Savannahian takes fight to conserve water across the country
Tommy Linstroth has been a friend of mine since before I lived in this fair city. And anyone who does anything in the environmental realm in Georgia knows the guy. He’s got his hand in every eco-cookie jar. Having recently moved on from his long held stint as Sustainability Coordinator at Melaver, Inc., Tommy emerged as the head of his own company: Trident Sustainability. One would thing that Tommy’d have his hands full running his own show. But wait, do I hear of a new, cool ecoproject he’s rolling out??
Not one to enjoy downtime, Linstroth has taken on one of the largest, loftiest campaigns since Ed Mazria’s 2030 Challenge. Allow me to introduce RehydrateUS, a simple, affordable mechanism aimed at reducing water consumption in the U.S. by 1 BILLION gallons per day.
And just how, pre tell, does Linstroth plan to accomplish this? Through education/outreach, partnerships, and advocacy.
EDUCATION/OUTREACH
To start, RehydrateUS has a kickass website dedicated to informing the general population on the water plight, water consumption statistics and the simple ways they can get involved in conserving water. For example, did you know that ever year in the US, we use 3700 BILLION gallons of water that is not replaced? Or that at least 36 states are anticipating local, regional or statewide water shortages within the next 5 years?
And did you know that buildings in the United States are responsible for almost 20% of overall water consumption and greatly contribute to our nation’s water deficit? That’s why RehydrateUS calls on individual change to reduce the built environment’s contribution to our nation’s water deficit by 50% in our homes, in our offices, malls, restaurants and sports venues. There are three easy ways that Linstroth outlines for you to contribute: change to high efficiency toilets, showerheads and aerators. It’s as easy as 1-2-3.
PARTNERSHIPS
RehydrateUS has already partnered with American Standard, maker of kitchen and bath products, as well as other plumbing companies and sustainability groups. Linstroth hopes to take his partnerships to a national level, working with plumbing unions, the US Green Building Council, other manufacturers and even large development companies to encourage and promote the use of high efficiency toilets, showerheads and aerators.
ADVOCACY
Knowing that incentives at the city, state and federal level will help retrofit older homes as well as help to ensure water efficiency is a factor in new construction, RehydrateUS aims to educate decision makers on all levels of government to pass laws to encourage the use of high efficiency toilets, showerheads and aerators.
HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?
Visit the website, of course: www.rehydrateus.org. Learn more about the initiative and how you as an individual can contribute toward this essential goal.
