There are many reasons why water pollution is bad for the environment, and one very surprising reason is algae. Algae are very, very tiny plants that live in the sea. Most species of algae aren’t harmful at all, but there are a few that are very toxic. When other creatures eat the toxic algae, they become sick. Then the sickness gets transferred from one creature to another and can even affect humans if they eat fish that have been affected.

When the toxic algae grows and spreads rapidly it is called an “algal bloom.” Water pollution is a frequent contributor to algal blooms. The pollution in the water stimulates the algae and causes it to grow into a bloom. Certain algal organisms thrive in contaminated waters.

In order to prevent algal blooms from happening, we have to make an effort to stop water pollution across the whole community. Consider how you can reduce your water use and reduce the amount of pollutants introduced into our rivers, lakes and streams. Here are a few tips!

Conserve water. There are many ways to do this, such as not letting the faucet run when you brush your teeth or wait for the shower to warm up. It is also helpful to take showers instead of baths.

Use green household products, like biodegradable soap or all-natural toiletries.

Don’t litter in water sources like rivers, lakes or oceans.

Use natural fertilizers in your yard. The contaminated water soaks into the groundwater that later runs off into water sources.

Dispose of toxic products like paint or other chemicals properly. Don’t let them go down the sink or the toilet. It’s even better to use eco-friendly alternatives.

All of these little changes in your lifestyle will make a big difference in the environment and will help make our oceans cleaner and better while preventing harmful algal blooms!

One of my favorite parts of celebrating the New Year is making resolutions—especially resolutions that will make the New Year even better than the last. This year, join me in my plan to go green in 2012! The best thing about this resolution: it’s easy and it helps preserve our environment. Make a few of these simple changes in your daily life to help out your family, your earth, and even frogs like me!

• Next time you go to the grocery store with your parents, ask them to start using reusable canvas bags instead of paper or plastic.
• Plant a garden! With spring on the horizon, you can grow your own fruits and vegetables.
• Turn off the water while you brush your teeth!
• Turn off the lights and electronics when they are not in use. It also saves energy to unplug them completely, rather than just turning them off.
• Ask for “green” school supplies like biodegradable pens and recycled binders.
• One final word: RECYCLE! Earn a little extra spending money by turning in your bottles and cans at the recycling center if your community doesn’t do neighborhood pickup.

See how just a few small changes in your daily life can make a big impact on the environment? Stick to these resolutions, or come up with some green ideas of your own, and make 2012 the “greenest” year yet!

The holidays can be a busy time, especially with large meals, traveling to relatives and wrapping presents with packaging that produces more waste. Did you know that between Thanksgiving and New Years, the average American family generates 25 percent more trash than other times of the year? Here are a few simple ways to conserve our natural resources and reduce waste. Share these tips with your parents and encourage them to go green this holiday season!

• After a big meal, scrape your dishes clean before putting them in the dishwasher, rather than rinsing the food into the sink.
• Defrost frozen foods in the fridge or microwave, not under hot water. A running faucet can use up to 4 gallons of water per minute!
• Only run the dishwasher when it is full.
• Replant or recycle your Christmas tree–don’t throw it away!
• Carpool with your relatives when you’re traveling to holiday events to reduce air pollution and use of gasoline.
• Use energy saving LED Christmas lights, and be sure to put them on a timer so that you reduce the amount of time the lights are left on.
• Install a low-flow showerhead. When your relatives come to visit there will be a lot of showers, and normal showerheads use 2 gallons more per minute!

Water helps the whole environment stay healthy–people, plants, and even frogs like me depend on it! In many parts of the world, people don’t easily get water out of their sinks, and the water they do drink has not been treated and may not be safe to drink. Here in Greenville, lots of people work hard every day to make sure the water we drink is safe and clean. Don’t forget to say thanks to them too on Thanksgiving!

How much do you know about the water that you are thankful for? Check out this quiz from National Geographic Kids that is all about water!

Why is Project Rx so important for our community?

1. Leaving unused medications in your home can be dangerous to kids and teens
2. Taking medication that is not prescribed for you is unhealthy for your body and makes you sick
3. Flushing medications down the drain can pollute our community’s water resources
4. Fish and other wildlife are harmed by the medicine in their rivers and streams

The best way to get rid of unused medicine is to bring it to a Project Rx location, where you can be sure the medicine will be disposed of safely.

So, what are you waiting for? It’s your chance to Leap Into Action and ask your parents to go to Project Rx this Saturday–there are over 25 locations in the Upstate! Visit www.aRiverRemedy.org/locations/listings for a list of locations, and visit us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/aRiverRemedy

See you there!

1. Recycle your trash in the cafeteria! If your school doesn’t have a recycling bin in the cafeteria, talk to your principal or homeroom teacher about adding one.

2. Bring an EPA friendly water bottle. Ask your parents to get you a reusable water bottle instead of disposable plastic ones. If you have to go disposable, make sure you recycle!

