World Water Day Focus: Carbon for Water
The Carbon for Water project provides access to safe drinking water for millions of people, while reducing CO2 emissions by 2 million tons per year…Posted Mar 7, 2012
Enter to win free tickets to “Carbon for Water”, or $50 cash below.
Every March 22nd since 1993, World Water Day has been a time to focus attention on global water issues and to recognize the role that fresh water plays in our lives. With population growth and climate change, access to safe drinking water is becoming more difficult for people the world over. But today we’re going to tell you a fascinating and uplifting success story, which is the subject of the new documentary film, Carbon for Water.
We’ll also show you how to win tickets to a screening of this inspiring documentary.
Every day over 5,000 people die, mostly children in developing countries, from diseases contracted by drinking dirty water.
Every day over 5,000 people die, mostly children in developing countries, from diseases contracted by drinking dirty water. In Kenya’s Western Province, over 90% of people lack access to safe water. In order to purify the water to drink, they collect and burn wood from the dwindling forests. In Kenya, women are tasked with getting firewood for the fires. Starting as early as 6 years old, girls walk to the forest and collect firewood, returning with heavy loads carried on their heads. Due to this laborious chore, they miss school and have little chance of becoming formally educated. Sometimes they’re in the forest all day, where they risk rape, attack by wild animals, or drowning in rivers.
Only 60 years ago, most of the province was covered by forest. At the rate of deforestation, there will be no more trees left in the near future. With this deforestation comes climate change, and the effects are already becoming clear. In the last few decades, the region has been receiving less rain and becoming more arid due to loss of forest cover, which makes it harder to grow crops.
At the rate of deforestation, there will be no more trees left in the near future.
In April 2011, Vestergaard Frandsen donated nearly 900,000 LifeStraw Family water filters to the communities of Western Province, providing access to clean water to over four million people. This $30 million public health program will last ten years. An award winning documentary called Carbon for Water describes this project, and observes that this donation “wasn’t charity… it was smart business.”
Vestergaard Frandsen is a Swiss company whose products impact millions of lives every year. They operate under a unique Humanitarian Entrepreneurship business model. This “profit for a purpose” approach has turned corporate social responsibility into their core business of creating life-saving products for the most vulnerable.
Among Vestergaard Frandsen’s product line are the LifeStraw and LifeStraw Family water filters. The LifeStraw is a small, personal water filter that enables the user to drink directly from contaminated water sources. Because the LifeStraw is compact and portable, it is most often used in the field or in disaster stricken areas. The LifeStraw Family is a larger version which uses gravity and advanced filters to purify over 18,000 liters of water. The LifeStraw Family is featured in this documentary as recipients are in home settings.
Vestergaard Frandsen shouldered the burden of organization and the risk of financing the LifeStraw project, and is now in the process of selling the carbon credits generated by the carbon emissions this project offsets on the global carbon market.
The Carbon for Water project will reduce CO2 emissions by 2 million tons per year, making it one of the biggest carbon reduction projects in the world. Everyone who’s involved benefits. CEO Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen says “businesses need to think about their role in their communities. [Including those people] who may not be their direct customer, but are certainly affected by the decisions made in the board room.”
The Carbon for Water project will reduce CO2 emissions by 2 million tons per year, making it one of the biggest carbon reduction projects in the world.
The uplifting Carbon for Water documentary is being screened at over 20 film festivals around the world. At Eartheasy, we’re encouraging people to watch this film and share it with their friends. As more people learn of the success of humanitarian entrepreneurship business models, the more likely future solutions will continue to emerge.
On March 31st we’ll be giving away five prizes of two tickets each to a screening of Carbon for Water at the film fest of your choice. Screening locations can be found here, and full contest rules can be found upon entering using the form below. Enter the contest through one of the methods listed below, and you can get additional entries by following the steps.
On March 31st we’ll be giving away five prizes of two tickets each to a screening of Carbon for Water at the film fest of your choice.
In honor of World Water Day, for the month of March, Eartheasy is helping by donating one LifeStraw for every one sold on our site to individuals in developing countries through our relationship with Rotary International. If you’re into camping, travel, or emergency preparedness, consider purchasing one during the month of March, and we’ll donate one to an individual in need.
Enter to win free tickets to “Carbon for Water”, or $50 cash if you prefer, using your email address or with Facebook. You can get up to 5 chances to win by using the methods below: