Sunday 26 July 2015

Water, Wine and Beer: Scarcity, conservation, drought

Water  Scarcity, conservation, drought…  Huge issue, huge impacts, no easy solution.  Some representative stories and issues.  The stories and companies below are random and not meant as an endorsement.  They are representative of work and learning that is happening.  Much more to do for all of us, but let’s recognize progress being made.


Drought in Western Canada (my home) is forcing all of us to become water smart.  We are making progress, but have far to go.  Story here and here and more on Google.

Smart water, beer and bottom line impact – Millercoors is working hard to be more water smart and is finding the payoff is to the environment AND the corporate bottom line.  Story here and here and you can google to find more.

Smart water and energy, wine and bottom line impact – Stoller Winery in Oregon is the first LEED Gold Certified in the world.  Story here and here and more on Google.

Sustainability = $$$ for Jackson Family Wines – water management, energy conservation and sustainability thinking produce profits! Story here and here and more on Google.

Wine and Climate Change – a great blog post by my good friend Toby Webb (here)  His blog is worth following. Varied, frank and insightful.  Always.

How much water does that strawberry cost?  Some thoughts on the importance of measuring (and managing) water use. Post here and PDF here

Triple Crown Brown – remember brown lawns save watersave energy (no mowing) and save work (no mowing). 

No easy answers and so much needs doing.  But, every bit helps.  Celebrate progress but push for more.  It's up to all of us.
 * Special thanks to Nele Lahrmann for the research and ideas on water, wine and ice cream!