James and Bonnie taking a refreshing drink of quality Eugene tap water after a hard day volunteering in the garden at Fairfield Elementary School.
Post by GloryBee Sustainability Manager Shandy Carroll.
Today, March 22, is United Nations World Water Day. By early spring here in Oregon, we tend to feel like water is abundant, especially the type that falls from the sky. Unfortunately for the world, fresh and clean water is not always available. According to the United Nations, 1 in 6 people in the world do not have access to safe fresh water and a global temperature increase of 2% will result in 3 billion people experiencing water stress or drought.
Global scale water insecurity is overwhelming, but on a local scale, there is a lot we can do as individuals to protect our water supply and ensure future generations have access to clean water.
- Refill your reusable water bottle at the tap. Buying a bottle of water uses 700% more water than refilling at the tap or water cooler.
- Compost your garden. Composting reduces watering needs by one-third.
- Build a rain barrel. A rain barrel that catches water from your roof can be used to water your lawn and garden all year long.
Scientists predict that as the climate changes, our part of Oregon will get drier. With the threat of long-term water scarcity in mind, GloryBee has been working on reducing our industrial water used per pound of product sold. In 2015 we reduced our water used per production pound by 9%.