• A faucet that drips once each second can waste 10 gallons of water a day. A leaky faucet wastes 2,700 gallons/year.
• Boulder and over 80% of Colorado's population is located in a dry "high desert" climate zone.
• It takes 50 gallons of water to wash a load of laundry or a car.
• Fertilizers or oils spilled onto paved surfaces get washed into storm drains and then to your local creek with the next rain.
• An average American household uses between one half-acre foot and one-acre foot of water each year.
• Producing a typical lunch--hamburger, french fries, and a soft drink--uses 1500 gallons of water. This includes the water needed to raise the potatoes, the grain for the bun and the grain needed to feed the cattle, and the production of the soda.
• 89% of Colorado's naturally occurring lakes are found at altitudes above 9,000 feet.
• Every toilet flush uses up to 5-7 gallons of water.

Sources: www.bouldercolorado.gov, waterknowledge.colostate.edu, www.tchd.org

• Run your washing machine and dishwasher only when they are full and you could save 1000 gallons a month.


• If your shower can fill a one-gallon bucket in less than 20 seconds, then replace it with a water-efficient showerhead. Some cost as little as $5.


• Time your shower to keep it under 5 minutes. You'll save up to 1000 gallons a month.


• Put food coloring in your toilet tank. If it seeps into the toilet bowl, you have a leak. It's easy to fix, and you can save more than 600 gallons a month.


• Use a commercial car wash that recycles water.


• Install an instant water heater on your kitchen sink so you don't have to let the water run while it heats up. This will also reduce heating costs.


• Cut back on rinsing if your dishwasher is new. Newer models clean more thoroughly than older ones.


• Wash clothes only when you have a full load and save up to 600 gallons each month.


• Start a compost pile. Using compost when you plant adds water-holding organic matter to the soil.


• Adjust your watering schedule to the season. Water your summer lawn every third day and your winter lawn every fifth day.

• Select the proper size pans for cooking. Large pans require more cooking water than may be necessary.


• Landscape with Xeriscape trees, plants and groundcovers. Call your local conservation office for more information about these water thrifty plants.


• Do one thing each day that will save water. Even if savings are small, every drop counts.

Click here for more tips.

Source: www.wateruseitwisely.com

The first step in enacting a personal water conservation plan is calculating how much water you use. Once you know what aspects of your daily life are especially wasteful, you can start implementing appropriate conservation techniques. Click here to access H2OUSE's simple water use calculator, or visit the City of Boulder web site to access a local calculator.

The Environmental Center is working on a new logo. The goal is to create an image that reflects the unique role CU takes in global sustainability efforts - a role that is largely shaped by your support. That's why we're asking for your input. What does the E-Center represent to you? Click here to take our survey.

March 5 - Out of Poverty: Design for the Other 90%. A presentation and discussion with Paul Polak. Old Main Chapel, 6:00pm.

In a hard-hitting new book, Paul Polak tells why traditional poverty eradication programs have fallen so short, and how he and his organization developed an alternative approach that has succeeded in lifting 17 million people out of poverty. Polak's and IDE's achievements have been recognized the Scientific American Top Fifty award for agriculture policy (2003), the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award (2004), and the Tech Museum award for the design of IDE's low-cost drip irrigation system (2004). Articles about IDE and Polak have appeared in National Geographic, Harpers, Forbes, and Scientific American. Polak gives frequent talks and presentations at leading universities, as well as academic and professional conferences like the 2006 International Symposium on Groundwater Sustainability (ISGWAS), the Annual Meeting of the National Collegiate Innovators and Inventors Association (NCIIA), the 2006 Aspen Design Summit, and the 2007 Pop!Tech Conference. To learn more about Paul and his work at IDE, please visit http://www.ide-international.org.

March 12 -or- March 14 - Open Forum on Campus Carbon Neutrality

Wed, March 12, 5:30-6:30pm, UMC 247 -or- Fri, March 14, 1-2pm, UMC 247.

The Chancellor's Committee for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (CCEES) has formed a Carbon Neutrality Working Group (CNWG) tasked with developing a plan for the campus to attain carbon neutrality, and infusing sustainability in curriculum, research and campus life. Under Chancellor Peterson's leadership, CU is among the elite campuses committed to the vital goal of carbon neutrality. To meet the Chancellor's deadline, the plan must be deliberated, researched, and written in the next 18 months-and the CNWG needs your guidance and input to make the plan viable. Please attend one of two open forums for an overview of the conceptual components of the plan, and, most importantly, to provide an opportunity for student, faculty, staff and community input into these early stages of development.

Let us know about the creative ways that you're living green. Each month, the Live Green newsletter will feature tips submitted by readers. E-mail us your tips at livegrn@colorado.edu.

See room for improvement? Give us your feedback on ways that CU can become more environmentally friendly.

E-mail us at livegrn@colorado.edu.