Water.org is the charitable organization co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White in 2009. The organization has worked in many developing nations including Haiti, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Honduras, Uganda, Ghana, Kenya, and India. They work to not only provide the communities they help with potable water but also better sanitation; however, the power of these projects is put in the hands of the communities themselves.

While working in Haiti, water.org tries to work with local non-profit organizations that know the local, usually rural communities and can better understand their cultural, political, and environmental needs. The local partner will also know what the best technologies to use for that region are based on the environmental needs of the community and whether or not the parts for repair are easily obtained in that region or country.

Additionally, water.org does its best to work with the Haitian government and DINEPA, the organization responsible for water regulations in Haiti. Recently DINEPA has been addressing the cholera epidemic that began in October 2010 after the earthquake, monitoring water quality throughout the country, and decentralizing water and sanitation so that there are regional representatives. This decentralization works well with the water.org system

Water.org has been in Haiti since 2009 and has helped to sustainably provide 18.000 people – mainly in the Pignon region of Saint-Raphael – with potable water; their goal is to reach 50.000 by March of 2014.

In addition to providing drinkable water, water.org does its best to encourage better sanitation practices. They will analyze what sanitation barriers are in place and what the needs of the community are. Currently in most of Haiti only fifty-one percent of individuals are using some kind of latrine as opposed to the eighty-three percent of people who have and use these sanitation measures in communities aided by water.org. However, Laura Ralston, International Programs Manager, states, “you will always find people who are not necessarily going to be on board [with sanitation measures] for whatever reason.” Unfortunately these seventeen percent of people are still affecting the health of the rest of the community.

Ralston stated that in one community she visited recently, the water sanitation committee put together by water.org was “at their wit’s end” trying to get the last few households to get latrines. The families did not have financial difficulty, but simply did not see the need. According to Ralston, some individuals do not see a need for the latrines even after they are given presentations and explanations.

Perhaps the most important aspect of water.org’s work is the community involvement. Water.org is, of course, essential for the projects, but they only get involved with communities who reach out to them through their local non-governmental organizations or charities. Then the community forms a committee to oversee the water and sanitation projects and to collect the maintenance fees for the well. The communities will also decide the rules and regulations regarding the wells and what kind of savings threshold they want to meet every month as a community. Only when these communities have trouble does water.org intervene with advice and as a facilitator of conversations. Ralston claims that “it’s [the communities] prerogative to meet those thresholds.”

As of now all of the communities in Haiti are meeting their savings goals. Some communities are even saving enough money to consider getting a solar panel for their well or another well for the purposes of irrigation. It is very important to water.org, according to Ralston, that these projects are sustainable for the community financially and technically so that when water.org leaves the community will not have to worry about the well breaking and the funds or parts not being there to fix it.

Most of the projects in Haiti use wells but there are some that capture water from springs. Before determining which type of construction needs to be done, water.org and the local partner will do hydrological and sometimes geological assessments. It is also important for them and the community to know if the spring they are using is in a delicate watershed.

The community is also responsible for the water quality treatments from the wells and springs. Most of these water supplies will require chlorine treatments before human use and the community can decide whether they want some kind of automatic dispenser or if they would prefer to do the treatments manually.

Since the devasting Haiti earthquake in 2010, over 4500 people have died from cholera. The main source of this contamination was the Artibonite River. The journal Nature published an article that claimed Haiti’s limited resources should be spent not on vaccinations but on sanitation and access to clean water. Obviously, water.org has been working towards these goals and begin their projects with surveys and assessments. After the communities have taken over the responsibilities of sanitation and clean water some have continued to do surveys and gather data on how many are sick and they are seeing improvements in fewer numbers of cholera cases.

Some projects are not always successful. Although water.org may start a project in a location, the project can be halted for several reasons such as a lack of any kind of water resource, or human interference. Human reasons are the main reason for the cancellation of projects such as social reasons, rivaling groups, or political disputes. According to Ralston the problem boils down to “money always complicates things.”

