What Minnesota can learn from Arizona about water

Cities in Peru are adopting a nature-based solution project in which they charge residents one Peruvian sol with their water bill each month to fund local watershed and rainforest conservation.

By using an agricultural technique that doesn’t use soil to grow crops, a farmer is upending the traditional farming practices in Nigeria and offering job opportunities to those who might otherwise be unemployed. Hydroponics farming is a type of horticulture that grows plants without soil by using mineral nutrient solutions. BIC Farms utilizes the method, which can reduce crop water consumption, and has trained more than 12,000 people on the soilless farming technique. Hydroponics can also help farmers reduce food waste and post-harvest losses.

A company in Thailand called Universal Bio Pack created biodegradable packaging made out of cassava starch and natural fiber that could reduce the amount of single use plastic that people consume. Another company in Spain called Plastic Energy takes mixed plastics that can’t be recycled and converts it into usable oils that make fuel. Both are different solutions that could be used simultaneously to tackle the world’s plastic pollution crisis.

Innovation is the key to resilience. In Branson, Colorado, the community of only 55 residents and with volunteer town council has taken on the massive task of bringing its water system up to compliance with the Colorado Department of Health. Because the state and federal government did not have the specific resources to assist Branson, the community turned to a locally developed, innovative water filtration system and an unorthodox funding campaign to pay for it.

Red meat consumption requires a great deal of water and land resources to produce and is even responsible for a large amount of greenhouse gases. To combat this, the Better Buying Lab is experimenting with marketing strategies to get people to buy more vegetarian and vegan items. After rebranding food with sensory descriptors like "Cuban" or "grilled", sales increased 13% in California and 76% in the UK. Influential brands like Panera are now increasing their efforts to continue this trend.

In 1976, the Costa Rican city Hojancha preserved only 2% of its land as forest, and as a result their water supply (the Río Nosara river basin) dried up from the lack of vegetation. Sixteen years into the crisis, two friends conceived and ran an initiative to reforest the land by asking every family in the city to donate ¢1,000 a month until they could buy back the land in full from the ranchers who owned it. Now, the land is thriving again, though the project of regrowing the forest continues still today.

The San Francisco Bay area is home to a number of crucial wetlands and streams that are quickly being impacted by climate change. For nearly two decades, however, elementary teachers and their students have been playing a part in repairing the damage and revitalizing the areas through restoration and revegetation projects.

In California's Ventura County, the Oxnard Plain aquifer is critically over-drafted. Farmers who rely on this water are working to implement a novel, market-based approach to decrease water use: a cap and trade. While the program has the support of many farmers and at least one environmental group, aspects of the mechanism still need ironing out.

With climate change warming agriculture lands, many communities are losing ground for farming. In one Guatemalan indigenous community, this resulted in many children becoming malnourished. The community rallied together to make changes that included taking advantage of the warmer weather and learning new techniques for diversifying their crops and conserving water.

Monitoring usage incentivizes water-intensive companies to develop water-saving techniques. Boston-based nonprofit, CERES, helps companies like Pepsi and Levi’s develop more sustainable practices. For example, Pepsi recaptures more of its runoff and has replaced water with pressurized air in its cleaning process. Levi’s also replaced water with air, using ozone gas to treat its denim. Tracking and reducing water use improves efficiency and saves the companies money.