Water shortages are taking their toll on south-east England. The hosepipe ban over most of the area means lugging water-cans around the garden, and the drought order in some of the worst affected areas means no car washing. The old… Read More »Beat the drought
The Eden Project has been shortlisted for the Living Landmarks Award, and stands to win up to £50-million in National Lottery funding for a new global climate change biome. The planned biome will be called The Edge, and will focus… Read More »Eden Project “global climate change” biome
I’m confused when I hear people say they’re saving water by washing their dishes by hand because when I bought my first dishwasher two years ago, I did my research and found that by buying a AAA-rated machine I would be saving not only time, but water and electricity too. Still, the myth that dishwashers are water-gobbling evils prevails, and so I was grateful and relieved to read in The Guardian that it’s now official, get a dishwasher and save water.
A study by Waterwise, an NGO dedicated to reducing water wastage, shows that washing dishes by hand is wasting millions of litres of water every day in the UK. This supports research at the University of Bonn that shows that by using a dishwasher, households could save up to 11,000 litres of water annually. That’s a lot of water!
While dishwashers back in the 1970’s used on average 50 litres per wash, modern appliances use as little as 9 litres per cycle. I’m guessing the average sink holds around 20 litres at least, and that’s not taking into account changing the water when it gets greasy, or rinsing dishes.
Read More »Washing dishes by hand wastes water
Surfers spend so much time with nature it’s no wonder they are doing what they can to look after the environment. Surfers Against Sewage (or the SAS campaign as they are also known) have been campaigning for clean waters since… Read More »Surfers With A Cause
Justin Rowlatt is continuing his year of living as ITV Newsnight’s Ethical Man, but is struggling to come up with more water saving ideas to satisfy his viewers. Can you help him? Give him your tips at the Ethical Man’s… Read More »Ethical Man Needs Your Help
African leaders are hoping to spur a “Green Revolution” in their countries, similar to that of Asia and Latin America in the 1950’s and 1960’s. They have proposed to eliminate taxes on fertilizer and have introduced a funding mechanism to make fertilizer more affordable to farmers who are often forced to abandon their lands and clear natural vegetation elsewhere because of soil depletion.
“Population pressure now compels farmers to grow crop after crop thereby mining the soil of nutrients,” Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo told heads of state and farming ministers from across Africa at a summit to address the crisis… [I]n Africa, where many farmers cannot afford fertiliser, yields per person have fallen over the last 40 years and experts warn that if soil depletion continues unabated, they will decline by up to 30 percent over the next 15 years. To avoid this, the heads of state pledged to reduce the cost of fertiliser by harmonising taxes and tariffs across the continent by mid-2007…
Read More »African countries make strides toward “Green Revolution”
Seven Baka pygmies, who form the musical group Baka Gbine (pronounced “bee-nay”), have arrived in the UK to bring awareness to the plight of their rainforest in Cameroon. They will be giving live performances of their album Gati Bongo, recorded… Read More »The Sounds of the Rainforest
We are facing the dryest summer in the South East of England for 100 years, so what are we doing to help the situation as individuals? The hosepipe ban is leading us to devise new ways to save water while… Read More »Surviving the Hosepipe Ban
Anti-Apathy presents Turning the Tide, an event aimed at bringing awareness of the dwindling nature of the capital’s water sources to London’s people and showing them how individual actions will make a difference in ensuring our supply of water for… Read More »Anti-Apathy is Turning the Tide