Water.org will continue its work in Haiti until it hopefully reaches its 2014 goal of 50000 people with potable water. Although water.org has other projects elsewhere around the globe Ralston claims the direst situations at this time are in Haiti so this is where they will focus.

Find out more on how to get involved and support the Water.Org project by visiting Water.Org or Facebook.

Image Courtesy of  Water.Org

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On April 23 at Seattle’s Museum of Flight, Planetary Resources, Inc. announced and revealed their plans to search for and mine asteroids for their precious metals and water. With this mission, its members hope to provide more resources for the Earth and humans and reduce the cost of space travel. Billions to trillions of dollars can be contributed to the global gross domestic profit.

As for a more intrinsic motivation, Planetary Resources also hopes to advance human exploration in space.

The money and means largely come from the founders and backers of the group, which include Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page, Eric Anderson (who founded Space Adventures, which arranged space flights for millionaires) Ross Perot Jr. (the chairman of the Board of Perot Systems), Charles Simonyi (who was a part of the team that devised Microsoft Office Suite), filmmaker James Cameron, and Peter Diamandis (founder and chairman of the X Prize Foundation).

Asteroids are space junk – leftovers from when the planets in our solar system fully formed. Their sizes range from several meters to over one thousand kilometers across. Composition varies, though they are mostly made of metals, some of which are present on Earth (“common” ones such as iron and nickel) and some of which are rare on our planet (platinum, for example.) Some asteroids consist of a significant amount of frozen water along with metals.

“Everything we hold of value on Earth — metals, minerals, energy, water, real estate — are literally in near-infinite quantities in space,” Diamandis tells ABC News.

To conserve time, money, and fuel, Planetary Resources plans to mine asteroids near Earth. Thousands possibly float nearby – many of them too small to be detected. Most that will be mined would be more reachable than the Moon since Earth’s gravitational tends to capture smaller space objects, including asteroids.

The mission is divided into sections. Before getting straight to the mining, the group will first build a low-orbiting telescope that will be able to sieve out the asteroids that show the most promise for harvesting (ten percent of over a thousand). The approximate launch date has not yet determined.

Then comes the actual mining. Subsequent to finding the asteroids via telescope, the group will launch space probes containing unmanned robots, which will be sent out by rocket boosters built by private American companies, by the Russians, or by any other source willing to build them for affordable prices.

As Phillip Plait in writes in his blog “Bad Astronomy,” volatiles (oxygen, nitrogen, and water) will be garnered primarily for the sake of having additional resources. The water will either be converted into hydrogen for rocket fuel and oxygen, or it can be broken down to its basic elements for easier and cheaper transport.

After the volatiles, the robots will mine for the precious metals: platinum, palladium, iridium, and ruthenium, and others, all of which are difficult to access on Earth and only exist on the planet because of impacts from asteroids.

“When the availability of these metals increase[s], the cost will reduce on everything including defibrillators, hand-held devices, TV and computer monitors, catalysts,” Diamandis continues. “And with the abundance of these metals, we’ll be able to use them in mass production, like in automotive fuel cells.”

To further save costs, the robots will have the option of storing the metals and water in supply depots in space instead of bringing to resources back to Earth straight away.

Is Planetary Resources’ plan is completely ludicrous? Not really. Mining asteroids is not is not a novel concept. Plait continues writes that he thinks “getting to the asteroids will do just fine,” and to American astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, who recently appeared on the Daily Show, the idea is “not bulls#*t.”

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A recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Whirlpool Corporation reveals consumers want to make a habit out of saving time, money and energy with their home appliances. And as 2011 wraps up, they’re looking for more tools to help them do just that in the new year.

According to the survey 75% of consumers aged 18-34 have already taken ‘green’ steps, but they are looking to do even more to save energy, water and money. That’s something companies such as Whirlpool say they’re keeping in mind when it comes to product development.

“We are not surprised to see that consumers are devoted to living an energy-efficient lifestyle,” says Monica Teague, Senior PR Manager at Whirlpool Corporation. “Whirlpool is constantly innovating new products that conserve water and reduce energy consumption in order to help consumers live a more eco-friendly lifestyle.”

