Rain Bird to Webcast Its 10th Intelligent Use of Water™ Summit Live from Melbourne, Australia

AZUSA, Calif.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Rain Bird, the leading manufacturer and provider of irrigation products and services, announced today that a global audience of media and interested consumers will have the opportunity 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).

“Water is at the heart of climate change and the more regulators, policy makers and citizens recognize it, the better.”

Scheduled for Thursday, March 19, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia, the live webcast will be available to all viewers beginning at 9:30 am Australian Eastern Daylight Time (*U.S. viewers tune-in for the LIVE webcast on Wednesday March 18, 2009 at 6:30pm EDT/3:30 pm PDT) and will feature an impressive cross section of Australian and U.S. environmental and water conservation experts, and influencers on water-related issues.

In addition to the LIVE webcast, viewers across the globe will also have the opportunity to participate in the Melbourne, Australia-summit by submitting 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 – Exec. Director, Alliance for Water Efficiency (Chicago, IL)
Geoff Gardiner – General Manager Service Sustainability, City West Water (Melbourne)
Julian Gray – CEO, Smart Approved WaterMark (Sydney)
Benjamin Grumbles – (former) Asst. Administrator for Water, US Environmental Protection Agency (Washington, DC)
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 environmentally focused 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 Mary Ann Dickinson, Executive Director, Alliance for Water Efficiency.

“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 Benjamin Grumbles, Former Assistant Administrator for Water at the United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Water is at the heart of climate change and the more regulators, policy makers and citizens recognize it, the better.”

Immediately following the 2-hour discussion panel, webcast viewers will have the unique opportunity to watch and listen to the Summit’s keynote address given by Dr. Bryson Bates, Chief Research Scientist with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization’s (CSIRO) Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research.

As the Director of CSIRO’s Climate Program from 2004 to 2006, Bryson served as Lead Author for the Second, Third and Fourth Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He received a certificate of recognition for his contribution to the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize awarded jointly to IPCC and Al Gore.

“There’s been little or no climate science behind planning in Australia to date. Climate change seems to be accelerating. The Catch 22 for climate change predictions is that we need a good 30 years or more to have some certainty that observed changes are not a temporary glitch,” adds Dr. Bates.

Please note that due to the time difference, The Intelligent Use of Water Summit X, scheduled for March 19^th, 2009 at 9:30 am Australian Eastern Daylight Time, will be seen in the United States on Wednesday March 18^th, 2009 at 6:30 pm EDT/3:30 pm PDT. The webcast is available to the public at no charge. Visit www.rainbird.com for more details on the Summit and the LIVE webcast.

ABOUT RAIN BIRD CORPORATION

Based in Azusa, Calif., Rain Bird Corporation is the leading manufacturer and provider of irrigation products and services. Since its beginnings in 1933, Rain Bird has offered the industry's broadest range of irrigation products for farms, golf courses, sports arenas, commercial developments and homes in more than 130 countries around the world. Rain Bird has been awarded more than 130 patents, including the first in 1935 for the impact sprinkler. Rain Bird and The Intelligent Use of Water is about using water wisely. Its commitment extends beyond products to education, training and services for the industry and the community. Rain Bird maintains state-of-the-art manufacturing assembly facilities in the United States, France, Sweden and Mexico http://www.rainbird.com.

ABOUT SMART APPROVED WATERMARK

Smart Approved WaterMark is Australia's water saving labeling program for products and services which are helping to reduce outdoor water use. The scheme was set up by the Australian Water Association, Irrigation Australia, the Nursery and Garden Industry Australia and Water Services Association of Australia in response to the challenge of reducing per-capita urban water consumption across Australia. Smart WaterMark is funded through the Australian Government's Water Smart Australia program and is supported by all the States and Territories. www.smartwatermark.info, consumer web site: www.smartwatermark.org