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Officials Look to Make Tap Water Trendy in Venice

Connor Boals — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:59:13 +0000

As the environmental conscience of Italy grows, officials are trying to cut down on the plastic bottles that are stacking up in Venice’s trash cans, creating a nuisance. The bottles can be recycled, but this process unleashes its own greenhouse gases.

Officials in Venice, faced with the problem of encouraging tap water use, took a hint from the advertising world –- the same world that made bottled water a global industry. First move: they coined a name, Acqua Veritas, and slapped it on carafes that were given to households free of charge.

In Italy tap water is often referred to as “the mayor’s water.” Posters of Venice’s mayor pouring himself a tall glass can be seen around the city.

“There are so many advantages to Acqua Veritas,” Riccardo Seccarello, a city official, told The New York Times. “Tap water doesn’t require a bottle. Its quality is controlled more strictly than bottled water. It’s really cheap. And you don’t have to walk to a market to get it.”

The campaign to promote city water has not made much headway in the commercial market. Restaurants and stores still rely on selling bottled water, and in a city dominated by tourism, public education aimed at local drinkers can only go so far.

Trash is a problem in Venice, because it is collected by wheelbarrow along the canals, a cost that is $251 more per ton than on the paved mainland of Italy. Since the Acqua Veritas campaign, officials claim that load is down about 20 tons per month.

Read more here.

Source: The New York Times

Inset photo by C.T. Pope

The Battle for the “Greenest” Bottle

Nadya Ivanova — Thu, 21 May 2009 02:55:32 +0000

Following Pepsi and Nestle, Coca Cola is entering the race for the greenest water bottle. The company said last week that it will introduce a new plant-based plastic bottle, which is to debut in North America later this year, the Associated Press reported.

The so-called “PlantBottle” will be made from a mixture of petroleum-based materials and up to 30 percent plant-based materials, such as sugar cane and molasses. The fully recyclable packaging will be tested in target North American markets with Coca-Cola Co.’s leading water brand and certain sparkling brands.

Coca Cola is the latest major drink maker to try to boost its eco-friendly credentials through alternative packaging. In March, PepsiCo. Inc. said it would use lighter bottles for Aquafina, while Nestle Waters North America already sells lighter Ozarka water bottles in certain states.

Traditional plastic bottles are made from a petroleum-based resin known as polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. About one billion PET bottles are drained every week with only 18 percent to 23 percent being recycled, according to the Container Recycling Institute.

Read more here and here.

Source: Yahoo News, The Columbus Dispatch

Advancing Algal Bloom Chokes Lower Murray Darling River

Sarah Haughn — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:56:33 +0000

A vast swath of blue-green algae is making its way through Australia, creeping down Victoria’s Lower Murray Darling River at a pace that alarms authorities. At the end of March, the algae had already covered more than 300 kilometers from Hume Dam to the Torrumbarry Weir. Officials fear it could reach the border of South Australia within three to four weeks.

“We are seeing it slowly move downstream, but we want to make sure we’ve got monitoring in place that will keep us well and truly up to date as it’s progressing along,” said Owen Russell, general manager of Victoria’s Lower Murray Water Corporation.

Low water levels and high temperatures have combined to produce the perfect conditions for such an outbreak. Algal blooms are often caused by fertilizer-rich agricultural runoff. The blooms harm river ecology, causing eutrophication — which occurs when the algae creates a barrier, preventing sunlight and oxygen from reaching organisms within the water.

The government has issued a high level red alert, as the spread exceeds 400 kilometers. Tourism businesses worry that the possibly toxic algae will discourage Easter tourists and further drive down profits. After more than a decade of drought and increasingly damaging bushfires, revenues from tourism and agriculture in Victoria and South Australia continue to plummet.

“It’s still a lovely place to visit, there’s lots of other areas within the region and within our towns,” Barb MacDermid from Yarrawonga-Mulwala Tourism told Australia’s ABC.

“But of course that is always the big worry. We’ve just got over the other part of Victoria, the fires, we’re just trying to resurrect a lot of tourism within the regions.”

Read more here and here.

Source: Australia Broadcasting Corporation

Digital Drought: Australia’s Future on Fire in Acclaimed Media Project

Sarah Haughn — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:51:57 +0000

Australia’s drought remains severe, but the award-winning interactive drama project, Scorched, offers a searing reality check for Australians nationwide. The year is 2012 and Sydney, facing raging bushfires, is finally out of water. As politicians, journalists, and ordinary citizens race to save their country, the project urges real Australians to join the not-so-fantastical fiction.

Using popular new media tools, the project turns viewers into participants in the unfolding crises — delivering Orwell’s dystopia into the 21st century. Scorched uses of a television series, live characters reporting on YouTube, cell phone alerts, mock news updates, blogs and social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to weave a complex theater of narratives staging a desperate future for Australia.

To date, at least 10 percent of Australia’s population has taken part. Recent winner of an International Digital Emmy Award for best fiction program at the Cannes MIPTV conference, Scorched continues to earn attention and accolades across the world.

Read more here and here.

Source: Scorched, The Australian

Race to Create Space: Plastic Bottle Offers Lightweight Response to Consumer Concerns

Sarah Haughn — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:06:58 +0000

Plastic remains the material of choice for bottled water, but corporations using it face increasing criticism from consumers concerned about environmental impacts. In the rush to keep their market on the bottle, so to speak, Pepsi plans to reduce the amount of plastic used by 20 percent, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Pepsi also plans to begin producing the bottles at the same plants in which they are filled, as well as to vacuum pack bottles without cardboard for shipping. These changes, the company says, should significantly reduce the amount of energy required to create and transport their commodity.

