Conserving water isn't just about water efficiency

Everything you do, every day is in some way related to water. Water conservation can be as simple as turning off a light when you don't need it on or recycling a plastic bottle rather than throwing it in the trash. The important thing awareness. How often do you drive by a house or place of business (day or night) and see a light on that doesn't need to be on?

- A recent United States-wide tally shows that power generation requires 655 billion gallons of water a year.

- Useing a compact fluorescent light bulb rather than an incandecant will not only save 60-70% in energy costs, it will also save as much as 4,000 gallons of water every year.

- Letting a hot water faucet run for 5 minutes uses about the same amount of energy as burning a 60-watt bulb for 14 hours.
This equates to approximately 8 to 16gallonsof water used to burn one 60-Watt light bulb for 12 hours per day. Over the duration of one year this one incandescent light bulb would consume about 3,000 to 6,300 gallons of water. It is estimated that there are about 111 million occupied housing units in the U.S. (United States Census Bureau 2005, so it much higher now presumably). If each housing unit was to burn one 60 watt incandecent light bulb for 12 hours each day, over the course of a year, it would add up to 336 to 656 billion gallons of water use.

- One recycled plastic bottle saves enough energy to power a 60 watt light bulb for 6 hours.

AP

ENVIRO NEWS: USDA Drought Assistance Minimizes Impacts While Spurring Improvements on 1M Acres of American Farmland

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Makuch, Joseph" <Joseph.Makuch@ars.usda.gov>
Date: Oct 23, 2012 10:23 AM
Subject: [ENVIRO-NEWS] USDA Drought Assistance Minimizes Impacts While Spurring Improvements on 1M Acres of American Farmland
To: <Enviro-News@ars.usda.gov>

From: USDA Office of Communications [mailto:usda@public.govdelivery.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 10:02 AM
Subject: USDA Drought Assistance Minimizes Impacts While Spurring Improvements on 1M Acres of American Farmland
[deletions]

Release No. 0333.12
Contact:
Office of Communications (202)720-4623
 
USDA Drought Assistance Minimizes Impacts While Spurring Improvements on 1M Acres of American Farmland
 
WASHINGTON, Oct. 23, 2012 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) efforts to help producers rebound from drought have touched more than one million acres of farmland across the country as nearly 2,000 producers took advantage of conservation funding targeted to drought-stricken areas by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). NRCS made more than $27 million available to farmers and ranchers to make conservation improvements, spurring recovery and ensuring lands are more drought resistant in the future.

"This tremendous response reflects the severity of this year's drought conditions, "Agriculture Secretary Vilsack said."The level of producer participation is also a testament to the hard work of USDA and other federal agencies to help farmers and ranchers weather one of the worst droughts in decades."

NRCS provided financial and technical assistance to help crop and livestock producers in 22 states apply conservation practices, including conservation tillage, cover crops, nutrient management, prescribed grazing, livestock watering facilities and water conservation practices. These actions build healthier soil that lead to better harvests and cleaner water and air.

"The conservation investments made by these producers today will continue to improve the resilience of their lands in the face of drought as well as other natural events that are out of their control," Vilsack said. "The farmers and ranchers that have voluntarily implemented conservation improvements have taken an important step toward building drought resistance into their operations."
Exceptional drought continues to dominate sections of Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming, causing widespread losses of crops and pastures and water shortages in reservoirs, streams and wells.

Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina and Utah are under extreme drought, with accompanying major losses of crops and pasture, widespread water shortages and restrictions on water use.

See the total NRCS drought assistance received by each state < http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/national/?cid=STELPRDB1048818 >.

Producers and landowners are encouraged to visit the NRCS website < http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ > or stop by their local NRCS office < http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?agency=nrcs > to find out if they are eligible for drought assistance.

Learn more about WHIP and EQIP and other NRCS programs < http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs >.

#
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).

#
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The Enviro-News list facilitates information exchange.
Inclusion of an item in Enviro-News does not imply
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nor does USDA attest to the accuracy or completeness of
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ENVIRO-NEWS: Mississippi National River and Recreation Area releases first-ever State of the River Report

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Makuch, Joseph" <Joseph.Makuch@ars.usda.gov>
Date: Oct 9, 2012 1:34 PM
Subject: [ENVIRO-NEWS] Mississippi National River and Recreation Area releases first-ever State of the River Report
To: <Enviro-News@ars.usda.gov>

Forwarded from
http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/printheadline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=12790

MISSISSIPPI NATIONAL RIVER & RECREATION AREA

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area releases first-ever State of the River Report

How is the Mississippi River? Can I swim in it? Is water quality improving? Can I eat the fish I catch? National Park Service staff have helped develop the State of the River Report, which assembles and analyzes a wealth of data-and communicates in plain terms how the river is doing, in order to answer these frequently-posed questions.

Forty years after the passage of the Clean Water Act, a new landmark report on the health of the Mississippi River shows that progress has been made, but there is also cause for concern as new issues emerge.

The State of the River Report was just released by the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MISS), in partnership with the Friends of the Mississippi River. The report examines the status and trends of 13 key indicators of the river's health and water quality, including bacteria, phosphorus, nitrate and sediment content, as well as the river's viability for recreation, fish and wildlife.

"The Mississippi River is a complex natural system, with many factors affecting its overall health and vitality," said Paul Labovitz, Superintendent of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. "This new report provides an important benchmark as we assess how the river is doing compared to the past, and which efforts have been effective at improving its health and water quality. In short, the report reveals that there has been a great deal of progress, but that there are areas of concern due to changes in how we use land, and the introduction of pollutants and invasive species the system."

Among the positive trends, bald eagle, mussel and fish populations are increasing, which are signs of a restored river that is home to healthy and abundant wildlife. On the other hand, recreation and aquatic habitat on the river face being degraded by excess sediment and phosphorus, and some portions of the river are impaired with excess bacteria. In addition, river flows and nitrate concentrations have both increased significantly over time, while invasive Asian carp continue to move upstream. And a number of additional contaminants, such as triclosan and pharmaceuticals, present risks to the river that, while not yet fully understood, are cause for concern due to their potential impacts on human and aquatic health.

"The solutions to these problems will require new tools and decisive public action before they move beyond our reach," said Lark Weller, Water Quality Coordinator for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. "We hope this report will help people better understand the challenges we all face in trying to preserve and improve the river, and we also want to provide strategies for doing so."

The report includes a companion guide with strategies for individual action. Its Stewardship Guide provides practical steps for individuals to take in their homes, yards, and communities to improve the health of the Mississippi River. The State of the River Report and its companion guides are available at www.stateoftheriver.com .

The State of the River Report was funded, in part, by the McKnight Foundation, the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, and the Capitol Region Watershed District.

More Information...

Contact Information
Name: Lark Weller
Phone Number: 651-293-8442
Email: lark_weller@nps.gov

Posted: September 27, 2012

***********************************************
Enviro-News is a service of the Water Quality
Information Center at the National Agricultural
Library.  The center's Web site is at
http://www.nal.usda.gov/wqic/.

The Enviro-News list facilitates information exchange.
Inclusion of an item in Enviro-News does not imply
United States Department of Agriculture(USDA) agreement,
nor does USDA attest to the accuracy or completeness of
the item. See
http://www.nal.usda.gov/wqic/environews.shtml#disclaimer
You can contact the list owner at
owner-Enviro-News@ars.usda.gov.
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