US colleges moving to retire cafeteria trays  {8/27/2008}
Several universities, in the wake of droughts in the southeast, are ditching the trays in their cafeterias to help conserve water. The idea is to lighten the loads for dishwashers and reduce water-polluting detergents. With only two hands to carry food, instead of a tray to pile food upon, some officials are saying it may even help students keep a few extra pounds off.

Water security: Defining the issues  {8/27/2008}
Peter Shanaghan and Stephen Gasteyer hae devoted their careers to water. Shanaghan is team leader for the EPA’s Drinking Water State Revolvement Fund. Gasteyer is assistant professor of community development and leadership in the Department of Human and Community Development at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Source asked these two experts to define the water issues they see facing rural America.

How marketers whet our thirst for bottled water  {8/27/2008}
Beverage companies have transformed water from a free, simple thirst-quencher into a colossal money-maker.

Making art of toilet seats  {8/27/2008}
An art gallery in Lucas, Kansas, features decorated toilet seats in its latest exhibit. They plan to sell some of the fancy seats in a silent auction, with proceeds going to build a public restroom next to the downtown gallery.

What's Up with CUPSS  {8/27/2008}
In this edition: * Changing of the Guard * CUPSS Trainer's Network Call * Effective Utility Management Primer and Electronic Toolbox Released * Train-the-Trainer Q&A Document Available * CUPSS Featured in Safe Drinking Water Trust * Environmental Finance Center (EFC) Financial Dashboard

EPA launching program to reduce lead weights  {8/27/2008}
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched a voluntary program to get car makers and auto parts suppliers to reduce their use of lead wheel weights, which can become pollutants. This comes after a settlement between an automaker and an environmental group in California, which requires several companies to phase out the weights by 2009 because they can fall off and eventually pollute the state’s water system.

San Francisco considers renaming sewage plant after Bush  {8/27/2008}
The soon to be renamed George W Bush Sewage Plant (subject to SF voter approval) is located on the Great Highway, just south of the San Francisco Zoo. On November 4th, 2008, San Francisco voters will decide on the ballot initiative, Proposition R, which if passed by a simple majority, will rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant in honor of the outgoing president, effective upon the inauguration of the next US President.

EPA Works with Builders On WaterSense New Homes Program  {8/6/2008}
s part of its efforts to encourage water efficiency across the country, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that five builders will participate in the Water-Efficient Single-Family New Homes Pilot Program. The builders will construct homes designed to meet the WaterSense program’s draft specification for new homes.

Students Use Solar to Heat Guatemalan Households  {8/6/2008}
In spring 2007, UC Berkeley Energy and Resources Group professor Ashok Gadgil challenged students in his Design for Sustainable Communities class to come up with an affordable and efficient solar water heater that could be used in low-income households. Now, a little more than a year later, one team of students has already installed solar water heaters on the roofs of several homes in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, which have been so beneficial to the recipients that there are already plans to mass produce the heaters locally.

NASA Spacecraft Confirms Martian Water, Mission Extended   {8/6/2008}
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Laboratory tests aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander have identified water in a soil sample. The lander's robotic arm delivered the sample Wednesday to an instrument that identifies vapors produced by the heating of samples. "We have water," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA.

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