Thousands of Angelinos "Go Dirty for the Drought" by Pledging to Not Wash Their Car
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) October 07, 2014 -- Thousands of Angelinos are taking the “Dirty Car Pledge” to not wash their cars for 60 days in response to the worst drought in California’s recorded history. Los Angeles Waterkeeper’s campaign “Go Dirty for the Drought” is an effort to raise awareness about the severity of the drought and empower individuals to prioritize water conservation.
It has been nine months since Governor Brown announced the California drought a state of emergency, and Los Angeles residents are still using an average of 122-129 gallons of water a day. Other countries, like Australia and Israel have lowered their consumption to 40-60 gallons per day in response to drought. Los Angeles needs to take water conservation more seriously, both agencies and individuals.
The average home car wash uses 85 gallons of water, and creates urban runoff that goes directly into our waterways and ocean. A commercial car wash uses an average of 56 gallons of water, including facilities that recycle their water. If 10,000 people that normally wash their car every two weeks take the Dirty Car Pledge, Los Angeles will save almost 3 million gallons of water.
“Over 2,000 people have already taken the Dirty Car Pledge, and we just launched the campaign a week ago” said Rachel Stich, Events and Communications Director of Los Angeles Waterkeeper. “And while saving a few million gallons of water is no small feat, the bigger impact is getting people to think about the drought and do their part to conserve water in their daily lives.”
When you “Go Dirty for the Drought”, Los Angeles Waterkeeper will send you a static-cling sticker for the inside window of your car, which serves as proof of a great excuse for a dirty car, and helps spread the word about water conservation while driving throughout the city and sharing it on social media. Los Angeles Waterkeeper also intends for the campaign to urge state and local agencies to increase conservation, launch new stormwater capture and recycling programs, and to better educate Angelinos about the drought.
“The City of Los Angeles should be at the forefront of making more water-conscious decisions,” said Liz Crosson, Executive Director of Los Angeles Waterkeeper. “Over 80% of the City’s water is imported from faraway ecosystems like the Bay-Delta and the endangered Colorado River. We can no longer rely on our past efforts, and each of us needs to take individual actions like replacing lawns with drought tolerant plants, using water efficient appliances, installing grey water systems, and not wasting water in your daily activities.”
Take the Dirty Car Pledge now at http://www.LAWaterkeeper.org/DirtyForTheDrought
For further information, please contact Rachel Stich at (818) 636-2033 or (310) 394- 6162 x108
Rachel Stich, Los Angeles Waterkeeper, https://lawaterkeeper.org, +1 310-394-6162 Ext: 108, [email protected]
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