Ever heard of offsetting your water use? Eco-Products has. And we do!
Posted by Eco-Products on Dec 12th 2011
You have probably heard of carbon offsets, but what about water offsets? Scientists agree that water is going to be the next big environmental challenge in our warming world for most people.
Headquartered in Boulder, Eco-Products may be far from most of the worlds largest populations centers that are already feeling climate-driven water stress. However, we live in a state that provides water for 13 states , (the Colorado River alone is a primary water supply for 25 million people in seven states – Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California – as well as Mexico) and yet we receive only 17 inches of precipitation a year!
When Eco-Products measured water use in 2009-2010, it was unusually high. We made some investments in fixing leaks, but still felt that we needed to do more in our water-strapped environment. After all, a considerable portion of our water comes from the Colorado River watershed itself. Working with Bonneville Environmental Foundation, we decided to offset our water use through a really innovative program that returns water to depleted streams right here in the U.S. The Western U.S. has a complex system of water rights and allocation that comes from the complex history of development, so restoring water can be surprisingly difficult for many large water users.
Eco-Products is proud to be working with Bonneville Environmental Foundation to support their efforts and demonstrate how easy it is to make a difference. We know that when it comes to water, this is simply the right thing to do.
Learn more here
Downloadable materials can be found here
Send your questions to sustainabilitymaven@ecoproducts.com