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Here is a link to view a story that aired on CNN on July 1. Ron Rivera from Potters for Peace shared it with us. The story shows the clay/sawdust/colloidal silver filter used in Guatemala. While the story clearly describes the technology and the advantages of using these filters around the world, the reporter fails to mention the work of Potters for Peace or other projects (like TAMU Water Project) who are also using the technology. The story makes it seem as if this group is the only one doing this work. Further, the reporter suggests that the director of the project in Guatemala “discovered” the filters. Such language echoes colonization and “saviors” at work. Nevertheless, the video helps to spread the word about this affordable technology and may aid in helping more people gain access to potable water.
Resource Development International Cambodia (RDIC) is an organization dedicated to helping people in Cambodia.
“RDI-Cambodia is a U.S.- Registered, Private, Non-profit, Organization working internationally. We are dedicated to serving the people of Cambodia in dynamic ways. RDI has combined technology, education, and heart in order to help the people of Cambodia. Each project stands independent in its own right, but the entire range of projects form a unique and strong outreach program that works best as a sum of all its parts.”
This site provides excellent information on the technology and process used to produce ceramic water filters similar to the ones we are producing in this project. The site also presents related water and health information.
The Ixtatan Foundation is supporting a ceramic water filter project using the same technology that we are using for our project; the clay, sawdust, and colloidal silver filters. (For more on this and other water filter technologies, click here.)
“Engineers from the University of Virginia are conducting an ongoing study of water quality in San Mateo Ixtatán and the water filters produced in the school’s kilns, now being used to purify drinking water in the town’s homes. They will measure the effects of regular access to clean water on the health and productivity of the people of San Mateo Ixtatán. Students are involved in this work as well, learning to take water samples, measure water quality, build filters, and work with community members”
Half of the world’s poor suffer from waterborne disease, and nearly 6,000 people – mainly children – die each day by consuming unsafe drinking water.
LifeStraw® water purifiers have been developed as a practical way of preventing disease and saving lives, as well as achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe water by the year 2015.
“Is bottled water safer than the water that comes out of our taps?” This and other important questions are taken up in the Frontline/World www site in a specific section concerned with bottled water. Users can “click on the water bottle to learn more about this $22 billion business, and read what non-governmental organizations, bottled water companies and environmental groups have to say about the fastest-growing beverage industry in the world.” Click on the link below to find out what is in your water bottle.
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/bolivia/waterbottle.html
The Avatar Action Center in Second Life. What a great connection and example for work in virtual reality and real world reality.
“The Avatar Action Center (AAC) is a budding virtual world-based educational nonprofit organization created in Second Life. The AAC is dedicated to raising awareness of sustainability issues in the real world and strives to remind virtual world citizens that there are problems in the real world that need attention, and that they themselves can help make a difference.”
Bottled water corporations are changing the very way people think about water. Though many bottled water brands come from the same source as public tap water, they are marketed as somehow more pure. What’s more – bottled water corporations sell water back to the public at thousands of times the cost. Plastic bottles also require massive amounts of fossil fuels to manufacture and transport. Billions of these bottles wind up in landfills every year.
You can help reverse this trend. At events and over online networks tens of thousands are supporting the efforts of local officials to reduce the social impact and environmental harm of bottled water by prioritizing public water systems. Taking the Think Outside the Bottle Pledge is quick, easy, and sends the message that water is a human right, not a commodity.
document.write(“<a href=\”" + pledgeURLData() + “\”>”);<a href=”http://www.stopcorporateabusenow.org/campaign/think_outside_the_bottle_pledge”<br />
Professor Mary Ann Doyle hosts a blog for sustainability and leadership. This resource is concerned with a variety of issues, topics, and projects related to education, sustainability, and leadership.
According to their www site:
“CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. We place special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty.
CARE is also concerned with the global water crisis.
“For over five decades, CARE has recognized the link between poverty and the lack of access to water. The strategic goal of our program is to enhance the livelihood security of poor communities through equitable access, efficient use and sustainable management of limited and dwindling water resources.
“CARE now has more than 150 projects in 45 countries with water
or water-related activities, helping over 20 million people.”
