It’s World Water Day, and the theme this year is international water cooperation. What does that mean? Every action involving water management requires effective cooperation between multiple agencies. Rivers cross geographic and political boundaries and cooperation is necessary to share the water resources of a transboundary river basin between upstream and downstream users with different and sometimes conflicting needs, claims and cultures.
Bambeco supports local and global environmental causes because we believe the health and stability of our waterways is critical, on a local, regional, national and global level. We give over 1% of every sale to help support organizations that share our goals for clean, healthy waterways.
Locally, we’ve partnered with groups like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Blue Water Baltimore. Bambeco staff members participate in local activities to help clean and preserve our local waterways. Globally, we have partnered with Oceana to help ensure the long-term health of our global waters.
Even our products are water-wise. Using reclaimed and recycled materials requires less water in manufacture than using “new” materials each time. Our woods are either reclaimed, or they’re sourced from sustainably managed forests and farms, and we regularly post blog articles with tips to save water.
Why is clean water so important?
- 85% of the world population lives in the driest parts of the planet
- 783 million people do not have access to clean water
- Every day, over 2 million tons of human waste are disposed of in waterways
- 70% of the world’s freshwater resources are in the form of ice and permanent snow cover
- Freshwater lakes and rivers account for less than 1% of the world’s fresh water. What isn’t in ice, snow or lakes and rivers is in the form of ground water.
How much water does it take?
- 3.4 gallons for a tomato
- 6.6 gallons for a potato
- 9.2 gallons for a cup of tea
- 18.5 gallons for an apple
- 19.8 gallons for a glass of beer
- 31.7 gallons for a glass of wine
- 37 gallons for a cup of coffee
- 45 gallons for a glass of orange juice
- 52.8 gallons for a glass of milk
- 634 gallons for a hamburger
- 1,800 gallons for one pound of beef