WH	[Judy Pino] 
	Hello, and welcome to 
	EPA's Green Scene,
WH	a series of environmental 
	podcasts that you can
WH	take with you.
WH	I'm Judy Pino with the 
	Office of Multimedia.
WH	Across the country, our growing 
	population is putting stress
WH	on available water supplies.
WH	Between 1950 and the year 2000, 
	the U.S. population
WH	nearly doubled.
WH	However, in that same period, 
	public demand for water
WH	more than tripled.
WH	There is a reason why water has 
	become a national priority,
WH	but there is a way for you to 
	use water more efficiently
WH	by using plain Water Sense; 
	a voluntary program that
WH	is sponsored 
	by the EPA.
WH	And who better than Assistant 
	Administrator for Water
WH	Ben Grumbles to 
	tell us more.
WH	He's here today 
	with us.
WH	Welcome, Ben.
WH	[Ben Grumbles] 
	Thank you 
	very much.
WH	[Judy Pino] 
	Ben, tell us, what do you mean 
	when we say water sense
WH	at the EPA?
WH	[Ben Grumbles] 
	Well, water sense is common 
	sense and an ethic of
WH	efficiency for protecting 
	America's greatest liquid
WH	asset, water.
WH	In 2006, we launched a voluntary 
	program called Water Sense,
WH	and the mission of the program 
	is to encourage and enhance
WH	and promote the market 
	for water efficient,
WH	high-performing products and 
	services that save water and
WH	also deliver for customers 
	and consumers and maintain
WH	high performance.
WH	[Judy Pino] 
	Now, tell us exactly what 
	products and services can
WH	earn the Water Sense label, 
	this label right here.
WH	[Ben Grumbles] 
	Well, it's a label that also 
	reflects not just a water drop
WH	but also a leaf, so it's 
	water and ecology.
WH	And you can find the label 
	now -- we're focusing on
WH	three areas in particular.
WH	One is high-efficiency toilets; 
	a second is faucets and aerators
WH	in bathrooms; and a third is 
	irrigation and landscape
WH	professionals, a certification 
	for providers of services
WH	for landscape and 
	irrigation design.
WH	[Judy Pino] 
	And we'll get into all 
	of this in a little bit,
WH	but what is going on in the 
	country right at this moment,
WH	where water has become a top 
	priority, now more than ever,
WH	you would say?
WH	[Ben Grumbles] 
	Well, Benjamin Franklin 
	said it well.
WH	He said, "We know the worth of 
	water when the well runs dry."
WH	And many people also say that 
	water is the oil of the
WH	21st Century.
WH	There is a lot of 
	potential conflict;
WH	there's scarcity 
	in some areas.
WH	In the U.S., in particular, 
	it is predicted that at
WH	least 36 states will experience 
	some shortage by 2013,
WH	and that's not just in 
	drought-stricken areas.
WH	There's also a growing 
	awareness of the value
WH	of water and its connection 
	to energy.
WH	Water efficiency is connected 
	to energy efficiency.
WH	If you save water, 
	you're also going
WH	to be saving energy 
	and money.
WH	A very important point is that 
	if you let a faucet run for
WH	five minutes, it will use up the 
	same amount of energy as burning
WH	a 60-watt light bulb 
	for 14 hours.
WH	[Judy Pino] 
	And all of these are, of course, 
	very important resources.
WH	Many of these stats you could 
	get on the EPA Web site.
WH	Here's another one: According 
	to the latest statistics,
WH	Americans now use an average of 
	100 gallons of water per day.
WH	That's enough to fill 1,600 
	drinking glasses.
WH	I had no idea that I was 
	wasting so much water.
WH	But that's just the 
	tip of the iceberg.
WH	[Ben Grumbles] 
	It is.
WH	There are so many opportunities, 
	through technology and
WH	innovation and awareness, 
	to save water.
WH	The 100 gallons statistic -- 
	in some areas of the world,
WH	the number is really more 
	like three to 11 gallons.
WH	We have many opportunities.
