World Water Day is all about promoting wise water management, and SWELL strives to support this issue that threatens our beloved beaches. In conjunction with The Surfrider Foundation we carry a line of products that empowers our customers to become advocates of conservation and change.
With the government cutting funds for water testing and politicians slowing progress for pollution regulation, use these tool for your own advocacy and responsible consumer behaviors.
OCEAN FRIENDLY GARDENS GUIDE -Surfrider’s $15 book will save you hundreds on your water bill. It is a manual on how to design and manage a garden that captures and keeps the water that it gets from rain or irrigation. Over 50% of the water used to water residential gardens is lost to evaporation, and with water costs expected to triple in parts of the country, you can’t afford not to get this book.
SURFRIDER WATER TESTING KIT -Know what you’re getting yourself into, literally. Despite over 24,000 polluted beach closures last year, the federal government plans to remove funding from the water quality monitoring program. Test your local break with this Blue Water Beginner Test Kit.
Recycler Series Clothing -Don’t stop your advocacy on World Water Day, shape your consumer behaviors to save our seas every time you shop. Billabong created an entire clothing line dedicated to keeping plastics out of our ocean. The recycler series boardshort keeps plastics out of places like The Pacific Garbage Patch and other hypoxic places threatening our food sources.
Why WWD 2012 Matters -The United Nations established World Water Day in 1993 to create global awareness for responsible water management. The mismanagement of this natural resource affects more than just our water supply. Massive water demands consume 20% of our energy resources, discharges sewage into our waterways, and creates marine dead-zones. This year’s WWD theme focuses on “Water and Food Security” uncovering the effects of water on our global food supply.
The demand for food production and the required irrigation has pushed many areas past “peak water” capability, meaning the renewable sources of water cannot sustain the growers’ demand due to massive residential water-consumption. But, even when farms are supplied with ample irrigation, our waterways can turn hypoxic due to the chemical pollutants in agriculture.
Since all water usage eventually affects our beaches, The Surfrider Foundation has released studies emphasizing the interrelationship between household water use and out nation’s food sources. Over 80% of the nation’s consumptive water use goes towards agriculture. The increased rate of human effluent and farming nitrates entering our waterways has reached alarming levels. The fight to curb nitrate and pesticide pollution in California’s Ag industry (the nation’s worst) is currently in court. Learn how you can help here.
Join Surfrider and Save – Join or renew your Surfrider Foundation membership at the $30 level on March 22nd and we’ll send you this limited edition World Water Day t-shirt. Printed using water-based inks on a brushed 100% organic cotton blank, this t-shirt is as water-friendly as it is comfortable.
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