LGBG Spotlight: No Water-No Life — On a Green Mission

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In keeping with our mission to educate, inform and share all things green, LGBG is proud to recognize organizations that we feel are employing exceptional and unique approaches to accomplish their goals.  This week, we salute No Water – No Life (NWNL).  LGBG would like to thank Alison Jones, photographer and project director  for taking the time to share information with us about this very special organization.

NWNL is a very special project that uses photography, scientific research and stakeholder knowledge to raise public awareness on the importance of freshwater resources, the potential dangers associated with water degradation and the opportunities to manage these resources.  This organization is exceptional and noteworthy because of its unique approach to its mission.  NWNL has adopted a simplistic primary focus, namely watersheds.  It then uses beautiful and intriguing photography and videography to illustrate its premises.  We all know that “a picture is worth a thousand words” and NWNL’s pictures prove this point.

This project has cleverly selected six case study watersheds that document “current universal threats to freshwater systems,” and with the employment of photographers, scientists and interns, the team works to develop solutions to existing problems relative to water.  The background of the individuals involved in these projects range from natural resource management, conservation biology, restoration ecology, forest ecology, environmental education and conservation photography and videography.  To date, the NWNL teams have conducted 15 expeditions in the United States and Africa, with 5 more to go.

The NWNL team maintains the highest ethical standards in its research and photography practices, ensuring that the welfare of the ecosystems are maintained.  The photographers go to extreme lengths to respect the “rights, customs and values” of the stakeholders in the watersheds visited.  Also, whether on expeditions or within their offices, they strive to cover their carbon emissions.

LGBG invites you to visit the No Water – No Life website at http://nowater-nolife.org/index.html to learn about this organization and to peruse its stunning photographs which convey to the viewer the feeling that protection of the world’s watersheds is indeed a worthy cause.

No Water – No Life is a globally focused project that documents the availability of freshwater resources, raises public awareness and provides education to stakeholders through publications, lectures and exhibits to foster partnerships globally.  With the understanding that water is the key to life, NWNL truly is a dynamic force and a wonderful asset to our journey to live green, be green.

Photograph of Raritan River, copyright Alison M. Jones

Sources for this Article:
1.  Interview with Alison Jones, project director
2.  http://nowater-nolife.org/index.html

LGBG Spotlight: Green America, “Come Together”

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For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Green America organization, as I’d imagine the majority of people are not, it is the feature of this week’s spotlight.  Green America: Come Together.

That is the organization’s tagline, and that is indeed what they strive for.  Basically, GA is a not-for-profit membership group that constantly aims to harness economic power, through the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace, in order to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society. This mission may sound like it’s full of huge ideas, and it is!  All of which, however, make perfect sense and seem extremely attainable, given the organization’s current vision for the future:

We work for a world where all people have enough, where all communities are healthy and safe, and where the bounty of the Earth is preserved for all the generations to come.

What is extra interesting about GA is its focus on economic variables in order to reach the roots of many social and environmental issues.  They take action against abusive business practices, whether obvious or not, and try to change them to more socially just and environmentally responsible ways.

In fact, GA does virtually all it can to help businesses convert to eco-friendly practices.  The organization offers and issues its Green America’s Green Business Certification, which allows not only recognition to individuals and businesses, but resources as well.  The group has a massive network of environmentally friendly firms along all areas of the conventional value chain of the business world, from producers to retailers, from marketing to financing.

Green America Green Business Certification

For more information on exactly what criteria potential members of Green America’s Green Business Certification program must meet, visit the organization’s site and learn more!