Earth-Save

(NAPSI) - Here’s a statistic you may not want to raise a glass to: The average American uses 100 gallons of water each day (enough to fill 1,600 drinking glasses), according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Meanwhile, the U.S. government has projected that more than 70 percent of the country-at least 36 states-will face water shortages by the year 2012 due to a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess.

Managing water is a growing concern in the United States and around the world. The good news is that there is much we can do to preserve and protect this precious, limited resource-starting at home. Following are eight easy ways you can help make every drop count:

Read the rest of this entry »

More than 1,000 cities in 80 countries observed Earth Hour 2009 on Saturday March 28th, as homes, office towers and landmarks turned off their lights for an hour starting at 8:30 pm local time to raise awareness about climate change and the threat from rising greenhouse gas emissions.  Boston.com has collected a wonderful series of before-and-after photographs which will fade between "on" and "off" when clicked.

Earth Hour 2009 Photo Collection

There’s a good chance that fresh, clean water will become the world’s most precious resource by the end of this century.  Good Magazine has produced an interesting chart that shows how simple choices you make during the day can greatly affect your water consumption.

For example, the difference in water consumption between a hamburger and salad is over 600 gallons!

Of course, that’s 600 gallons of “virtual water,” meaning it’s the water required during the entire cycle to produce that product.  For a hamburger, this includes water required for the cow; water for the grass and corn the cow eats; water required to produce, clean and transport the meat, etc.  Much of this water may currently be free, such as rainfall or river water.  But in a water-restricted future, there may be no such thing as free water.

Reduce Your Water Footprint

.