Starbucks Wasting More Than 6 Million Gallons of Water a Day

American coffee giant Starbucks became the target of conservationists today after an investigation by the U.K. newspaper The Sun estimated that the company wasted up to 6 million gallons of water every day, enough to quell the thirst of a small African nation.

As part of a company policy aimed at preventing germ buildup in its taps, Starbucks stores are directed to keep water running constantly into a sink, called a dipper well, to clean utensils and wash away food residue, The Sun reported.

As a result of running water all day, every day at each of the company’s 10,000 worldwide coffee emporiums, Starbucks wastes water in an amount The Sun estimated to be “enough daily water for the entire 2 million strong population of drought-hit Namibia in Africa or fill an Olympic pool every 83 minutes.”

The investigation was launched after a couple who spotted a running tap at a U.K. Starbucks were told by a store employee that it was left on to clean the pipes. They contacted Starbucks head office to find out more and later received a letter confirming that it was company policy to keep water constantly running into the dipper wells.

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Source: ABC News

Nuprana.com, the water conservation resource, now opens bloggers’ opinion section

Nuprana.com, dedicated to promote water conservation in the US recently opened its Water Conservation News site to publish what bloggers are writing about the issue.

Albuquerque, NM-The on-line source for water conservation news, Nuprana.com just launched a new section called ‘Blogger’s Opinion’ aimed at giving bloggers who address water related issues more visibility and a broader audience. “We believe in the power of information and education, we believe that that power must be shared by everyone, not only by large corporations. That’s why in addition to the traditional media news that we post, we decided to open our publication to the bloggers’ community.” explained Osvaldo Gomez, co-founder of Nuprana.com.

Water conservation is rapidly becoming a top priority of governments around the world due to the increasing threat of water shortages triggered by years of overuse and stronger droughts caused by climate change.

This new section will enrich its content via original articles submissions sent by bloggers to the Nuprana’s editorial team as well as various news feeds that dig the web for interesting articles published in blogs all over the world.

Bloggers interested in getting their articles published need only to send an email to Nuprana’s Editorial Team (news_nuprana[at]nuprana[dot]com) with their articles, a brief bio and how they want to be linked back by Nuprana.com. Nuprana LLC reserves the right to select which articles will be published and to reply with suggestions that might improve the chance of getting an article published.

About Nuprana.com

Nuprana.com is a family-owned, on-line green company dedicated to promote water conservation that offers affordable, user-friendly water conservation products for green homes and businesses, in addition to water conservation information, news and advocacy recommendations. It was founded by Elizabeth Beachy and Osvaldo Gomez with the vision of conscious water use, cleaner waterways, safe drinking water, and pristine freshwater sources preserved and revered for their natural beauty. The couple resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They started Nuprana after the birth of their son inspired them to help improve the world awaiting his generation.

Yangtze River water level at 140-year low

In a new sign of China’s water and environmental crisis, cargo boats on the Yangtze have been stranded on river banks as its levels have fallen to a 140-year low.

Forty boats have run aground since October on the lower stretches of China’s longest river, which is both a water supply and industrial thoroughfare for a region of 400 million people.

Government scientists blamed an extended drought in southern and south-western China, which caused widespread water shortages last autumn.

But they also admitted that too much water had been held up by the giant Three Gorges Dam, which was built not only to generate electricity but also to control the Yangtze’s devastating summer floods.

The river authorities said that the dam was responsible for a drop of 50 per cent in the river’s flow downstream.

Global warming, population pressure, and inefficient use of resources have all contributed to a nationwide water shortage.

The Yellow River, which flows through central and northern China, regularly dries up along much of its course during the dry season, contributing to the growing desertification of the north.

The fate of the Yangtze is particularly disturbing as the authorities are relying on a massive water diversion scheme currently being built at a cost of £32bn to take water from the Yangtze to the Yellow River.

Last week, the water level on the Yangtze at Wuhan, in central China east of the dam, fell to less than 14 metres for the first time since 1866, according to local media.

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Source: The Telegraph

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Biofuels ‘could cause serious water shortages’

The race to increase the percentage of bio-diesel used in cars around the world could create serious water shortages and pollution problems in the US, China and India, according to two independent studies released this week.

Plans to massively expand the amount of green ethanol manufactured from crops such as maize and sugar-cane will cut carbon emissions but also aggravate water shortages and drive up the prices of food for the world’s poor, researchers warn.

