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Two recent segments from CBS news are worth highlighting. The first is the “60 Minutes” report on California’s drought and the toll it’s taking on the state and nation.

Second is a recent feature in the CBS News series “Where America Stands,” entitled, “America’s Dwindling Water Supply.” The article details some sobering facts including how the U.S.’s water use stacks up against the rest of the world. According to the article Americans average using 150 gallons of water per day with 30 gallons being used by 9 a.m. Compare that to the 40 gallons of water per day used in the U.K. and 13 gallons per day used in some of the worlds poorest countries and it seems we’ve got a lot of work to do.

The rest of the article points to how we got here and what we can do to make a difference. There’s even a link to the Water - Use It Wisely tips page as a resource for how to get started. While there is certainly an urgency to make a difference now, the good thing is there are plenty of easy ways to make a huge difference. Our job here is to help you understand that. But remember, no tip or resource works without your commitment. It doesn’t take much, just a little time and a little effort and we can turn this thing around in a hurry.

Clean your car with just one glass of H2O - By: Ecolo President, Pierrick Bouquet

According to the International Car Wash Association, washing your car at home or in the driveway uses between 80 and 140 gallons of water. Also, washing your car at home releases contaminated water directly into the environment or into storm drains intended for rainwater causing pollution in rivers, streams and oceans.

Soon, water rationing and restrictions on car washing may come our way. In fact, some municipalities have already banned home car washing with a hose, enforcing the ban with citations and possible imprisonment for violators.

Ecolo Green Car Wash is a response to this problem, providing services and products that use the equivalent of JUST one glass of water to wash a car.

This product works and we certainly hope you use it (find out more at our website - www.ecologreencarwash.com). But this product or any other like it won’t succeed unless we change our behavior first. This isn’t just about saving water washing your car. It’s about preserving the future by changing the way you act in your everyday life.

Technically, the nation is using less water in 2005 than it did in 1975 despite a 30 percent population increase over that same time. Good news right? Of course. But, according to the same Geological Survey report, human consumption has also steadily increased over that time.

That can be expected considering the population increase, and Andrew Nusca and Larry Dignan of “Smart Planet” do a great job of breaking down the survey here. The bottom line is the downturn in water-use has stemmed from more effecient technologies in irrigation systems and power plants. This, of course, is great news but we can make it even better by continuing to do our part as consumers. It may not seem like a low flow shower head or reusing water from the dishes makes a difference, but it does. In fact, it makes a big difference.

The last 30 years are obviously a step in the right direction but water is more scarce now than ever and it’s going to take all of our efforts to continue to make a difference. It’s easy. Start here and spread the word.

Water - Use It Wisely invites you to check out its new video series, “Tinkling with Ryan.” The series provides regular entertaining takes on water conservation news and tips. In the first episode, Ryan shows you how easy it is to install a water-saving shower head. Believe me, if this guy can do it so can you.

Tomorrow, October 8, Guy  Laliberte, Founder of Cirque du Soleil and President of the One Drop Foundation is launching Moving Stars and Earth For Water, and online event to raise awareness of water-related issues. The event brings together personalities including former U.S. VP Al Gore, Dr. David Suzuki, U2 and Shakira to heighten awareness of water-related issues in a way only Cirque du Soleil could.

While the event will certainly be spectacular (and you can find out all the details about how you can participate here), visit Laliberte’s “One Drop Foundation” site and pledge a behavior that will make an immediate impact. The event might be tomorrow but water conservation is something you can pledge to do year round.

Jeans. We all love them. We all have them. In fact, most of us have a lot of them. According to a Cotton Inc. survey, the average American owns 8.3 pairs of jeans. American teens average 11 pairs of jeans. As much as I love jeans I actually come in on the low end of this survey at 5 pairs, 2 of which I haven’t worn in years.

Having this many jeans already seems a bit excessive. But when you factor in that it takes 1,800 gallons of water to grow enough cotton to make just one pair of jeans, this suddenly seems to go far beyond excess. It’s unreasonable to suggest that we no longer buy jeans or condemn those that do. After all, jeans are as much a part of America as apple pie and angry political debates.

But armed with this statistic it does seem that we should find a use for the jeans we all have soaking up space in our closets. If we’re going to use the water to grow the cotton to make the jeans, let’s put our old jeans back to use.

So in addition to asking you to follow our more traditional water saving tips we’d also like to ask that you donate your old jeans. Make them useful again by donating them to your local Goodwill and we’ll dramatically reduce our water consumption. Not only will our environment thank you but so will the person you just helped get a new pair of jeans.

Making water conservation easy to understand is one of the biggest challenges we face everyday. Here’s a great example of how IBMs’ “A Smarter Planet” series is combining creative and simple to show how important and easy conserving water really is…

Even though we may not understand all of the words in this Brazilian made water-conservation PSA, we’re pretty sure we get the message.

In important water-conservation news, Water - Use It Wisely spokesperson and noted useless handyman, Ryan La Rosa installed a WaterPik EcoFlow shower head without help or major panic attack. Such was the first endeavor of it’s kind that La Rosa completed, leaving his wife thoroughly impressed and proving just how easy it can be to install a simple water-saving device.

Understanding that few would believe he could achieve this task, La Rosa documented his progress in the photographs below…

Step 1

And so it begins...

Step 2

Here, our hero nearly gives up after spending 15 minutes attempting to open package. Thankfully, he perseveres.

Step 3

La Rosa uses the helpful monocle included in packaging to study directions (come to find out later, the monocle is actually the nut used to attach shower head).

Step 4

Unscrewing original shower head should be easy (unless you're short and surrounded by distracting 1960's bathroom tile).

Step 5

Old shower head proved no match for tool (common term used to describe both wrench and man pictured above).

Step 6

They say it's as easy as screwing new shower head into place. Clearly they've never dealt with a man of such few skills or common sense.

Step 7

Wow! It's true! A brand new shower head in minutes! Next step is to update tile by a decade to 1970's print.

Step 8 - The Ultimate Test

Perfection! Newly installed and instant results. In fact, our hero felt so good about his new water-saving habit he took it a step further and reduced his usual shower performance of Les Miserables from the entire production to only the first act.

Truth be told, installing this new water-saving shower head took all of 10 minutes and seriously I’ve never installed nor fixed anything in my life. And it works great too. Any noticeable difference in the stream (which trust me is nearly none) is made up for in the fact that you’re doing something good and saving water.

So, I insist that you too get your own Water Pik Eco Flow shower head. Interested? Just click here and you’re on your way.

Water - Use It Wisely co-founder Park Howell isn’t just passionate about water conservation. Park is driven to make a difference across environmental boundaries, including, green marketing.

Park was recently featured as a contributor to GenGreenLife.com in their “Green Marketing” section. Check out Park’s contributions and if you’d like to follow his adventures more closely, visit his personal blog - http://parkhowell.com/