El agua es un elemento indispensable

“El agua es un elemento indispensable y... [al] momento no podemos abandonar la atención a los mantos freáticos”. 

Nazario García Ramírez, dirigente del Frente Ecologista “Aguas San Felipe”. Gobierno del Estado de Oaxaca

Blue Gold: World Water Wars

Imagine a world in which wars are fought over water, not oil. Blue Gold: World Water Wars, explains how corporate giants, private investors and corrupt governments fight for control of the world´s depleting water supply. From protests to lawsuits, citizens are fighting for the right to survive...

Reduce Your Water Use!

It wasn´t long ago we were hopping on our bikes and breezing our way to work, unable to fork over the $4+ a gallon for gasoline. Maybe the sun had us feeling a little extra ambitious during the summer of 2008, but the climbing gas prices certainly didn´t hinder our motivation to bike.

What kind of scenario do we need to boost our conversation of water?
We may be aware of the daily methods to conserve water (things like flushing the toilet only when necessary, turning off the faucet while brushing our teeth and taking shorter showers) that can reduce our household´s water consumption and the utility bill.

What else can we do?

As posted recently on Water for the Ages, a water audit is a helpful way to determine our household´s water consumption and the steps we can take to reduce it. Try this online audit, or this one...

While you´re conducting your audit, think about the following: We require between five and 13 gallons/day for our basic needs. Typically, individuals in developed nations use at least 40 gallons per day each. It isn´t difficult to see why. We use on average one gallon of water/min washing dishes in the kitchen sink, five gallons every toilet flush (1.6 low-flow), and 25 gallons every five minutes in the shower.

Join me and many others in conducting an audit and taking a pledge to reduce our water use!

Let´s Start with Schools

One of our first priorities for the target communities we work in is to provide filters free to schools. Access to potable water will better students´ working environments, allowing them to focus on their studies while enjoying safe, clean drinking water. We also hope to educate students about water, sensitizing them to current issues and providing hands-on activities that teach solutions.

A great place to search for water education resources is Schools Water Portal, a Website founded by Arghyam that provides comprehensive, captivating and fun activities for school-aged children. And best of all, the dozens of materials on projects such as rainwater harvesting are FREE. Educators around the globe are encouraged to use the presentations, quizzes, plays, debate topics, water stories and more, all focused on water.

Arghyam´s history of developing water management programs, trainings and solutions is impressive. Check out its other comprehensive Websites, India Water Portal and India Sanitation Portal.

Chilean water rights system leaves town parched

This article is outlines some of the issues around the privatization of water rights and water use in Latin America.

From the International Herald Tribune:

¨During the past four decades here in Quillagua, a town in the record books as the driest place on earth, residents have sometimes seen glimpses of raindrops above the foothills in the distance. They never reach the ground, evaporating like a mirage while still in the air.

What the town did have was a river, feeding an oasis in the Atacama Desert. But mining companies have polluted and bought up so much of the water, residents say, that for months each year the river is little more than a trickle — and an unusable one at that....¨

Read the complete article at: http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/15/america/chile.php

8 new volunteers join our team

Water for Humans welcomes eight new volunteers to expand our capabilities to provide clean water.

Joshua Siegal, MFA: Web and Interactive media artist
Odlie Valenzuela: Spanish - English Translation Associate
Susan Peacock: Spanish - English Translation Associate
Claire LaPoma: Spanish - English Translation Associate
Marni Siegal: Spanish - English Translation Associate
Pedro Meza: Cultural Liaison and Business Development Officer
Kathleen Dowd-Gailey
Vincent Carpio: African Liaison

New Board Member

Water for Humans welcomes Tressie Word.

Tressie works to improve environmental conditions in creative, appropriate and elegant ways. Six years of engineering, four years of construction and fabrication, and a lifetime of artistic endeavors propel her to catalyze broad scale change in global health and sanitation, with style.

Tressie earned her BS in Environmental Resources Engineering in 2002 and her MS in International Development Technology in 2006 from Humboldt State University.