Deforestation

The Amazon forest gives off ¼ of the Earth’s fresh water and as we cut it down that number will also go down. During the last 40 years about 20% of the rainforest has been cut down. Scientists are scared that in the next couple of decades 20% more of the rainforest will be gone. The rainforest is a home for 40,000 plant species, 1,300 different types of birds, 427 mammals, 378 reptiles, 3,000 different fish, and more than 400 different amphibians (WWF). If we keep deforesting the rainforest these different living organisms will have nowhere to live and essentially die off or become endangered. If we think about all the different consequences of cutting down this rainforest I think that we would stop. Not only will cutting down the rainforest harm the life of these species it will also affect the humans way of living. The consequences for us is, global warming, sever droughts that lead to more wildfires that could take out more of the forest, it reduces river levels and with burning of wood Brazil has become one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases.
From my point of view I hope that Brazil stops the deforestation of the Amazon because it is just leading to so many problems for a big part of our way of living. We are endangering the lives of plants and animals that have no say in this.

What would you do if someone came and destroyed your home and you couldn’t do anything about it?

-Nicole Bates

Water Funding

The United Nations has a resolution (64/292) recognized humans right to water and water sanitation and how it is essential to living. The resolution is to have international organizations provide financial resources, to help countries, in mostly developing countries, to provide safe, clean and accessible drinking water for everyone. In Brazil only 30% of their water is treated so pretty much all of their rivers and water are sewage and a lot of the time their garbage isn’t properly disposed of. There is little funding in Brazil because of their deteriorating economy. So the UN, the Basic Sanitation Company, and Alliance for water are the big contributors on trying to get water sanitation in Brazil. Even in places that have water sanitation systems they are not in proper working condition so they break and the people don’t have it 100% of the time.
My view on this is if there could be more funding in Brazil and not only them but also other developing countries that don’t have water sanitation that would be good. As humans we should have the right to one of the most basic things we need in life to survive. I feel like people are aware of this problem but not informed on how big of an issue it is in so many places. http://projecthumanity.org is one organization that is focusing on bringing water sanitation to developing countries. We just need to get more people aware that this is a big problem and these people could use our help.

-Nicole Bates

Campaign for #iHeartWater Celebrates Earth Month with Tips

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ICF International is celebrating Earth Month by encouraging people to join us in conserving water and energy reduction. I hope your readers will find our social media campaign ($5 for every unique photo shared goes to Water For People) and our tips helpful and interesting!

#iHeartWater – $5 for each photo shared!

Committed to protecting and improving the quality of life, we’re encouraging folks to share a photo on social showing how your readers most appreciate water: Do they love it most when they are cooking? Enjoying a cup of tea? Admiring it outdoors? Then, have share the photo on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook using the hashtag #iheartwater and @WaterforPeople through the month of April. For every unique photo publicly shared as part of this campaign—we’ll donate $5 to Water For People. We hope you’ll join us!

ICF’s are sharing 10 great tips: Every little bit helps!

1.

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“Rain Barrel” Rebate: Take advantage of this free money before funds dry up.

San Diego Real Estate Veterans

Did you know….that collecting rainwater for use during dry months in rain barrels or other depositories is an ancient and traditional practice? Historical records show that rainwater was collected in simple clay containers as far back as 2,000 years ago in Thailand, and throughout other areas of the world after that. With the rising price of municipal water and drought restrictions now facing California, more and more homeowners are turning to the harvesting of rainwater to save money and protect this precious natural resource.

Our local government will give you money to start collecting rain water!!! Both the City of San Diego and the Metropolitan Water District are offering “Rain Barrel” Rebate Programs that will help you reduce the cost of setting up a rain water collection system at your home. Take advantage of this free money before funds dry up!

The City of San Diego website states that…

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Five Water Purification Designs for Third World Communities

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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 748 million people lack access to uncontaminated drinking water sources. Moreover, WHO estimates that 1.8 billion people use a fecally contaminated drinking water source, 2.5 billion lack access to improved sanitation facilities and more than 840,000 people die from water related diseases annually. Contaminated water is the number one cause of death in developing countries, causing diseases such as cholera, hepatitis, typhoid fever, malaria, ascariasis, dengue fever and many other deadly illnesses. In fact, contaminated water is the number one public health concern globally based on its impact to society, according to the WHO. Fortunately, the WHO estimates that 10% of the global disease burden could be prevented with improved water supply and sanitation. In light of this, a number of innovations and technologies are providing growing solutions to this problem.