The first report, from the Colombo-based International Water Management Institute, (IWWI) singled out India and China, which already suffer from chronic water shortages in some areas, the two countries that could be worst affected.

“Domestic production of bio-fuels derived from crops will put greater stress on these countries’ water supplies, seriously undermining their ability to meet future food and feed demands,” said Charlotte de Fraiture, lead author of the IWMI study.

China has already announced plans to quadruple its bio-diesel production by 2020 to 15 billion litres, but would need to increase maize output by 26 per cent to meet that target. India has similarly ambitious plans based on sugarcane production.

However the IWMI, a group of 100 scientists from 16 countries, calculated that it required 2,400 litres of irrigation water to produce a single litre of ethanol from maize in China and 3,500 litres from irrigated Indian sugarcane.

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Source: The Telegraph

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Water - the under-reported resource crisis

Food riots in Haiti, strikes over rice shortages in Bangladesh, tortilla trouble in Mexico and bread wars in Egypt.

Soaring food prices are causing more misery round the world than the credit crunch. But what is the cause?

Biofuels are part of it, clearly. A quarter of US corn is now put into tanks rather than stomachs. And oil price rises are feeding in, via the cost of fertiliser and transport.

But here is something nobody has yet mentioned. Water.

The great slow-burning, under-reported resource crisis of the 21st century is water.

Climate change, over-consumption and the criminally inefficient use of this most basic raw material are all to blame. I wrote a book three years ago called When The Rivers Run Dry - because many of the world’s biggest rivers are indeed running dry.

We are using them to death. And with two-thirds of the water abstracted from nature round the world going to irrigate crops, water shortages equal food shortages.

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Source: The Telegraph

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Europe: Era of Cheap Water is Over

European Environment Minister Stavros Dimas told the conference in Zaragoza, Spain - which has a water theme - that the Continent was squandering too much of its water resources and the guiding principle now had to be: the user pays.

Clean drinking water was a vital resource and people had to realise they must pay for it in exactly the same way as they do for their petrol, heat and energy.

“In some areas of the southern Mediterranean where water is already scarce as much as 44 per cent of the supply is wasted.

“That is unsustainable and has to change,” he said at the conference on water and drought.

“Water comes at a price and it will be up to each country in the EU to take the right measures and to ensure people pay for what they use.

“If someone who lives near the sea has a swimming pool then they will have to pay more. It is only logical to tax more heavily those who can afford to have a swimming pool when they could just as easily swim in the sea.

“Similarly, if someone opens a golf course in an area where there is little water, then they must pay more.”

He said several EU countries including the UK, Germany and Spain were already suffering water shortages and the problem would be made worse by the higher temperatures and more frequent periods of drought brought by climate change.

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Source: The Telegraph

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The Harsh Economics of the Global Water Crisis

Every morning when you wake up and perform what you may perceive as insignificant chores, you might not realize that for 2.6 billion people around the world, your morning shower or just one flush of the toilet is the essence of luxury. The United Nations has declared that every human being is entitled to 20 liters of safe water every day. In Europe, we have the privilege of using 200 liters per day, while in the US, the average person uses up to 400. The average person in the developing world tries to manage on less than 10 liters of contaminated water to do all their daily chores.

From August 17-23, the Stockholm International Water Institute hosted the 4th annual World Water Week, bringing together 2,500 of the world’s leading water experts to discuss the “progress and prospects on water” with a focus on sanitation. Notable honorary dignitaries, presidents, laureates and ministers discussed the world’s water challenges and revealed the latest innovations for addressing global water issues. I attended a range of seminars that presented strategies to tackle the current global water and sanitation crisis. Confronted with some very alarming findings, I was profoundly moved to recognize that water can be and is a cause for human degradation.

Twenty percent of the world’s population faces water shortages and lives without sustainable access to safe drinking water. At a time of worsening food crises, water resource disputes and global climate change, they further endure poor health due to poor sanitation. The overall water balance has been tipped, resulting in a multitude of conflicts. Estimates show that that global water consumption is increasing at twice the rate of population growth. As Andrew Liveris, CEO of Dow Chemical Company has pointed out in his work, “Water is the oil of this century but the key difference is, water has no substitute.”

