INNER MONGOLIA, CHINA - The global water crisis is a complex problem that requires well-informed responses. Circle of Blue reports from the front lines, such as Inner Mongolia where desertification produces conditions reminiscent of the American Dustbowl.

TRAVERSE CITY, MI.- September 24, 2008 "“ Circle of Blue today announced the expansion of its comprehensive program of original multi-media journalism, research, and communications design focused on the global water crisis.

Steps to expand the U.S.-based online news organization are part of a three-year commitment made during last year's Clinton Global Initiative (CGI); the initiative opens its annual meeting in New York today.

Circle of Blue's new programs include:

• "Designing Water's Future," an unprecedented global competition that challenges the world's top communications design students to find new ways of understanding and responding to the global water crisis;

• Circle of Blue - WaterNews, the comprehensive daily digest of international news on fresh water issues.

"Thankfully there are solutions and efficient responses to many of the water problems," Ganter said. "Our imperative mission as journalists, researchers and communicators is to understand where we are, where we're headed and what we need to do."

Water has become a priority on the agenda at this year's CGI meeting where nearly 2,000 world leaders convene to help solve the planet's most urgent problems. More than a dozen commitments are expected this week from non-profit organizations and companies focused on bringing water and sanitation to developing countries.

The statistics are grim: more than five million people die each year due to a lack of safe drinking water; and the UN estimates that 5.5 billion people will lack adequate access to freshwater in the next 20 years. Water scarcity is emerging as a serious threat to peoples and environments across the world, including the United States.

New information, new solutions
"Circle of Blue brings the global water dialogue to a new level," said Dr. Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute in Oakland, Calif, of which Circle of Blue is a nonprofit affiliate. "By documenting the human face of urgent water issues worldwide, and by connecting each one of us to the problems and possibilities we share, it promises to create the momentum for unprecedented public involvement and response."

"Circle of Blue," Gleick said, "offers an opportunity to use data and information and Internet tools in a new way to raise awareness for a whole new set of people, to raise awareness in a whole new set of communities, to raise awareness about a whole new set of solutions for water."

WaterNews: Informing Decisions
WaterNews is the daily compendium of updates, analysis, video, graphic, and other information that the project's award-winning journalists amass from across the globe. With approximately 20,000 non-profit organizations and agencies working in water and sanitation worldwide and hundreds of billions of dollars of investment entering the sector, Circle of Blue provides the underlying journalism and research necessary for informed decisions and responses.

Within its first few months online, WaterNews has been cited by National Geographic, chosen as one of the "top 24 green sites" by Vanity Fair, and called a "must read" by the Council on Foreign Relations.

"Designing Water's Future"
To engage the next generation of thought leaders, Circle of Blue, AIGA and INDEX: launched the Aspen Design Challenge: Designing Water's Future, a dynamic international contest that challenges cross-disciplinary student teams from colleges and universities around the world to develop communications design solutions focused on the water crisis.

First envisioned at the World Economic Forum in a session co-presented by Ganter and design innovator Brian Collins, Designing Water's Future bridges the gap between information and modern communication channels.

"Designing Water's Future" is administered by AIGA, the professional association for design, and INDEX:, a global nonprofit design network, to engage the millennial generation in solving the planet's most urgent issues. The challenge is part of the Aspen Design Summit, an international conference organized for leaders from business, the public sector and nonprofit organizations.

Organizers distributed rules and guidelines for the challenge to thousands of faculty and students at more than 250 universities from Beijing to Boston.

Clinton Global Initiative
The Clinton Global Initiative brings non-traditional allies together to develop new tools to solve urgent world problems. The three-day, invitation-only event in New York is one of the premier gatherings of international business, government, philanthropic and non-profit leaders.

As part of its CGI commitment, Circle of Blue welcomes additional partners and sponsors with opportunities to expand its reporting, research and communications programs.

Photo credit: Palani Mohan/Getty Images/Circle of Blue

Contact
J. Carl Ganter, director
Circle of Blue
202-351-6870

Learn More

Circle of Blue

Circle of Blue | WaterNews

Innovative Platform Draws Attention To Stories About World Water Crisis

Students to Develop Solutions to Global Water Crisis in First Annual "Aspen Design Challenge"

U.S. Faces Era Of Water Scarcity: Profligate Use Hurts In Unexpected Places; Quest For New Supplies Nationwide

China, Tibet, and the Strategic Power of Water: Pollution and Global Warming Threaten Asia's Most Important Freshwater Source

China Faces Reign of Sand: Circle of Blue Reports on Inner Mongolia's Expanding Desert

Available:
B-Roll, high-resolution photographs and on-tape interviews
Contact:
Eric Daigh
eric (at) circleofblue.org
+1.202.351-6870 x115

Links and Resources"¨
Aspen Design Challenge website
Aspen Design Challenge

"¨Pacific Institute - The World's Water"¨
http://www.worldwater.org"¨"¨

Pacific Institute - At the Crest of a Wave:
A Proactive Approach to Corporate Water Strategy"¨ Pacific Institute: A Proactive Approache to Corporate Water Strategy"¨"¨

Clinton Global Initiative"¨
http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org"¨"¨

National Assessment of the Impacts of Climate Variability and Change
http://www.pacinst.org/reports/national_assessment"¨"¨

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars "¨Environmental Change and Security Program
"Navigating Peace""¨ http://www.wilsoncenter.org/water

"¨"¨Navigating Peace multimedia
"Water Stories""¨
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/waterstories "¨"¨

China Environment Forum - Circle of Blue"¨
Developing water stories in China

"Driving into the Ocean of Sand""¨"¨
New York Times Sunday Magazine"¨ The Perfect Drought

"¨"¨For Journalists covering water"¨"¨
The Poynter Institute - News University, "Covering Water Quality" "¨Covering Water Quality"¨"¨

Society of Environmental Journalists - Resources"¨ SEJ Resources

"¨"¨U.S. Drought Monitor"¨ U.S. Drought Monitor

Circle of Blue

Circle of Blue

Founded by leading journalists and scholars, Circle of Blue covers the global freshwater crisis with original front-line reporting, dynamic data spaces and engaging social media, using pioneering communications and information technologies to inform decision-making. Circle of Blue is a nonprofit independent journalism project of the Pacific Institute. It was featured recently at the Aspen Ideas Festival and the Clinton Global Initiative, and received initial development funding from the Ford Foundation.

CSRwire did their first Member Spotlight on Circle of Blue. Click here to read the story!

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