UF Online B.S. in Environmental Management

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Using social norms for water conservation

The daily blog of behavioral and cognitive economics

Testing the Waters: Using Simple, Low-cost Nudges to Reduce Water Consumption

With a six-fold increase in global water use over the last century, the availability of fresh water has emerged as a critical issue for environmental sustainability. Water scarcity is an issue that policymakers must address with urgency — states like California already face one of the worst droughts in history. The United Nations estimates that by 2025 over two-thirds of the world’s population will reside in regions considered water-stressed. Although policymakers have made great strides in developing new approaches to stave off this pending crisis, the traditional methods such as educational awareness campaigns and variable rate pricing have not always curbed people’s day to day water use as expected. But what about using our knowledge of human behavior? Given the successful application of behavioral interventions or “nudges” in other environmental contexts, such as reducing energy consumption using social norms…

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Challenge Blog 12 – Water Conservation

The Sustainability Challenge

In class we built our very own rain barrels. We were then asked to write about our experience building the rain barrels. I thought that building our own rain barrels in class was a really cool idea. It was neat to learn how to build the rain barrels, learn the benefits of rain barrels, and be able to all work together and build them. The jobs I was given to do was to sand the outside of the rain barrels and screw in some of the parts in the rain barrel after we drilled a few holes. I think that rain barrels are such a great idea and they are very easy to build.

Once the rain barrels are all ready, we have to sign up for a time to go to the Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Department to add our name and handprint onto the rain barrels that we…

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Water Saving Plants: Smart and great looking!

City Express

Join the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities and the Power Inn Home Depot location and learn more about water savings in and around your yard at the “Water Conservation Plants and Gardening” event this Saturday, May 2nd from 9 a.m.  to 1 p.m.

City Staff and Home Depot Landscaping experts will be on hand to help you determine what plants, sprinklers and water saving tools will help you to conserve during the drought while still maintaining a beautiful yard that you can enjoy all summer long.

More information about the City’s water conservation services can be found at www.sparesacwater.org.

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EARTH DAY 2015: ANNOUNCING THEWORLD’S FIRST SMART IRRIGATION SERVICE

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ETwater Technology Solutions Provider Introduces an Advanced New Solution to Excess Water Use

Infographic: How the smartest irrigation service works. Saves water, eliminates waste and excess use. Automated watering for only the precise amount a lawn, garden or landscape needs to stay healthy. ETwater is an advanced technology solution that helps consumers and businesses deal with restrictions, and the need to conserve water.

NOVATO, CA (April 22, 2015) – The 45th anniversary of Earth Day brings increased awareness to the issues associated with water scarcity. People around the globe are becoming increasingly sensitive and focused on the unnecessary waste of the earth’s precious resources. Mandatory water restrictions are being implemented by leaders, agencies, and municipalities across the United States.

What many don’t know is that advanced technology solutions exist, and can help consumers and businesses deal with these restrictions, and the need to conserve water. For the first time, ETwater…

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Smart Watering System From Blossom Adapts to Local Weather, Conserves Water and Drives Cost Savings

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Easy Installation, Reliable Connection Simplifies Everyday Life

As you know – California is in a water crisis and Governor Brown’s mandate to cut urban water use by 25 percent has left consumers wondering just how they conserve water. In fact, almost every region of the U.S. has experienced a water shortage in recent years — according to the EPA, 40 out of 50 state water managers expect water shortages under average conditions in some portion of their states over the next decade.

IRVINE, CA–(Marketwired – Nov 18, 2014) – Smart homes are becoming less of a conceptual ideal and more of a reality. In fact, 31 million smart home systems are expected to be installed by 2017. Home automation via the Internet of Things brings numerous benefits — but what if these benefits could extend to outside the home as well? With Blossom, they can.

The Power of Smart…

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