Landscaping/Irrigation | Blue Living Ideas

New Initiative Addresses Middle Eastern Water Poverty

Posted on Feb 15, 2010 by Scott James.

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Early this month in Jordan, seven Middle Eastern countries launched the Water and Livelihoods Initiative (WLI), an international conference on food security and climate change focused on the most elemental of resources: water. The 10 year project is looking at how farmers can best use their limited water resources for irrigated and rain-fed agriculture, and both native shrubs and grasses for rangeland grazing. The WLI will bring together communities from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Notably absent in from the list are Saudi Arabia Israel.
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Better Water Management Means Increased Crop Production

Posted on Dec 09, 2009 by Scott James.

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Read the news on any given day and you’re likely to find two themes: we are running out of water and we need more food for a growing population. A new study that is the first to quantify the possibilities of water management as it is related to increasing crop production examined current crop production levels and the potential effects of various water management strategies offers hope for increased production, but the numbers show that it’s not nearly what we will need.
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New EPA Rules To Annually Keep 4 Billion Pounds of Sediment From Polluting Water

Posted on Dec 04, 2009 by Scott James.

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The Environmental Protection Agency issued a set of new rules this week aimed at reducing water pollution from construction sites around the country. The effluent limitations guidelines (ELG) and new source performance standards (NSPS) are intended to control the discharge of pollutants from construction sites. This is the first time the EPA has created national monitoring requirements and enforceable limitations on stormwater drainage from construction sites.
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USGS Documents Decreased Pesticide Levels in Corn Belt Streams

Posted on Nov 23, 2009 by Scott James.

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Pesticide runoff is one of the biggest problems facing streams, rivers and lakes in the agricultural regions around the U.S. A recent study found that the levels of several damaging pesticides are decreasing in the central United States. The study looked at eleven herbicides and insecticides consistently in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, and neighboring states, an area known as the Corn Belt region.
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Water-Saving Garden Irrigation

Posted on Aug 01, 2009 by BLI Editors.

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Watering your garden effectively is all about knowing its needs. Over-watering is as harmful for plants as providing too little water.

Although on average plants need one inch of water per week, there is a great deal of variation depending on the specific plant, climate, soil, and a host of other factors.

Luckily there are a variety of techniques to reduce your water usage and still enjoy a thriving garden.
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