Water and sanitation go hand in hand. According to the World Health Organization, 80% of all world sickness is attributable to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. It is our era’s greatest scandal that 1.6 million children die of preventable illness each year. Every day, 5,000 children die from diarrhoeal diseases related to unsafe water.

In 2002 the United Nations set a Millennium Development Goal to halve the number of people without access to sanitation and water by 2015. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon declared 2008 as the year to combat the global sanitation crisis and has labeled the securing of safe water and sanitation for all as “one of the most daunting challenges faced today.” However, with the current slow rate of progress, this global target will not be met in our lifetime. As an example, Sub-Saharan Africa will not meet these goals anytime before 2076. Reviewing progress against the goals set in 2002, it is saddening to witness that six years later 55 nations are failing dreadfully to reach their water related targets.

The economic impact of poor sanitation is shocking. The most recent report by the Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP) revealed that in 2006, the impact of dire sanitation cost Indonesia $6.3 billion, or 2.3% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Additional findings by the WSP found that in Africa, an estimated 5% of the continent’s GDP is lost to illness and death caused by unsafe water and the absence of sanitation facilities. According to the Asian Development Bank, “it is more costly to not care about sanitation than to do something about it.”

With all the technological innovations available and money spent on the Water Week event, I found myself wondering how the global water and sanitation problem has escalated to this level of a disaster? With only $9.5 billion a year, or just one-third of the annual global spending on bottled water, the world could meet the MDG sanitation target by 2015 and provide everyone with a toilet by 2025.

The truth of the matter is that even though investment in sanitation is still considered unaffordable, it’s not. According to Water Aid’s Chief Executive Barbara Frost it’s just not as “politically sexy” - there is enough money around, “but the key issue is how to direct it.” So while water continues to be seen as a political priority, sanitation is not. Amy Leung, an urban development specialist from the Asian Development Bank explains, “Health doesn’t cut it. It’s all about the money, and sanitation is definitely not on the top agenda. But we aim to prove to governments that it’s costing them economic growth. We want to argue that sanitation is a good investment and we should approach the ministers of finance rather than health.”

R. Andreas Kraemer, Director of the Ecologic Institute for Berlin and Vienna, says “there is no one solution for the world - we need regional policies and national change, therefore good governance is a key factor in solving this issue. Policies are very good in optimizing the current situation but do not address the future. We need to develop policies that can be implemented as we learn. However many of the technocrats in charge of water management solutions want to keep their power intact by controlling policy. Parliamentarians rarely understand the engineer’s complex work and therefore contribute little to solving the crisis.”

It always seems so easy to quantify what the developing world needs, but as a spectator at Water Week, I couldn’t help but wonder why the voices of the people who are actually affected by the harsh water resource cycles were not included. Why are people who live with these struggles not here to share their needs and thoughts about these issues? I highly doubt that any of the week’s attendees have ever experienced the harshness of water shortage or lack of sanitary facilities. Have any of them ever had to defecate out in the open and quench their thirst from the same pond?

The water crisis is driven by many factors such as inequality and poverty, where the burden falls most heavily on women. At a seminar produced by Safer World and Gender Water Alliance (GWA), the water conflicts in Uganda and Sudan were presented and discussed. In Uganda, the competition for water resources can resurrect historical animosity and cause conflicts between communities. Issues also arise as a result of disagreements over whether the water should be utilized for domestic or agricultural purposes.

In Uganda, as in most African countries, women are by social tradition required to fetch water as the task is considered highly embarrassing for a man. Girls in Uganda are often denied education because they are tasked with carrying water from far distances. The Equity of Inclusion Adviser Rukeya Ahmed of Water Aid believes the whole burden of water and sanitation is feminized but the management of it is male focused. “However I don’t believe a shift to a female-only focus will lead to fairness and sustainability in water utility; there should be a division of labor.”

According to GWA, gender is a key variable in all water sectors. They say research and practical experience demonstrates that effective, efficient and equitable management of water resources is only achieved when women and men are equally involved in the consultation processes as well as in the management and implementation of water related services.

Safer World suggests a “conflict sensitive approach” as a solution to sustainable water resources management and water conflict resolution. They revealed that communities in Uganda appreciate this approach because it creates a platform for both men and women to discuss ways to minimize the negative impacts of community conflicts and inequalities.

