Environmental and water conservation experts convened Dec. 31, 2006 in Pasadena, Calif., at the fifth Intelligent Use of WaterTM (IUOW) Summit. Examining current attitudes and behaviors shaping water usage habits, panelists discussed the roles of lawmakers, corporations and citizens in shaping public behaviors in order to avert a looming global water crisis.
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Hosted by Rain Bird Corp., the six-person panel consisted of scholars, designers, municipal directors and business owners. They gathered to discuss the ongoing global water crisis and call upon local, national and international leaders to implement regulations and strategies to conserve our most precious natural resource.
"In the face of water scarcity, conventional wisdom tells us that the answer is to build a dam, drill a well or divert a river, but each of these options has a serious environmental and economic consequence," commented forum moderator Robert Glennon, Professor, University of Arizona's Rogers College of Law and author of Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping And The Fate Of America's Fresh Waters. "We learned that changing people's behaviors towards water conservation demands that an educational campaign go hand in hand with sensible water pricing. The solution must encourage all water users to carefully examine how they use water, for what purpose and in what quantity."
In addition to moderator Glennon, panel members included:
Dan Lambe, vice president, programs for The National Arbor Day Foundation (Lincoln, Neb.)
Michael Glassman, co-host of Discovery Home's Garden Police TV show and president of Michael Glassman & Associates (Davis, Calif.)
Denis Gourdeau, water management coordinator for the city of Calgary (Alberta, Canada)
Lesley Tait, senior environmental advisor at Thames Water (London)
Jim Trog, central control irrigation manager for Four Peaks Landscape Management (Tempe, Ariz.)
The two-hour event was followed by an open session in which over 100 audience members were able to direct questions to the panel members. In addition to lending their expertise as panelists at the summit, each panelist submitted a written brief on topics of discussion. These briefs are available for download in PDF format at www.rainbird.com.
Panelists called for civic and business leaders to collaborate on the development and implementation of water conservation policies. They also emphasized the severity of water scarcity and drought in the United States and abroad and presented several potential tactics to avert a mounting global drought.
"There is a notable absence of 'reality' in home makeover reality television, especially when it comes to irrigation," said panelist Glassman. "It is the responsibility of viewers - and companies like Rain Bird - to urge the media to educate homeowners on how to use water smartly and create landscapes that are efficient and functional."
Established in 2004 as a forum to further define the relationship between water conservation and landscape water use, Rain Bird's fifth Intelligent Use of Water Summit comes on the heels of a recent U.N. report predicting an eminent and devastating global water shortage by the year 2025.
"As our global population increases, demand for clean water will inevitably rise, making it essential for governments and companies to do their part to conserve water and make the most efficient use of our most precious natural resource," said Dave Johnson, Rain Bird's corporate marketing director. "We believe that it is our responsibility to raise awareness of the importance of smart outdoor water use, provide products and services that use water in the most efficient manner possible and motivate other corporations and organizations to do their part to adopt smart-watering habits and avert a global water crisis."
Rain Bird's next Intelligent Use of Water Summit is scheduled for summer, 2007.