It’s a lifestyle many want and to which they are turning. And while 78% are interested in monitoring their household’s energy use – they’re hungry for more information on how to save. According to the survey, a quarter of those interested in saving are not at all aware of the energy and water usage of their appliances.

Many consumers have already made significant lifestyle changes in an effort to save energy and money. 65% of consumers already use ENERGY STAR qualified appliances and CFL light bulbs, 36% purchase green products when possible and 15% actually seek out green products, according to the survey.

And consumers seem willing to invest in saving money over time. Almost half of those who took part in the survey, 49%, said they would consider paying more money for an appliance if it would reduce their utility bills over time. Replacing appliances that were made before 2000 with ENERGY STAR qualified products can help save on both energy and water costs. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), replacing a washer and refrigerator made before 2000 with such models can save up to $135 and $40 each year, respectively.

For those not currently in the market but still looking to save, there are plenty of ways for consumers to be more efficient using the appliances they already have in their home.

• According to the survey, 87% still pre-rinse their dishes (even though it’s unnecessary). By scraping and skipping pre-rinsing, consumers can save up to 20 gallons of water per load and by using the dishwasher, vs. hand-washing, save up to 230 hours per year (that’s a 10-day vacation!).
• Run your dishwasher, washer and dryer late in the evening to avoid the peak hours.
• Proper appliance maintenance like emptying the lint trap, vacuuming refrigerator coils and cleaning your washer on a regular basis can help keep appliances running efficiently.
• Use pots and pans with flat bottoms that fit the burners. A 6″ pot on an 8″ burner wastes over 40 percent of that burner’s heat. Using the right-sized pot can save up to $36 annually for an electric range, and $18 for a gas range.
• Don’t open the oven door during cooking; each time you open the door, you can lose about 25 – 30 degrees of heat. Try cooking with a full oven too, and using the broiler when possible, which uses less energy and does not require preheating.

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On 12th January, 2010 Haiti experienced a new drama. An earthquake seven points of moment magnitude shocked the country leaving after it a trail of devastation and worst of all a stealth battle of ruthless numbers.

At the beginning of 2011, one year after the disaster, the Haitian government increased the initial death toll from 220.000 over 300.000 while the international community set a number lower than 100.000. They did it unexpectedly, without any previous comment and not defining the parameters and methodology used for the estimation.

Maybe they thought two hundred were not enough to boost international aid, and a bigger new headline of misery would have helped them to raise more funds. The math is obvious for Haitian rulers: higher victims mean more pity and shame which tends to increase international aid flowing into the country.

According to Inter-American Development Bank the earthquake caused damage estimated near 14 billion dollar, more than the country GDP, and somehow they need to put pressure on international donors both to increase the amount pledged, 5.3 billion dollars, and to speed the deliver into the country up.

It is believe that Haitian government had added into earthquake victims, among other, the subsequent 200.000 cholera infected and 4.000 dead. A rate that is still growing as of March 2011 rises to 300.000 with 5.000 deaths reported by WHO.The first cholera case appear months after the earthquake, it was reported on 14 October 2010 in the department of Artibonite, the country largest department located in the north-west side of the island, from where the disease quickly spread through Artibonite Rive affecting other departments.

Cholera is an infection of the intestine caused by a bacterium that causes diarrhea and vomiting which in severe cases can lead to death by dehydration due to an untreated patient may produce 10 liters of diarrheal fluid a day. The last cholera epidemic in Latin America started Peru in 1991, during the 7^th pandemic and after reach other countries but not Haiti, a country with none recorded cases previous 2010.

The earthquake caused massive population movements inside the country as in Cité l’Eternel, a neighborhood in Port-Au-Prince, home for tens of thousands of families who live crammed together in tiny shacks with no running water or proper sewage facilities. The mounds of garbage and the open sewers full of human waste are breeding grounds for cholera, typically transmitted by either contaminated food or water.

After a rapid spread the worst part took place between mid November and January, usually with more than 10.000 cases per week throughout the country, uncontrollable sometimes like the first week of the year when 14.000 cases just in Port-Au-Prince were reported.

While all this misery happens in Haiti, in the neighboring Dominican Republic were just 200 reported cases during the whole year, confirmed along the borderline, a gap which can be explained by their citizens’ wealth.  The GDP per capita is eight time higher in Dominican Republic than in Haiti, where just 96 dollars per year an person can be spent in health care.

Thus creating a risk profile for cholera within a population where 60 percent suffer from prevalence of undernourishment, 40 percent has no access to improved drinking water and just 20 percent has access to improved sanitation before the earthquake. The World Health Organization states also that cholera is one of the key indicators for social development.

While the disease no longer poses a threat to countries with minimum standards of hygiene, it remains a challenge to countries where access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation cannot be guaranteed. Almost every developing country faces cholera outbreaks or the threat of a cholera epidemic. As it can be imagined Africa nations head the rank.

With this outlook after the earthquake just NGOs were able to contain the epidemic, but it should be emphasized that dying by cholera is not easy with a minimum sanitation care. Around 75 percent  people infected do not become ill, but when illness does occur, 80 to 90 percent of episodes are of mild or moderate severity which can be treated with a simple treatment of oral hydration solutions, mere sugar and salt mix to be ingested costing about 10 cents the sachet.

For severe dehydration cases intravenous rehydration is necessary with mortality rate lower than 1 percent but untreated it raises over 50 percent. Moreover currently in the market two preventive vaccines are available; Dukoral and Sanchol, both with a protection close to 8o percent for the first two years and a cost between 1.50 to 5 dollars a dose.

Still, the cruel reality is that there is no money for everything and priorities have to be done. That is why some experts argue that a vaccination campaign would be neither feasible nor cost-effective, and advocating putting forth other measures. According to UNICEF NGOs have been deploying several initiatives to prevent, contain and reduce the epidemic.

In partnership with the Ministry of Health they are working to raise awareness about cholera through radio, television and text messages targeting at least 80 per cent of the population.

Through neighborhoods they have been putting up posters to help teach people how to protect themselves and giving information about the disease in schools, health centers, market and even door to door, with an aim to ensure that households have at least one person who knows how to prevent cholera and what to do in case symptoms occur.

Furthermore they install public water points where water tankers provide free and pure potable water where water purification tablets and soap are free handing out too. Without this facilities cholera spreading would have been unstoppable because in water kiosk 5 gallons of drinkable water cost up to one dollar when most of the population is surviving with less than a dollar per day, so is unaffordable for almost everybody.

A complete sanitation and potable water system for 1000 people during a year costs 18.000 dollars or more, so many times is too expensive as well. That is why they seek for other sustainable alternatives like wells, another effective and cheap way to allow easy access to safe water. After the well is constructed the NGOs put in charge a different committee for each site to makes sure it keeps running effectively.

Owing to the lack of resources NGOs try to do their best in a very difficult situation. Now that media focus has been diverted to the nuclear crisis Japan and Somalia famine the donatives have been critically reduced and foreign aid tends to displace to hot points. Under these circumstances nobody can be sock by the macabre game played by Haitian government.

Headlines are more important now than ever to keep the attention over a country where still 600.000 people live in displacement camps and 40.000 new cholera cases per month. Unfortunately more people are dying by starvation in Africa and like in a Machiavellian chain this triggers off mass media interest; giving television, radio and press space.

The chain continues with international donors, as foundations or governments seeking for recognition or NGOs seeking for promotion, increasing their efforts in the hot spot and therefore reducing staff and money from other projects. Likely the organizations in Haiti will be able to steadily reduce the monthly cholera cases and deaths into a situation under control, but not capable of eradicating it.