The UN’s Declaration of Human Rights states that every human being has the right to life. Water is the essence of life yet nobody seems to respect its importance as such. At the end of the World Water Week, I had reached the conclusion that in order to change the world we really need to start by talking about the silent dilemmas around us. It is important to realize that this global crisis cannot be solved with a “quick fix.” Access to safe drinking water or sanitation facilities should not be a luxury, nor an act of charity, but an obligation by the global community to ensure that no person is denied this right. I believe that in order to address the needs of billions who live without proper water and sanitation we need strong leadership because as the great human rights lawyer Parul Sharma once said, “it is more difficult to combat the poverty of the mind than material poverty.” We need to overcome the stigmas related to the sanitation crisis and educate all people of its critical consequences.

About the Author
Born and raised in Sweden, Bangladeshi Julie Chowdhury works for the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan. She holds a joint honors bachelor’s degree in Politics and International Studies and Development Studies. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Gender Studies.

Julie dreams of a world where people step out of their comfort zones to explore the hidden potential that we all carry and use it to contribute and create. She dreams of a world focused on increasing levels of humanity and compassion.

Devoted to covering human rights violations, Julie hopes to give a voice to the invisible.

Source: The Women’s International Perspective

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Spain sweats amid ‘water wars’

Spain is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years. Climate experts warn that the country is suffering badly from the impact of climate change and that the Sahara is slowly creeping north - into the Spanish mainland.

Yet in Spain itself there is little consensus about what is to be done. Indeed, such is the disagreement that journalists and politicians alike are calling it “water wars”.

A farmer and politician, Angel Carcia Udon, said: “Water arouses passions because it can be used as a weapon, a political weapon, just as oil is a political weapon.”

And water in Spain has set region against region, north against south and government against opposition.

When the city of Barcelona nearly ran out of water earlier this year, the fountains were switched off and severe restrictions were introduced.

The government of Catalonia pleaded for water to be transferred from rivers like the Ebro - causing a furious row between the regions.

Instead, the city shipped in millions of litres of water from France and accelerated work on the giant desalination plant on the edge of Barcelona, which promises to provide 180,000 cubic metres of water a day.

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Source: BBC News

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Spanish festival’s serious side: scarce water

With its cable cars and stylish architecture, Expo Zaragoza 2008 is the pride of this northeastern Spanish city, offering a feel-good theme of water and sustainable development until mid-September.

Boisterous summertime crowds pack sprawling exhibits showcasing European rivers and lakes and Middle Eastern oases. But there is a sobering message behind the international fair: a growing demand for water and the effects of climate change are making water an increasingly scarce and fought-after resource, experts say - not just in the Middle East or Africa, but also in countries like Spain.

“National and regional governments in Spain have a problem when it comes to water - primarily because of the intensifying competition among agriculture, tourism and urban development, especially along coastal areas,” said Kevin Parris, an economist at the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris. “And also climate change, which suggests the problem of water scarcity, will increase in the next 20 to 30 years.”

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Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

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China’s water prices ticking up

The Ministry of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China has announced plans to raise the price of water sometime this year.

That announcement triggered a market reaction in which the price of water resources and utilities companies was driven up by some eight to ten percent in an otherwise down market. And the movement in water underlines the deep challenges ahead for China as it builds out on its infrastructure and adopts water technologies.

Companies which reported gains from the announcement included Wuhan Sanzhen Industrial Holding Co. and Jiangxi Hongcheng Waterworks Co., hinting at big investment opportunities ahead for water technology and infrastructure in China.

According to the Research on Sustainable Utilization of China Urban Water Resources, China’s total investment in sewage treatment industry is expected to reach CNY200 billion in the period 2008-2010, indicating China’s sewage treatment industry with huge market potential will be able to have a rapid and sustainable development.

Last week the Shantou municipal government in Guangdong, China said it will invest 920 million RMB (134.70 million USD) to build a new sewage treatment plant that will process 0.12 million tons of waste once the project is completed.

“China is one of the regions of the country that’s experiencing drought, and it’s investing heavily in water infrastructure,” said Richard Stover, Chief Technology Officer for Energy Recovery, a provider of ultra-high efficiency desalination technology that recently went public. “We identify China as one of our largest markets,” he told the Cleantech Group.

To place the water problem in context, one has to understand the inequity of water resources in China. Today, China has 20 percent of the world’s population but only 7 percent of the water supply, according to Summit Global Management Inc, a consulting company.

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Source: Clean Tech

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