3. Bring a lunch box instead of a paper bag. If you bring a lunch box every day, that’s 160 paper bags you’ll prevent from going in the trash!

4. Recycle papers in class. Encourage your teacher to keep a recycling bin in the classroom too, and make sure nothing ever goes to waste when it can be recycled.

Of course, you can’t forget my favorite green cause, water conservation! Join Thirstin in this fun matching activity to learn how much water you use in your everyday activities. You will be surprised at how much water you use! After you help Thirstin match his list, think about some ways you can help conserve water this school year, both at school and work!

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/flash/flash_matching.html

Help save our rivers and residents by telling your parents about Project Rx: A River Remedy on
June 18th, 2011from 10:00 am- 2:00 pm! Volunteers and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office will be there to collect all unwanted medications for safe disposal. The two Upstate locations are:

McAlister Square- 225 South Pleasantburg Drive

St. Francis Downtown- Hwy. 123 at St. Francis Drive

Why does Greenville need Project Rx? There are several reasons!

Leaving medications in your medicine cabinet can be dangerous for families: children and teens can take drugs that are not their’s and get really sick from taking them. It is important for adults to regularly clean out the medicine cabinet looking for expired or medicines no one is taking anymore.

Ok, so after adults clean out their medicine cabinets, what do they do with all of the medications? DO NOT FLUSH the medicine down the toilet or put it down the drain! It is very expensive for wastewater treatment facilities to clean drugs out of water before returning the water back into our rivers. Flushing the meds harms our environment!

Adults should bring all unwanted prescription, over the counter meds, vitamins, supplements, and even pet meds to Project Rx! We are even going to be recycling the pill bottles and medication packaging at the event to be even better stewards of our environment! For more information visit www.aRiverRemedy.org and find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/aRiverRemedy. We hope to see you there!

Freshwater Freddie back again and it’s the most wonderful time of the year for us freshwater frogs who love being green! No, it’s not Christmastime yet silly, it is Earth Day month and mark your calendars everyone for Earth Day on April 22!

Join my friends at Renewable Water Resources, you can shorten their name to ReWa, in celebrating the earth at several fun events in our GREENville community! ReWa will be sharing easy tips on how you can help keep our waterways clean and how ReWa as a wastewater utility is protecting, cleaning and renewing the valuable environmental resources of our community.

GREENzilla Clean Water - The Children’s Museum of the Upstate
Monday April 18, 2011
2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

The Children’s Museum is partnering with area organizations to create activities and demonstrations to educate kids about opportunities to help make positive differences in the local environment. Join ReWa in playing the “Down the Drain” game to learn what is safe to put down the drain and what needs to be put in the trash. To learn more visit http://www.tcmupstate.org/clean-water/.

Earth Fest- Greenville Technical College
April 19, 2011
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

The Greenville Tech Recycling Coalition is bringing together environmentally‐friendly organizations, like ReWa, to increase awareness about eco-friendly, green practices. Learn how our community can help prevent the hazards of Fats, Oils & Grease (FOG) in our sewer system. We will be handing out FOG cans and also talking more about Project Rx and what you can do to help keep our residents and rivers safe from medication! To learn more visit http://www.gvltec.edu/earthfest/.

Upstate Spice of Life Show
Friday April 29- Saturday April 30
9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

ReWa and Furman University will be sponsoring the green living section of the show to learn how to live more green! Learn how to keep our rivers and residents safe from unwanted or expired medications. Project Rx: A River Remedy is a take-back event that everyone can participate in to help reduce the impact of drugs in our Upstate environment. ReWa will also be featuring a clean water demonstration, to learn about how water travels from the watershed into our sinks then back to the river. To learn more visit http://www.upstatespiceoflifeshow.com/.

Happy Earth Day month and we hope to see you at some of these GREEN events!

Frogs and other pets that bought from pet stores can be from far away and be invasive to the local environment. The Loop Scoops website made this video and does a great job explaining what invasive species are and why it is dangerous both for these species and our environment. Click here to learn more.

Have you ever thought where does the fresh, clean water we drink, use to bathe in, and wash our dirty dishes and clothes in, come from? What happens to the dirty water after it goes down the drain? Could you imagine what life would be like without the shelves at stores filled with bottled water for sale or turning on your faucet to have clean water coming out of it?

ReWa recently sponsored a film called FLOW in the independent film series, Flicks for Thought, at the Upcountry History Museum. FLOW is filled with lots of interesting information about the world’s dwindling fresh water supply and what we all can do to help. To watch the movie trailer of FLOW, visit http://www.flowthefilm.com/trailer. The series is sponsored by Upstate Forever and Greenville Organic Foods Organization and is showing movies through out the month of February.

FLOW emphasizes that just like gas, land, oil, and trees, clean water is a limited natural resource that we need to protect and preserve it or else we will run out of it. ReWa tries to do its part by taking the dirty water we put down our drains, treating the dirty water at the wastewater plants using good bacteria to kill the bad bacteria, and UV lights to clean the water, to then be put back into our local water sources.