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With the rapidly increasing awareness for the limits of natural resources so far not considered to be of 'high importance', e.g. water, appropriate water saving appliances have experienced a major push forward. No new building, especially such predestined to be labelled, without a high-tech and outstandingly water saving equipment (often designed in an excellent way). However, is this really helpful? Do such appliances indeed contribute and sustain to an increased overall sustainability? The reflection about these questions requires a more comprehensive perspective, in this particular case about the natural water cycle on the one hand and about the artificial water cycle on the other hand.  Firstly, lowering the water consumption is in general a promising step ahead. (Over)consumption results in a lowering of the available (drinking) water, it affects the natural water cycle (deprivation of water for plants, etc.). The border exists once the resource water turns into a consume

Unsustainable water use in India is threatening agricultural production and raising the spectre of a major water crisis. Matthew Rodell of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and colleagues used data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites — operated by NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) — to determine how groundwater levels are changing in the Indian states of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, which includes the national capital of New Delhi. Their research, published online in Nature this week ( M. Rodell et al . Nature doi:10.1038/nature08238; 2009) , found gravity anomalies suggesting a net loss of 109 cubic kilometres of water — equivalent to a mass of 109 billion tonnes — from August 2002 to October 2008. The amount lost is double the capacity of India's largest surface-water reservoir, the Upper Wainganga, and almost three times the capacity of Lake Mead in Nevada, the largest reservoir in the

A recently initiated debate about the sustainability effects of labels and certificates [1] - which is still ongoing [2] - currently shows a clear trend the concerned stakeholders doubt that such certificates really help in terms of sustainability. Often labels and certificates are considered just diverting from real issues, i.e. are considered as just (only) a marketing instrument. There are many other opinions provided as well and there still exists the opportunity to join this vivid and partly polarising debate and to share perspectives, views and opinions. Reference: [ 1 ], [ 2 ]