The country is struggling right now against a new endemic disease, they can win or they can lose and resign themselves to counting dozens of deaths per month. Everything depends on international help, Haiti is totally crippled, but these days developed countries are bailing banks out with tons of dollars used to make up a financial balance instead constructing a well for potable water that actually could save lives.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/britishredcross/

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A marvelous palace, following by astonishing gardens, columns, fountains, labyrinths, fire, water, trees, and classic music makes this night at Versailles Palace, a night taken out from a fairy tale.

The Château de Versailles (Versailles Palace) in Paris, France, serves as an iconic symbol of wealth, luxury and beauty. Going back to the time where Louis XIV in 1660’s showed the peak of achievement of the French Monarchy by being the monarch and owner of the palace and the Royal Garden.

The Palace contains an enormous extent of gardens that cover around 800 hectares. Where trees, paths and bushes create a new reality of exuberant beauty.

In 1979, The Palace and the gardens were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Until the 3^rd of September the Castle will be hosting a magnificent  night  that occurs every Saturday, known as “Les Grandes Eaux Nocturnes” or the Fountains Night Show.

As night falls, the Versailles Palace transforms into a fairy tale place where everything is possible, combining sights and sounds together transforming the majestic place into a dream. Throughout the night, visitors walk unstoppably through the interminable garden paths. Encountering new areas containing several fountains with different sceneries and lighting.

The water coming from the fountains exposes a magnificent show for the eyes, moving with the sound of music that resonates though the entire place. The fountains are adequate with astonishing installations exposing an incredible elegance impossible to surpass.

After enjoying the fountains shows the night does not end there, but all the visitors gather to the center of the Garden waiting for the amazing closure of the night with a firework display.

The music continues as fireworks begin to appear and explode as if they were playing with the rhythm of the music interpreted by the French baroque music interpreted Reinhard Goebel and his orchestra, the Musica Antiqua Köln.

The night finishes with the last firework and the peoples faces eradicate happiness and amazement.. The young and old know something is certain, which is that everyone enjoyed this amazing night.

There are only two Fountains Night Shows left until the shows are finished.

If you are in Paris, don’t hesitate in missing this amazing night.

The average price for an entry is around  20€.

• 18 years old and older: 22€

• 6-17 years old :18€

• 0-5 years old : Free

• Group: 18€

For further information please visit:

http://www.chateauversailles-spectacles.fr/home.php

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How many days a week a person washes their clothes? If you are a student I understand that once a week would be more than enough, but lets take in mind all the people that are not students, specially the family sector. Where children need clean clothes everyday, and therefore the number of day’s laundry is required to do increases.

Every year, the number of laundry loads per household, encloses approximately a cipher of 400 loads. According to Energy Star, the total water consumed by the yearly loads is about 13,500 gallons of water.

Water is the main natural resource on the planet. Therefore any attempt to take care of it or reduce its waste is valuable. So by thinking about this, why don’t we start saving water on our daily chores such as laundry? Based on reports by Proctor and Marks & Spencer, between 75 to 80 percent of our clothing’s lifecycle impact comers essentially from both processes such as washing and drying.

On the first hand, it has to be taken into consideration the amount of energy that is being used to heat the wash water, and second, the energy consumed by the drying cycle.  Due to this, a new machine named the Energy Star-qualified top-loading machine is now on the market and it can save as much as 7,000 gallons of water per year.

Buying a new washing machine, that compensates its price for the long lasting duration it provides. It would be wise to think in an eco-friendly perspective, and help the environment by buying a washing machine that use the sufficient amount of water without exceeding.

Also, regarding the dryer procedure. According to the U.S Department of Energy, the dryer checks and costs per average household normally overpass the $70 per year in energy. It is impressive the costs of energy dryers generate, so a good advice if you want save on your utility bills you can use methods such as clothesline or drying rack. This advice will help on reducing the carbon footprint linked with our wardrobes.

Therefore, an environmental-friendly laundry regimen is provided, for you to get some tips and facilitate you in the process.

It is just a way of living, and caring for the environment. If you could save energy or water by finding alternative ways to make your laundry more eco-friendly, feel happy cause you are already putting your grain to the world.

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