Webcast Summit Connects Australia-United States
Rain Bird, a manufacturer and provider of irrigation products and services, has invited a global audience to watch, listen, and participate in the upcoming Intelligent Use of Water Summit through a live Webcast on www.rainbird.com (www.rainbird.com/iuow/summit.htm).
Scheduled for March 19 in Melbourne, Australia, the Webcast will be available to all viewers beginning at 9:30 a.m. Australian Eastern Daylight Time (U.S. viewers tune-in on March 18 at 6:30 p.m. EDT/3:30 p.m. PDT).
Viewers can submit questions to the panel via the Webcast's 'real time' interactive online chat function.
In partnership with Smart Approved WaterMark, Australia's not-for-profit water-efficient product labeling program for products that help reduce outdoor water waste, panelists at the Melbourne thought-leadership event are:
- Mary Ann Dickinson, executive director, Alliance for Water Efficiency (Chicago, Ill.)
- Geoff Gardiner, general manager Service Sustainability, City West Water (Melbourne)
- Julian Gray, chief executive officer, Smart Approved WaterMark (Sydney)
- Benjamin Grumbles, former assistant administrator for Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Washington, D.C.)
- Stuart White, director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology (Sydney)
- Greg Stewart, general manager, Total Eden; Chair of Irrigation Australia WA Region
Jeremy Cape, president of CapeAbility Consultants Pty Ltd, a leading Australian irrigation consulting and research firm, will moderate the symposium and lead a panel discussion focused on providing insight and perspective to various global water conservation policies and legislation, programs, initiatives, and trends.
"The Australians have done a fabulous job in educating consumers. In some areas, like South-East Queensland, water use is down to 140 liters per person per day. We Americans need to be much more sensitive about reducing our own consumption. The average water use per person is still around 600 liters," says Dickinson.
"If you leave the tap running for five minutes, that's the same as letting a 60-watt light bulb burn for 14 hours," adds Grumbles. "Water is at the heart of climate change and the more regulators, policy makers, and citizens recognize it, the better."