Lisa Seyfried's blog

Today is World Water Day -- a day each year when the world's water activist community holds events and discussions about the state of the world's water.  This year's theme was Water for Cities.  I had the opportunity to attend a symposium held at George Washington University on this topic.  While the presenters ranged from everything from new innovations in water supply to the urban poor to managing stormwater in DC, the underlying theme was conservation.  How can we supply people in the world without water while managing and conserving our own use of water?

What I found to be the most interesting part of this symposium was the presentation by George Hawkins, General Manager for DC Water (the DC water utility company).  He began his talk by pointing out that 1) water is something that everyone needs, 2) we don't know what to do when the water is turned off, and 3) that most people have no concept of where their water comes from and where it goes once they use it. 

... read more

As I've been doing my Christmas shopping this year, running from store to store looking for the perfect gift for people (yes I know it's early -- I like doing it early so I have time to change my mind!), I've been thinking about reusable bags.  When home in DC, I swear by them and take them everywhere with me.  Doing Black Friday shopping in my small hometown in Pennsylvania, the thought never crossed my mind.  

So this got me thinking: are reusable bags more than just a simple way to 'go green'? Have they morphed into some kind of urban elitist thing or a status symbol of some kind?... read more

I was browsing through my Facebook newsfeed yesterday, and 350.org's posted the pictures for a visual essay by Franke James.  The visual essay is called 'What Can One Person Do When 6.8 Billion People on the Planet are Frying' and the whole thing can be found here.  My personal favorite is the pondering the irony of being destroyed by fossil fuels part.  

While this is a kind of humorous look at what you can do, I think it makes some great points.  Whatever the solution to climate change is, the best plan is to be doing something. I have this discussion with my sister all the time -- she is convinced that the small things won't really make a difference in the long run.  Ok, fine, changing your lightbulbs isn't going to stop countries like Bangladesh or the Maldives from ending up underwater.  But at least it's something! And it's that first step to making your lifestyle a little bit greener.  ... read more