Another reason I still love old school newspapers: editorial cartoonists. Tom Toles, the strongest voice for nature protection and pollution control at the Washington Post these days, weighed in on prescription drugs in the water:

As did Joseph Heller at the Green Bay Gazette:

If you become the membership director at the the Ohio Environmental Council, you’ll put those words that work to good use — recruiting and sustaining a network of supporters for ”one of the nation’s premier state environmental advocacy non-profit organizations. ” (their words, not mine).

Job duties include: 

 Responsible for preparing annual membership development plan, including analysis and evaluation of past membership development efforts. Closely work with the entire Board and staff to implement goals. Integrate fundraising and networking opportunities presented to Board and staff through their programmatic outreach efforts.
 Significantly grow OEC’s individual membership program. Evaluate, perform, and improve current tactics including mailings, calling, speaking engagements, online organizing, workplace giving, and events. Research, implement, and evaluate new tactics. Improve print and online membership communications. Respond to member inquiries.
 Build OEC’s nonprofit membership program. Evaluate the membership benefits offered to nonprofit organizations. Develop and execute a recruitment strategy involving Board and staff.
 Organize, assist, and attend fundraising and non-fundraising events including nature tours, house parties, and the OEC’s annual banquet. Responsible for acquiring auction items for annual banquet.

Click here to learn more. Good luck!

A year sure goes by fast! I launched Water Words That Work on March 22, 2007, figuring that World Water Day was an auspicious date for a venture such as this. One year ago, I had a plan that I would post an original new video every day and that I would call it quits after 100 episodes.

I want to thank all of you for helping make this way too much fun to quit. The emails, comments, and return links from readers make this all worthwhile. And I’m really grateful to all of you who pitched in with a donation for one of my readers who is battling a serious illness.  You donated more than $400 to help an anonymous stranger, and I find that to be quite amazing. 

And let me give a special shout out to my clients, too. You convinced me that the time was ripe to hang out my own shingle (at least part time). Eric Eckl as business owner, who’d have ever thunk it. My capitalist ancestors get the last laugh after all.

So what does the future hold? A lot! I’m not ready to lift the curtains just yet – but I am preparing some exciting new material to release sometime after May, once I’m done running the “gauntlet of water conferences:” River Rally, the River Management Society, the National Lakes Conference, and the Volunteer Monitoring Conference.

Thanks again for making this one of the most interesting years of my life. Hope to see you all in March 2009!

Do people love the water? Yes they do. Do they know a lot about it? No they don’t. And perhaps no poll or focus group illustrates that quite as well as this picture of two party hearty gentlemen who love the water so much that they figured out how to enjoy their electric George Forman grill in the pool. Genius!

Click here to see the pic. If you’ve got a suggested headline, write it in the comments area.

Hat Tip to Michael Campana and WaterBlogged.info.