protecting profits in a water scarce world

Thera N. Kalmijn and R. Paul Herman have come up with the 10 R’s of Water Management and shared their plan with everyone in two parts (part 1 and part 2). You might think this is just overreacting by a couple of treehuggers, but you’d be wrong. They remind us that in 2001, hydroelectric power shortages forced the shutdown of aluminum plant smelters in the Pacific Northwest, resulting in the loss of 8,000 jobs. So, developing and executing on a water management strategy is just plan ole’ fashioned good business.

companies vague on water-scarcity risk, investors say

We know that water management is critical to avoid production interruption. So investors are keen to know the water-related risks faced by specific companies, but that doesn’t mean the information is readily available. A recent report by CERES shows that this information is often “boilerplate and vague.” A Business Week article goes into detail about the report including some of the companies CERES found to be most transparent with their water-risks.

water at the core of climate change

Alister Doyle, an environmental correspondent with Reuters, puts it quite plainly: “The main impact of climate change will be on water supplies.” Unlike many articles we read, Doyle suggests that conflict and disease can be avoided if we just learn from past successful examples of cooperation. Water shortages on the Indus River resulted in cooperation between India and Pakistan and Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia’s set up the Mekong River Commission. With up to 250 million people facing water shortages, it’s good to know that conflict is not guaranteed.

australia’s “top end” too dry to become food bowl

Imagine a place that gets billions of gallons of rain each year, but still can’t sustain agriculture. That place is northern Australia. According to Reuters, farmers and politicians had planned on converting this area into a “food bowl for the world.” However, topography, weather, and climate change mean that much of the water is for not. You see, the rain comes during a few months and the rest of the year is completely dry. During those wet months, most of the water runs quickly out to sea or evaporates quickly when the rain stops. Looks like the Aussies will have to find another way to make the most of this region.

TEDsters answer the question…

The folks with PUR are hanging out with all the big thinkers this week at TED and asking, “If water could talk, what would it say?” And to answer the question, you’ll have to check out PUR’s photo gallery. The extra cool part is you can “like” the album or Tweet it and PUR will donate 10 liters to those in need. Come on, click the link and make clean water happen for someone who would otherwise be without.

A new poll just released by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that Americans are less and less inclined to place global warming and environmental issues at the top of the priority list.

Just over 1,500 people were asked what the country’s priorities should be for 2010. The economy and jobs topped the list, which is no surprise. And since the survey was conducted in early January (shortly after the failed Christmas day airline bombing), terrorism rounded out the top three priorities.

What surprised us, is that global warming was dead last and losing ground against results from previous years. In fact, only 28 percent of the respondents to the Pew survey said global warming was a top priority.  In 2007, while only 38 percent said global warming was a priority. That’s 10 points higher than this year’s sentiment.

With the Pew survey, they also break down results by political party. The vast majority of Republicans do not consider this to be an issue, with only 11 percent of them making it a top concern. On the other hand, 43 percent of Democrats want action this year. Independent voters, who are now a third of the electorate, came in at only 25 percent believing global warming should be addressed by the President and Congress.

Pew wasn’t the only ones asking American’s about global warming last month. Last week  Yale and George Mason universities released a report Climate Change in the American Mind. In that survey, 57 percent of the people said, “Yes, I think global warming is happening.” That’s down from 71 percent when the same question was asked in 2008.

Of course, just because people think that climate change is happening, doesn’t mean they think we have anything to do with it. Thirty-six percent of the people said that it’s mostly caused by natural changes. Interesting, because 47 percent said that humans were the cause, but scan back up and you’ll see that only a total of 57 percent would even agree that the planet is experiencing climate change.

Clearly, people are confused, as responses to this question demonstrates:

Which comes closer to your own view?

1. Most scientists think global warming is happening
2. Most scientists think global warming is not happening
3. There is a lot of disagreement among scientists about whether or not global warming is happening
4. Don’t know enough to say

The choice that received the most responses was number three! Forty percent of the people said they believe there is a lot of disagreement among scientist over global warming. The fact is that the vast majority of reputable scientists DO agree that global warming is occurring.

Where do you fall in the spectrum? Is climate change happening? If so, should the government make addressing climate change a top priority? How high on the list would you put it? Above creating jobs? Health care? Let us know.

Winter rains may have started in the U.S. but many areas on the planet are still suffering from severe drought.

no rain in the americas

Here at home, California, southern Texas, and the Southwest continue to suffer from severe to extreme drought. Fortunately, we haven’t had to endure the hardships imposed on the citizens of other countries. Just this week residents of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, are having to do without water service for up to 48 hours. The dry weather started back in 2007 and the water rationing is expected to be in effect until 2010 when the rainy season begins again.

africa’s suffering worsens

Over in Africa, more severe and frequent droughts are drastically changing the way of life for millions of nomads in Kenya. While drought is no stranger to Africa, a Christian Aid study released in 2006 shows that periods of drought have quadrupled in the last 25 years. Compounding the problem is a growth in population. What does this mean for the nomads? Many of them have lost their herds and are no longer  to continue with their nomadic traditions. Worse still, others have lost family members to malnutrition.

the chinese take control of the weather

And perhaps you heard about China’s efforts to wring some water from the skies by seeding the clouds over Beijing last week. According to the Xinhua news agency, the head of the Beijing Weather Modification Office (who even knew they had one), said, “We won’t miss any opportunity of artificial precipitation since Beijing is suffering from the lingering drought.”

Where does all this leave us? The message seems pretty clear, climate change is effecting more and more people every day around the world. We’re trying to do our part in reducing the demand for water for textiles. Let’s hope the upcoming Copenhagen climate conference yields real results.

photo credits- caracas: LAHT.com / goats: Siena Anstis / snow: LikeYesterday

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.

In 1798, an obscure British scholar published the now infamous Essay on the Principle of Population, in which he warned that the population would quickly outgrow the earth’s power to produce food. Thomas Malthus was the scholar of course, and for years students of his philosophy have predicted the eminent collapse of food sources in the face of relentless population growth. And for years the Malthusiasns have been wrong. However, Reverend Malthus just might have the last laugh.

A new article in the Scientific American points to the alarming and growing disparity between the projected population growth and the current rate of food production. Food production needs to rise by an astonishing 70 percent by 2050 to meet population projections. The 70 percent increase is even more ominous considering that last year saw riots and resource wars in some parts of the world, due mainly to severe droughts, the rising cost of fuel, and water scarcity.

The projected shortfall was the topic of much discussion at this summer’s G8 meeting in Italy. If we are to avoid future catastrophe, the G8 insists that we must start adopting sustainability at every stage of food production.

It’s a simple equation: We have to grow and sustain larger food crops while reducing consumption of valuable resources like water and fuel.

For an even more detailed look at the environmental food crisis, read the UNEP’s Rapid Response Assessment.

photo credit: Thomas@BOD / Flickr