July 10, 2009 by osmobuddy
These two images, taken in 2006 [left] and 2009 by the European Space Agencys Envisat satellite, show the rapid loss of water in Central Asias Aral Sea, which is shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Decades ago, the sea was the worlds fourth largest body of inland water, but diversion of rivers for irrigation has been rapidly shrinking the sea. Two decades ago, it split into the small northern and larger southern sections, and further divisions have been happening ever since.
Kazakhstan and the World Bank partnered in 2005 to build a dike separating—and possibly saving—the northern parts of the sea. But at the current rate, the whole southern segment will likely be bone-dry by 2020.
Aside from lost shoreline, the seas retreat has also created a new and dangerous feature in the landscape: the Aral Karakum Desert, a salty wasteland that is prone to sandstorms. High winds move about 150,000 metric tons of salt annually, which can harm people and change weather patterns intensifying seasonal temperature differences.
Shrinking Sea: Scientific American Gallery
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July 9, 2009 by osmobuddy
As far back as 2,000 years ago, desert villages and other rain-starved communities around the world may have started harvesting fog that collected as water and dripped from trees, said Robert Schemenauer, executive director of FogQuest, a Canadian nonprofit organization that helps communities set up simple collection devices.
Serious work on collecting fog started about a hundred years ago. Since then, fog catchers have been used successfully—though on a small scale—all over the world.
Fog Catchers Bring Water to Parched Villages
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July 9, 2009 by osmobuddy
Thermos launched the Hydration for All campaign and is committed to bring awareness to the water crisis while raising funds to build freshwater wells – they have already funded 2 wells in Liberia and Ethiopia. Continuing its support in 2009, they have underwritten the production of a limited edition charity: water Thermos Hydration Bottle. For every bottle you buy, 100% of the purchase price will go towards the construction of freshwater projects in developing nations. For just $40, you can help provide clean, safe drinking water for two people in need. Join Thermos in its efforts – buy your bottle today.
Thermos | charity: water
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July 9, 2009 by osmobuddy
It’s no big secret that the condition of the world’s oceans, seas, and their ecosystems is deteriorating. Our waters are being overfished and polluted. Sea temperatures and levels are rising. Habitats and healthy coral reefs are shrinking. Microbial diseases are spreading faster. And the ocean is growing more acidic. That’s just a start, and the far-reaching effects hurt everything from polar bears to local economies.
Reports describing our oceans’ decline appear almost daily in the media or in scientific literature. The problem is that, for the general public, it’s difficult to sift through all that piecemeal information and fully grasp the big picture. And for the community of marine scientists, conservation groups, and seemingly endless number of agencies and committees that manage ocean activities (there are some 70 bodies at the federal level alone) there’s no large-scale monitoring system that evaluates progress, or lack of it.
Enter the Ocean Health Index. On Wall Street, we have watched the Dow Jones Industrial Average for 103 years as one gauge of the health of the American economy. The Dow tracks the financial performance of its component companies, but also reveals broader trends in overall economic vigor. Now it’s time to create a Dow Jones of sorts for the ocean, because we have some serious investing to do.
A Dow Jones for the ocean – The Boston Globe
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July 9, 2009 by osmobuddy
From a small loft office in Goshen, a team of energy engineers is plotting to take over America’s water pipelines with a revolutionary goal: putting turbines inside the largest pipes to produce electricity as water flows past.
So goes the thinking at Lucid Energy Technologies, which has partnered with Northwest Pipe Co., a major manufacturer of steel pipes, to develop the “Northwest PowerPipe.” It hopes to begin selling the ingenious infrastructure to utilities starting next year.
Others have tried to develop similar technology, says Josh Thomas, Lucid’s business development director, “but we’re the first to present an option that works.”
MSNBC – Firm has powerful pipe dream
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July 9, 2009 by osmobuddy
The small Australian town of Bundanoon just set a new standard for sustainability by voting to do what no community has ever done before: ban bottled water! The measure was founded over concerns about the tremendous amount of resources used to extract, package, and transport bottled water, and it passed nearly unanimously in a town hall meeting. Will this be the beginning of a trend?
Inhabitat » Australian Town Bans Bottled Water
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July 8, 2009 by osmobuddy
OUR VISION
Our vision is a world in which all communities have the capacity to meet their basic human needs.
OUR MISSION
Engineers Without Borders – USA supports community-driven development programs worldwide through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects, while fostering responsible leadership.
Vision/Mission
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July 7, 2009 by osmobuddy
KickStart is an award-winning social enterprise with a revolutionary solution to poverty in Africa and the developing world. We develop and promote money-making tools that unlock business opportunities for thousands of poor entrepreneurs. KickStart’s human powered irrigation pumps — appropriately named MoneyMaker — have been used to create over 80,000 profitable, agricultural businesses. KickStart sells their tools through a network of over 350 retail outlets across Africa. KickStart believes that the world’s poor are not victims awaiting charity, but rather an untapped source of entrepreneurs who want nothing more than an opportunity. KickStart is proving every day that a well designed intervention can have micro and macro economic impact. Farmers using their pumps see household incomes double, triple, or quadruple in less than a year. This increased household income has lifted over 414,000 people permanently out of poverty. Taken together, KickStart farmers are generating over $83 million in profits and wages every year — a figure that continues to grow. In Kenya alone, MoneyMaker farmers generate the equivalent of .6 percent of the country’s GDP. KickStart has proven that they can lift a family out of poverty forever for just $300, making KickStart one of the most cost-effective anti poverty efforts in the world.
Worldchanging: Bright Green: KickStart: Solving Poverty with Business Opportunity
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July 5, 2009 by osmobuddy
Food & Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer organization that works to ensure clean water and safe food. We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and by transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink.
Food & Water Watch works with grassroots organizations around the world to create an economically and environmentally viable future. Through research, public and policymaker education, media, and lobbying, we advocate policies that guarantee safe, wholesome food produced in a humane and sustainable manner and public, rather than private, control of water resources including oceans, rivers, and groundwater.
Food & Water Watch
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July 5, 2009 by osmobuddy
Our Water Progam aims to develop citizen capacities for education and action on water justice issues in communities. This includes issues like the privatization of water services, bulk water exports, water takings, water security and bottled water. Currently, a major focus of our work is on bottled water, through our Inside the Bottle campaign. Our program has developed a comprehensive report on the bottled water industry, the major corporate players, the key social, environmental and health isues at stake, along with a campaign tool kit for community-based action. We also seek to build connections through solidarity work with communities and workers all over the world to strengthen the global water justice movement and fortify our local struggles, while also working towards building social alternatives for water management.
Water | Polaris Institute
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Inside the Bottle is a Polaris Institute campaign designed to stimulate awareness and action about the bottled water industry.
The campaign highlights the environmental, health, social and economic impacts of bottled water and calls for the rebuilding and maintenance of public tap water systems.
Inside the Bottle
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