March 22 is the 15th Annual Celebration of World Water Day : Center for Neighborhood Technology

March 22 is the 15th Annual Celebration of World Water Day

Established in 1992 by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, World Water Day aims to raise awareness of the importance of clean water to public health. According to the UN, an estimated 85 percent of global diseases can be attributed to unclean or unsafe water supplies; this disproportionately affects children in developing countries, 5,000 of whom die every day from such causes as parasites and diarrheal diseases that could be prevented by access to safe water.

What can you do to celebrate World Water Day and become a more conscious water user? It’s as simple as turning off the faucet while brushing your teeth, or using a rain barrel to water your lawn & garden, or just taking a shorter shower. For lasting infrastructural change, people who own property can also:

Dig a rain garden to retain & filter runoff, so that water can permeate naturally

Install a green roof on your building. Green roofs help conserve and filter water, as well as countering the urban heat island effect and providing a beautiful garden environment in the city.

Plant trees, which capture & filter rainwater, in addition to improving air quality.

Dig a larger cistern to conserve rainwater for non-drinking uses.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 21st, 2008 at 5:05 pm and is filed under Featured Portfolio News, Natural Resources. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Who is CNT?

The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) is a creative think-and-do tank that combines rigorous research with effective solutions. CNT works across disciplines and issues, including transportation and community development, energy, water, and climate change.