, which is already stressed. Even if you don’t have time to read the entire article, you have to take a look at the photos.

making money from water scarcity

Over at Seeking Alpha, an online community and resource for investors, David Rupprecht wrote an article Electricity and Water: Scarcity Will Drive Prices Upwards. He lays out a suggestion that with both energy and water supplies dwindling, there’s an opportunity to make money by investing in utilities. Do you agree?

water shortages leave crops and patience short

This week Pakistan is reporting that drought and water diversion by India will cause a 40 percent decline in this year’s wheat crop. According to a treaty between the two countries, India is supposed to release 16,000 cubic feet of water per second from the Chenab River. Instead, they have only been releasing less than one-third of that amount which has resulted in the closing of a number of canals and exacerbated the drought. One farmer told The Nation that he thinks future wars will be fought over water.

water-wise baseball

The Minnesota Twins new 40,000-seat Target Field will truly be the greenest ballpark in the country. The new facility has a number of eco-friendly design elements; most important to us is what they are doing about water conservation. The park has an integrated rainwater-recycling system that will collect, filter and disinfect up to 2 million gallons of water each year. You can read more about the Twin’s new home at Treehugger.

Know of another water story we should have posted? Share your link in the comments.

Levi’s and Whirlpool did a bit of research and found that most American’s hold fast to a number of “laundry myths.” In their joint announcement yesterday, the companies found that most people believe:

1. The temperature of the water in the washing machine doesn’t impact the environment.
2. For best results, the washing machine must be full of water to really get the clothes clean.
3. You must wash your jeans after you’ve worn them even once.

As you can probably guess, none of these are actually true.

You should wash in cold as often as possible, take a look at the “Ido30″ movement to see what an impact this simple change can have.

New high-efficiency (HE) washing machines use up to 74 percent less water than conventional washers and do a great job of cleaning all types of fabric.

Jeans fade with each wash, so not only is it better for the environment for you to wear them a few times before tossing them into the laundry, your jeans will last longer–which is better for your wallet and the planet. Levi’s does suggest you turn them inside-out to fight fading.

But we did wonder, how often do you wash your jeans? Take our quick poll.

photo credit: mimk / flickr