Articles by Jim Lauria
-
An Independence Day Salute To Our American Heroes
7/1/2016
Last month I tipped my hat to America’s rural water districts in the blog post Rural Water Systems: Dancing Backwards and in High Heels. As Americans prepare for Independence Day, it’s a perfect time to salute some truly unsung American heroes: the people who operate our nation’s drinking water and wastewater treatment plants.
-
On The Online Soapbox: Blogging Tips To Open The Spigot For Content Marketing Programs In The Water Industry
6/24/2016
Just a decade or so old, blogging has become a powerful tool for marketing in the water industry—particularly the kind of content marketing that grows from thought leadership rather than flogging features and benefits. Water technology is particularly well-suited to blogging because it touches on some of the magic ingredients of a great blog: timely topics, big ideas and technology.
-
Rural Water Systems: Dancing Backwards And In High Heels
5/24/2016
About 30 years ago, a Frank and Ernest cartoon tipped its hat to Fred Astaire while giving long-overdue credit to Ginger Rogers. “Sure, he was great,” said a lady in front of a movie theater sign touting a Fred Astaire film festival, “but don’t forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did…backwards and in high heels.”
-
World Water Day Redux
3/22/2016
It has been five years since I first published this post on World Water Day to remind the general public on how they can play a role in conserving one of our world's most precious resources. It is as relevant now as it was then.
-
Sensorship In The Water Sector
3/1/2016
Sensorship in the water sector is an issue of growing importance, something that will touch all of us right where we live.
-
Is Water Shortage The Next Big Short?
2/4/2016
At the end of The Big Short, a postscript stated that one of the story's protagonists, Dr. Michael Burry (played by Christian Bale), was now focused on investing in only one commodity: water. That got my attention.
-
I've Looked At The Cloud From Both Sides Now
10/6/2015
In Bakersfield, at Mazzei headquarters, a cloudless sky is a common sight—especially during the current drought. However, the folks up in Silicon Valley have dreamed up a massive global cloud…and it’s full of water.
-
Women And Water
9/21/2015
In my last column, I referred to “men of a certain age,” zeroing in on the readers most likely to be fascinated in the ’70s and ’80s with both old monster movies and young Brooke Shields. But in no way do I believe water is a male problem (or a female one, at that). Water is an issue that unites us all.
-
The Black Lagoon Or The Blue Lagoon?
8/31/2015
To men of a certain age, the word “lagoon” conjures two very different images. In the first, it’s the Creature from the Black Lagoon — a scary gill-man emerging from the ooze. In the other, it’s the idyllic Blue Lagoon, with Brooke Shields frolicking in an island fantasyland.
-
Like A Fine Wine, Water Needs To Breathe
1/5/2015
During the holiday season, I enjoyed some great meals and fine wine. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about wine over the years, it’s that fine wine needs to breathe. Aeration opens the path for a wide range of chemical reactions: flavors develop, sulfites and sulfides waft away, and so does some of the ethanol that can lend a “hot” aroma to a newly opened bottle.