skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Iowans Can Save Water to Help at Home and Abroad

play audio
Play

Wednesday, March 22, 2017   

DES MOINES, Iowa – On this World Water Day, Iowans are being asked to step up conservation to help people, not only in the U.S. but around the world. According to the United Nations, more than 663 million people live without a safe water supply close to home.

Although it isn't at crisis level in most states, lead-poisoned drinking water in Flint, Mich., has elevated concerns.

It's also an issue that Dan Haseltine with the band Jars of Clay holds close to his heart. During a trip to Africa to visit areas devastated by the AIDS crisis, he says the band was shocked to see people digging for water in dry riverbeds.
"And it didn't take long to kind of put some of the pieces together that if people are wrestling with this disease that destroys the immune system, and then they're having to drink water that is filled with bacteria and disease, it was the water ultimately that was killing people," he said.

Haseltine helped start "Blood:Water," which partners with African grassroots organizations to fight HIV/AIDS and the water crises. The group also encourages people to have some fun with conservation efforts.

One suggestion is a "water challenge," which could mean drinking only water for a number of days - or even going without it for an entire day.

Daniella Bostrom Couffe, communications manager for UN-Water, which coordinates water-related issues for the United Nations, says the small ways people save water throughout the day can make a difference.

"In your home, you can do just simple things as turning off the tap when you brush your teeth, or you can stop putting oil or leftovers in the plug hole [drain] so that the wastewater becomes easier to treat and then to reuse," she said.

Haseltine believes getting involved in the effort to bring clean water to those in need can also be an important break - a good way to focus on something other than the political strife in America.

"We just need a breath," he added. "We need somebody to tell us a better story that we can connect with, something that just means a little bit more."


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021