Rain Bird Corporation announced its panel of experts for The Intelligent Use of Water (IUOW) Summit III, Global Conservation Initiatives and Strategies: The Desert and Beyond, which will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Aug. 31, 2006 at the University of Arizona in Tucson. The six-member symposium consists of panelists with water conservation expertise as it relates to academia, research, media, government and landscape architecture and design.
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Established in 2005 as a forum to further define the relationship between water conservation and landscape water use, Rain Bird's third IUOW Summit will continue to build upon its success by providing insight and perspective to various global water conservation policies and legislation, programs and initiatives and trends toward greater awareness of the need for water conservation. Panelists at the Tucson Summit include:
Robert Glennon – Professor at the University of Arizona’s Rogers College of Law and author of Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping And The Fate Of America's Fresh Waters. Glennon will be the panel moderator.
John Fought – (ASGCA), President of John Fought Design in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Joanna Kind – Environmental scientist at the Eastern Research Group, Inc. and EPA consultant.
Kerry Schwartz – Associate specialist at the Arizona Cooperative Extension and Arizona Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) director.
Ronald Stoltz – University of Arizona School of Landscape Architecture professor and director.
John Trotti – Editor of Water Efficiency Magazine.
"The Intelligent Use of Water Summits have arisen from Rain Bird's belief that the irrigation industry should take a lead role in supporting programs and initiatives that will lead to a long-term solution to a potential crisis of global proportions,” says Dave Johnson, Rain Bird's director of corporate marketing. “The summits have proven to be an ideal forum for experts of various disciplines to gather and discuss issues, planning and strategies for preserving Earth’s most precious resource. We are very encouraged to see that many of our industry partners have followed our lead in bringing greater awareness to this important issue by assembling similar forums.”
The Aug. 31 IUOW Summit is the first to be held outside of Pasadena, Calif., site of the January 2005 and 2006 summits. It will provide a unique opportunity to meld insight from industry thought leaders with the expertise of those responsible for shaping the future of landscape architecture at the University of Arizona’s School of Landscape Architecture.
In conjunction with the three Summits held in North America, Rain Bird has taken the industry lead in addressing the issue of water conservation globally as Europe’s sustainable development decision-makers and industry experts convened in Canal de Provence, France on May 30, 2006 for Europe’s first Summit Meeting of The Intelligent Use of Water.
In addition to bi-annual IUOW Summits, Rain Bird devotes significant resources to its IUOW public education campaigns. These campaigns include leading industry white papers, public service announcements, membership on the EPA’s WaterSense steering committee and non-profit partnerships. Public education campaigns also include developing and supporting elementary and middle school water conservation curriculums and participation in the Tournament of Roses Parade, an annual worldwide stage to communicate the need for water conservation.