According to a report from the Pacific Institute, making the bottle itself constitutes the highest energy cost a water packaging company incurs. While Nestle, Coca Cola and Pepsi compete for more environmentally sound bottles, advocates of tap water consumption worry that their efforts may convince consumers put “a green veneer on a plastic bottle.”

Gigi Kellet, national director of a “Think Outside the Bottle Campaign” for Corporate Accountability International, reminded the Wall Street Journal that bottled water is still “costly for the environment, our pocketbooks and our public water systems.”

Read more here.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Water Designer Turns Box Thinking Inside Out

Sarah Haughn — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:07:30 +0000

While the recent UNESCO Water Report encourages stakeholders to climb out of their respective ideological boxes, a packaging innovator from Michigan reassures consumers boxes aren’t so bad after all. As it turns out, drinking water packaged in boxes might be the happily sustainable medium for those unlikely to sacrifice the portable, disposable commodity.

Benjamin Edgar, designer of Boxed Water, has created a product that appeals to consumer consciousness from several angles. The product provides an efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to the conventional product. The trees harvested to produce the boxes come from certified sustainable forests. The efficient box shape means a greater quantity of units pack into a smaller space. More boxes per truck equals fewer trucks — hence, a reduced carbon footprint.

According to a recent paper on bottled water published by the Pacific Institute, the highest bottled water energy cost to the consumer and the environment is actually the production of the plastic container itself. Contrast this with Boxed Water, which is comprised of 90 percent renewable resources and in some cases leaves behind a footprint 80 percent lower than its counterpart.

Read more here and here.

Sources: Creativity-Online, Boxed Water

Eco-Phone to Communicate Future of Sustainable Technology

Sarah Haughn — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:15:51 +0000

BARCELONA — The days of can-to-can communication are over. To celebrate, Samsung recently announced its newest eco-savvy cell phone. Christened Blue Earth, the mobile device is made from recycled water bottles. Equipped with a solar panel on its backside, the phone drinks energy from the sun. According to Wired, Samsung is guarding its secret closely until they release the unit in the second half of this year.

Blue Earth allegedly includes features that promote an alternative-energy oriented lifestyle. A pedometer measures how far you’ve walked, calculating how much carbon you’ve saved in comparison to driving. It also includes energy-saving sensors that switch off the backlights to allow the solar panel to work its magic faster.

Read more here.

Sources: Wired

Leave it to Beaver: Arkansas Water Department Warns About Imposters

Sarah Haughn — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:13:27 +0000

As water grows increasingly precious to the southwestern United States, petty criminals are exploiting the crisis for profit. Residents of Fayetteville, Arkansas have been warned their water is not safe to drink. The information, however, does not come from the Beaver Water District officials. Scammers, imitating the district water testers, have recommended homeowners install expensive water purification systems — a ploy to sell their technology.

According to the Northwest Arkansas Times, the water district automatically samples its product and maintains consistently drinkable standards. “If you want to install an expensive water filtration system at your home for aesthetic purposes, such as taste and odor, then you have every right to do so,” Larry L. Lloyd, chief operating officer of Beaver Water District said. “But do not do so because you’ve been told your water isn’t safe to drink.”

Read more here.

Source: Northwest Arkansas Times

Inset image of Beaver Lake Reservoir courtesy of the United States Geological Survey

Nuts over water: Poor pistachio crop drives Iran-U.S. competition

Sarah Haughn — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:25:22 +0000

An April frost and drought conditions in Iran have significantly damaged the Islamic nation’s pistachio crop — their second export behind oil. Now they face pressure from California, also a major pistachio producer, reports Reuters.

Although U.S. efforts to market the nut are strong, dry conditions in the American West also mean that neither country boasts a record harvest. Emotions run high between the two, as usual. A daily in Iran wrote that the U.S. has tried “to improve its position in the global war of pistachio production and export by undermining Iranian trade in every way.”

But not everyone sees it as a war. Iranian Mohsen Jalalpour of a local Chamber of Commerce says that persistent water shortages determine the crop volume more than anything else. While the U.S. might trump Iran this year, the country has a solid reputation for its tasty pistachios. Recognizing the importance of the nut, the Iranian government is also considering moving production toward the west of Iran, where water supplies are more readily available.

Read more here.

Source: Reuters

Writing competition challenges students to think about the future of India’s water

Sarah Haughn — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:08:57 +0000

MUMBAI – Eco-petition, an annual student writing competition sponsored by international products company Henkel India Ltd., has announced that this year’s theme is water. A press release on Indiatelevision.com reports the contest, named “”Hold your Blue Gold – My Innovative Strategy to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Water,” will gather papers from secondary school students across India who present innovative ideas for the sustainable use of their country’s water resources.

Water is a scarce resource worldwide. Four billion people do not have adequate access to drinking water supplies.

–Sam Chandar

“Water is a scarce resource worldwide. Four billion people do not have adequate access to drinking water supplies,” notes Sam Chandar, Vice President – HR & Corporate Communication, Henkel India Ltd. “By creating a heightened awareness and focusing young minds on this critical resource Henkel will be contributing towards sustainability….”

Read more here.

Source: Indiantelevision.com