WH	When water enters the home, 
	30 percent of it goes down
WH	the drain through the toilets, 
	so the bathrooms --
WH	we want to focus on what 
	are some innovations and
WH	technologies to really save 
	water without sacrificing
WH	performance in 
	the bathroom.
WH	[Judy Pino] 
	So, tell us, what can we 
	do on a day-to-day basis
WH	to be more efficient 
	with our water use?
WH	[Ben Grumbles] 
	Well, the first thing is to 
	look for the Water Sense label.
WH	It's a very exciting 
	program in development.
WH	We're working with partners 
	across the whole country:
WH	utilities, manufacturers, 
	environmental groups
WH	and states.
WH	So, look for the Water Sense 
	label when you're in the
WH	market for 
	a toilet.
WH	[Judy Pino] 
	And let's go to the other one: 
	Fix that leak.
WH	[Ben Grumbles] 
	Oh, it's the silent -- 
	the problem of losing
WH	water is tremendous when you 
	realize that a faucet --
WH	if a faucet is dripping, 
	if it drips one drop per
WH	second, that amounts to 2,600 
	gallons of water wasted
WH	in a year.
WH	So fix the leaks 
	and the drips.
WH	[Judy Pino] 
	And that's why we also recommend 
	that you turn off the faucet
WH	when you're brushing 
	your teeth.
WH	[Ben Grumbles] 
	That's right.
WH	That is -- kids -- when you 
	teach children to turn off
WH	the faucet, they're very excited 
	about that because they then
WH	learn they can save four 
	gallons a day just --
WH	anytime if you let the faucet 
	run, you could be wasting
WH	that amount 
	of water.
WH	[Judy Pino] 
	Sure, so start early 
	with kids.
WH	And, of course -- tell us 
	about the toilets;
WH	the importance of having 
	an efficient toilet,
WH	a modern toilet, Water Sense 
	manufactured label.
WH	[Ben Grumbles] 
	You know, there are about -- 
	there are over 200 million
WH	toilets in the United States, 
	and on a daily basis
WH	6.8 billion gallons of water 
	is flushed down the drain.
WH	Toilets -- a 1992 law 
	established a very
WH	well-meaning goal, a requirement 
	for all new toilets to flush
WH	no more than 1.6 gallons 
	per flush.
WH	[Judy Pino] 
	Okay.
WH	[Ben Grumbles] 
	The exciting thing about 
	the Water Sense program
WH	and working with manufacturers 
	across the country is the
WH	second generation of low-flow 
	toilets is now finding
WH	tremendous results of 
	saving water and money
WH	and performing 
	very well.
WH	[Judy Pino] 
	And how does EPA ensure 
	that these qualities,
WH	these Water Sense products, 
	will be as efficient as
WH	conventional models?
WH	[Ben Grumbles] 
	Well, when we put that 
	label on a toilet,
WH	which means that it flushes less 
	than 1.3 gallons per flush,
WH	what it means is that it 
	performs better than
WH	or as good as other 
	competing brands.
WH	What we do is we have 
	independent third-party
WH	testing to ensure that 
	performance criteria
WH	that look at a variety of 
	factors are being met.
WH	[Judy Pino] 
	Okay, so, in essence, it is 
	simple to save water.
WH	[Ben Grumbles] 
	It's simple, it's easier than 
	you think and it's more critical
WH	than ever, because it also means 
	saving money on your water bill,
WH	reducing the demands on 
	utilities and also saving
WH	energy and making an important 
	step for mitigating greenhouse
WH	gas emissions.
WH	[Judy Pino] 
	Well, thank you, 
	Mr. Grumbles.
WH	Coming from you, we must 
	pay attention.
WH	So, let's use the Water Sense 
	label, and we invite you
WH	to come back at any time 
	to discuss this further.
WH	It's a very important topic.
WH	[Ben Grumbles] 
	It sure is.
WH	Thank you.
WH	[Judy Pino] 
	Thanks again.
WH	And to test your water 
	sense, please visit
WH	www.epa.gov/watersense.
WH	And you could take the pledge 
	to do your part to save water
WH	in 2008 and beyond.
WH	See you next time 
	on Green Scene.
WH