Many times audiences see a social change film and are left wondering: What can I do? One of our goals is to create a collaborative environment, where audience members become participants and spring into action.  

At Every Drop Counts, our World Water Day event at the World Bank, we hosted a Q&A with The Ripple Effect author Alex Prud’Homme followed the screening of Participant Media’s film Last Call at the Oasis.  Prud’Homme and panelists shared some easy tips for saving water at our Every Drop Counts World Water Day event at the World Bank.

Prud’Homme said that as he learned more about water waste, he could see it everywhere he looked: In lights that were left on, traditional toilets, and technological devices (computers, cellphones, etc. use a lot of water in production).

While agriculture, industry, and buildings contribute more to water waste than individual households, we need to make sure we are doing what we can. Here are some simple steps you can take:

• Turn off lights when you leave a room. Not only does turning off lights reduce energy use, it conserves water used in energy production.
• When using the bathroom, follow the “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” principle, which can save hundreds of gallons of water a week. Toilets use 5 to 6 gallons per flush. If you plan to remodel, invest in a double flush or a low-water toilet.
• Consider buying used clothing or reducing consumption. The production of clothing, including jeans, is water intensive.
• Wear clothes more than once between washings. Laundry uses 40-55 gallons PER LOAD!!! Minor stains can usually be cleaned with a wet rag or sponge. Lisa Nash from Blue Planet Network, suggests putting baking soda on jeans, turning them inside out and inside a plastic zip-lock bag & then putting them in a freeze over night. This method totally eliminates the need for washing and I can’t wait to try it out!
• DRINK TAP WATER. This cannot be stressed enough. It takes 3 Liters of water to make 1 bottle of water! Plus, but heading for the tap you will reduce the disastrous use of plastic bottle and most likely be drinking water with less bacterial content. For real!
• Dump old or unwanted water into a houseplant or dog bowl. Don’t waste clean water by dumping it down the drain!
• Collect rainwater. If you have a backyard, but a bucket out and collect some rainwater that you can use for houseplants and gardens (even baths!).
• Don’t leave water running. This may seem like a no-brainer but many people leave water running when they wash dishes, brush their teeth, wash their hair, and wash their hands.  Just turning water off for a few minutes helps conserve!
• Shower less, bird bath more. A four-minute shower uses 28 gallons of water. Showering everyday is not only bad for the environment, but it is bad for our hair and skin.  If you are used to showering everyday, try taking a day off. If needed, you can use a washcloth and a put a little water in a sink and spot clean giving yourself a bird bath!
• Don’t turn the shower on until you are ready to get in. If warming up the water is necessary before you get in a shower, make sure you are ready to get in and then keep your hand under the running water and get right in when it is the right temperature.
• Tighten those leaks! Leaky facuets, pipes, showerheads, and lawn irrigation systems waste hundreds to thousands of gallons a month. One thing both environmentalists and the U.S. government hate are leaks!
• In the yard: Use only native plants. If absolutely necessary, water only at night. Household plants, yards, and gardens account for 50% of household water use. Colorado State offers some great tips on xeriscaping, landscaping practices that reduce and eliminate the need for irrigation.

There are many other great ways to save water so please share!!!

World Water Day, March 22, 2012, is right around the corner and the Social Change Film Festival & Institute will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to host “Every Drop Counts” at the World Bank. 

Every Drops Counts, hosted in partnership with the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), will be a special gathering of government, business, and nonprofit innovators who are leading the charge to solve the world’s most critical water problems.  

The panel discussion on global water access and sanitation, moderated by Jose Luis Irigoyen, Director for Transport, Water, and ICT, is followed by a reception and includes screening the short-film Carbon For Water.  

Panelists include:

• Tara Ann Lundy, Vestergaard Frandsen 
• Jeff Martin, Former head of Apple’s Global Entertainment and Multimedia Division, Founder of Tribal Technologies and mPOWERING 
• Lisa Nash, CEO Blue Planet Network
• Rebecca Adamson, President and Founder of First Peoples Worldwide, and
• Michael Nash, Director of Climate Refugees and SCFFI Youth Film Project: Through their Eyes.

The event includes a special screening of Participant Media’s Last Call at the Oasis and a Q&A with Alex Prud’homme, author of The Ripple Effect.  Every Drop Counts will also feature Drop by Drop, a photography exhibit by Rudi Dundas and Chris Majors.

Firmly establishing the urgency of the global water crisis as the central issue facing our world this century, “Last Call at the Oasis” is a documentary film that illuminates the vital role water plays in our lives, exposes the defects in the current system and shows communities already struggling with its ill-effects.  Inspired by the book The Ripple Effect by Alex Prud’homme.

PRESS are welcome to attend! Please email cynthia@socialchangefilmfestival.org for credentials. 

Water development projects, the kind that provide communities with clean drinking water and access to toilets seek to reduce the leading cause of death among children, are not seen as “sexy” to wealthy donors, The Guardian (UK) reported today. 

The result, according to the article, is a drastic reduction in funding for water projects.

How could this be????

Maybe the attention brought to water issues by Matt Damon & Gary White with their Water.org group will make the provision of clean water “sexy” again to donors.  

One goal of the next GSCFFI film festival is to highlight films that dramatize water-related issues and focus on innovative solutions!! We depend on your support to help the GSCFFI festival and its films reinvigorate the desire of donors to support essential water projects. Let’s get conscious-raising water films in front of philanthropists and donors!!! Water is in.

BRING SEXY BACK!!!!