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/
We have a lot of passionate followers at Water – Use It Wisely and one of our biggest pleasures is getting to hear directly from them. That’s why we’re so excited about our social networks like Facebook and Twitter that allow us to have conversations with concerned citizens everyday.
But sometimes we receive something so far beyond anything even the latest technology could provide. Such was the case with a letter that recently came in the mail from “impatient fourth grader,” Mya Oleksiak. Mya says what we’re all thinking in a way that only an incredibly bright fourth grader could. Here’s to hoping we can all be filled with the same passion and drive that Mya is. Thanks Mya, and we’re listening.
Soon, two explorers will embark on a journey down the Mississippi River similar to the trek countless others before them have experienced. Only this time, as Kristian Gustavson and Brett Rogers enter the water, they’ll be doing so to document how the once iconic Mississippi River has turned into the largest ocean contaminant in the United States.
Gustavson and Rogers are two long time explorers embarking on this journey as part of the organization “Below the Surface’s” effort to spread the message about clean water and conservation. You can learn more about the journey and follow their progress by visiting the “Below the Surface” homepage. There, you can learn more about the “Downstream Campaign” and other initiatives this great organization has in the works.
One of the cool things about running the Water – Use It Wisely conservation campaign are all of the great notes and videos we receive from concerned Earthlings. In fact, just last week someone sent us a video about the water conservation merits of taking a bath with a friend (A bit creepy to show here).
Today, we received this incredibly thoughtful letter from a fourth grader in Chesterfield, MI, and I just had to share it with you.
Dear Water Use It Wisely,
Water is getting wasted more and more each day. I want to help out and teach people how to conserve water. Please continue reading because your organization is very influential. I had an idea if you could send some workers from your organization to schools all around the world, and they could inform the students about water usage.
Did you know that every minute, 1,000,000,000 (0ne billion) tons of water falls to the earth from rainfall? We are lucky for rainfall water. It helps fill up our lakes. There is about 326,000,000,000,000,000,000 (326 quintillion) gallons of water on Earth. Yes, this is tons, but it is getting wasted. I want to keep this number BIG.
Everyone needs water – so why waste it? I think it is very irresponsible to let the water run when you are not home. The core democratic value, Common Good, supports my issue. This means that we can all work together as a community, country or even continent!
Water conservation is very important. We can use water with respect by making good choices. Take a shower instead of a bath, use an automatic dishwasher instead of hand washing. You can buy Earth-friendly window cleaner spray, so that the bacteria doesn’t get in our drinking water and make it dirty. If your washer isn’t full then don’t start it. With water being wasted every day, by the time we get to the 3000′s we are going to have to survive on milk and juice!!! Won’t that be boring?!?!? That means we have to give our dogs a bowl of juice instead of water with their food. I mean, c’mon, we’re talking real life here!!
Water wasting needs to come to a stop and without delay. Water Use It Wisely, PLEASE inform people about their water usage! It is a big role in my life. It would be really awesome if you take part in spreading the news about this! Thanks tons!!
An impatient fourth grader waiting for a reply,
Mya
We should all be so passionate and eloquent about our good green Earth.
(This post originally appeared yesterday on Park’s “A Brighter Shade of Green Marketing” Blog)
The Water – Use It Wisely, “Family Water Audit” quiz is featured in the popular book, “The New 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do To Save The Earth.”
The book, which currently boasts more than 1 million copies sold, was written by Sophie Javna and a host of contributors from “The Earth Works Group.” “The New 50…” is a sequel to the original title, “The 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do To Save The Earth,” originally penned by Sophie Javna’s father, John Javna in 1990.
To pick up either copy you can visit Amazon here and to learn more about the Water – Use It Wisely “Family Water Audit,” click here.
Remember how Elaine from Seinfeld went through the painstacking exercise to ensure all of her suitors were “spongeworthy?” Well, we’ve just launched new t-shirts here at Water – Use It Wisely and we’re taking a similar approach – we want to know if you’re “shirtworthy.”
If you think you are, then tell us in 140 characters or less on Twitter and we’ll send the best entries a free shirt sized to order. It’s that simple. The most creative explanations of “shirtworthiness” get a free shirt.
Here’s what you have to do to be considered:
These aren’t your dad’s typical trade show swag t-shirts either. These are part of American Apparel’s Sustainable Edition brand, custom designed by Water – Use It Wisely. So if you want one, tell us why, and you might get one. Hope you’re “shirtworthy!”
We’d like to introduce you to the newly designed, limited edition, Water – Use It Wisely tshirt.
Designed from 100 percent USDA certified organic cotton as part of American Apparel’s Sustainable Edition, the Water – Use It Wisely tshirt will go on sale to the public tomorrow on wateruseitwisely.com. Rumor has it though, if you’re interested in picking one up for free, there might be a fun promotion coming your way soon.
If you’re curious about the design of the shirt, it was based off a motivational poster produced in 1939 to increase resolve in the streets of Great Britain during WWII. While the original designer remains unknown, two-and-a-half million copies of the poster were originally printed but were distributed in limited numbers.
Stay tuned to learn where you can purchase your own shirt and how to pick one up for free.
