Five U.S Cities Named "Most Water Wise"
May 18 2015 - 8:00AM
Enough to fill 2,300 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
That's the amount of water Americans pledged to save over the
next year as part of the 2015 Wyland National Mayor's Challenge for
Water Conservation, an annual awareness campaign presented by the
Wyland Foundation and Toyota that encourages leaders to promote
water efficiency in their communities. Between April 1-30,
residents from more than 3,900 cities made 391,325 pledges online
to reduce their water use at home, around the yard, and in their
lives. The challenge addresses the growing importance of educating
consumers about the many ways they use water — from swapping their
lawns out in favor of drought resistant native plants to fixing
leaks to looking at how we use water for food and
manufacturing.
The cities with the highest percentage of residents that made
pledges during the monthlong campaign included San Diego, Calif.,
Aurora, Colo., Torrance, Calif., Poway Calif., and Hermosa Beach,
Calif. Additionally, mayors of cities in thirty-five states,
including Pittsburgh, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Stockton, Boise, Santa
Fe, Pasadena, Gainesville, and Tucson stepped up their involvement
with personal appeals to residents to participate.
Residents from winning cities will be entered into a drawing
this month for over $50,000 in water-saving or eco-friendly prizes,
including a Grand Prize Toyota Prius v, EcoFlow showerheads from
WaterPik, home irrigation equipment from the Toro Company, and
hundreds of home improvement store gift cards. A $1,000 home
improvement store shopping spree will also be chosen from among the
entire pool of U.S. participants. Additional prizes include a water
efficient landscape park or school makeover for one of the winning
cities, as well as WaterSmart Software tools for water utilities to
help reduce resident water consumption up to 5 percent.
As prospects of water reduction mandates grow in the U.S., the
campaign provides cities with a way to engage residents with
positive incentives and raises the collective water I.Q. of the
nation. Pledges are designed to promote water sustainability and
improve water quality, along with tips for additional water
savings. Additional support for the challenge is provided by the
U.S. EPA, the National League of Cities, the Toro Company,
ByteLaunch, and WaterSmart Software.
"Toyota is committed to using its knowledge, resources, and time
to support programs that promote the efficient use of natural
resources," said Kevin Butt, Regional Environmental Director for
Toyota. "We've been proud to watch the National Mayor's Challenge
for Water Conservation grow in just a few short years from a
grass-roots initiative with a handful of mayors to one of the
largest water conservation awareness programs in the nation."
In addition to making 1.5 billion gallons in water-saving
pledges, challenge participants in 50 states pledged to reduce
their use of single-use plastic water bottles by more than 4.6
million bottles and eliminate 141,000 pounds of hazardous waste
from entering watersheds. By altering daily lifestyle choices,
pledges also resulted in potentially 47 million fewer pounds in
landfills. Potential savings of 13 million gallons of oil, 7
billion pounds of carbon dioxide, 139 million kilowatt hours of
energy, and $35 million in consumer cost savings rounded out the
final pledge results.
About the Wyland Foundation
Founded in 1993 by environmental artist Wyland (best known for
his series of 100 monumental marine life murals), the Wyland
Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization, is actively engaged in
teaching millions of students around the county about our ocean,
rivers, lakes streams, and wetlands. www.wylandfoundation.org
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) established operations in the United States in
1957 and currently operates 10 manufacturing plants. Toyota
directly employs over 31,000 in the U.S. and its investment here is
currently valued at more than $23 billion, including sales and
manufacturing operations, research and development, financial
services and design. Since 1991, Toyota has contributed nearly $700
million to philanthropic programs in the U.S. For more information
on Toyota's commitment to improving communities nationwide, visit
http://www.toyota.com/philanthropy.
CONTACT: Steve Creech
Wyland Foundation
(949) 436-2489 (mobile)
steve.creech@wylandfoundation.org
Rhonda Glasscock
Toyota
(310) 468-4119
Rhonda_Glasscock@toyota.com
Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024