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| PERSONAL - EDUCATE YOURSELF | ||||||||||||||||||
| Learn more about your watershed by visiting the US Environmental Protection Agency's Watershed database and entering your zipcode. |
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| PERSONAL - RECOMMENDED READING | ||||||||||||||||||
| Introduction to Water in California by David Carle. $16.95 list ISBN 0520240863. A comprehensive and readable natural history guide to complicated subject that engages readers at a personal leve. It interweaves the historical, human, and technological factors with the ecological and environmental realities. A must read for anyone living in California, Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner. $17.00 list ISBN 0140178244. Excellent history of water resources in the American West and a very illuminating lesson in the political economy of limited resources anywhere. Highly recommended! The Great Thirst: Californians and Water - A History by Norris Hundly. $24.95 list ISBN 0520224566. History of how water has been used and abused in California. Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last? by Sandra Postel. List $14.95 ISBN 0393319377. Examines challenges to our modern irrigation society, from mounting water scarcity and salinization of soils to rising tensions between countries over shared rivers.The overriding lesson from history is that most irrigation-based civilizations fail. As we enter the third millennium the question arises: Will ours be any different? Lost Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity by Sandra Postel. List $13.95 ISBN 0393317447. Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World's Water by Maude Barlow & Tony Clarke. List $16.95 ISBN 1565848136. Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution and Profit by Vandana Shiva. List $14.00 ISBN 089608650X. Water Wars: Drought, Flood, Folly and the Politics of Thirst by Diana Raines Ward. List $14.00 ISBN 1573229954 |
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| PERSONAL - PRACTICE WATER CONSERVATION | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reduce your water consumption: install water saving devices and appliances, change some of your habits, landscape with water wise plants. Your local water district can provide you with information about water conservation and rebates for products.
www.h2ouse.org is an excellent website that will take you through every room in your house and show you how you can conserve more. They have a handy calculator for computing your water savings. Also has lots of links to recommended books, articles and products you can order. Plants and Landscapes for Summer Dry Climates of the San Francisco Bay Region by East Bay Municipal Utility District. $34.95 ISBN 0975323113 Join a Green Team: Small groups of Bay Area neighbors and co-workers learn to live more earth-friendly lifestyles through the support of a Green Action Guide, resource binder and a trained coach. The Action Guide is written specifically for the Bay Area. If you are located on the peninsula or South Bay, call (650) 962-9876 ex 309. All other areas please call (904) 249-8272 |
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| PERSONAL/POLITICAL | ||||||||||||||||||
| Talk to people about water issues.
Make financial donations or volunteer your time to environmental organizations working on water issues (see list below under Non-profit organizations) |
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| POLITICAL | ||||||||||||||||||
| Contact your local city, state and congressional representatives and find out if they are addressing water issues.
Support responsible water legislation |
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| NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS | ||||||||||||||||||
| There are many good organizations working towards trying to bring about positive changes in how our current water system works and trying to restore our wilderness. Consider making a financial donation or volunteering your time with them:
The Mono Lake Committee has been working for 25 years to protect Mono Lake from excessive water diversions to Los Angeles through litigation, legislation, cooperation, and most importantly, public support. Restore Hetch Hetchy is dedicated to educating the public regarding the benefits and importance of restoring Hetch Hetchy valley and promoting the conservation and protection of the natural habitat and ecosystems of Hetch Hetchy Valley and its associated natural resources, including the Tuolumne River; Friends of the River is dedicated to preserving, protecting, and restoring California's rivers, streams, and their watersheds. The organization accomplishes its mission by providing public education, citizen activist training and organizing, and expert advocacy to influence public policy decisions on land, water, and energy management issues. California Urban Water Conservation Council was created to increase efficient water use statewide through partnerships among urban water agencies, public interest organizations, and private entities. American Rivers has been dedicated to protecting and restoring healthy, natural rivers and the variety of life they sustain for people, fish and wildlife since 1973. The Sierra Club, founded in 1892, states their mission as: |
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