"Via YouTube, a New Conservation Genre"

"The drought of 2012, which continues to spread westward, is making its mark on the national consciousness in many ways. Rising food prices. Interrupted livelihoods. Fields of stunted, desiccated crops. All of this dryness has resonance in our video culture. Just go to YouTube and look at the proliferation of public service announcements on water conservation."



"Making one of these seems to be the school project du jour. But in this array there are some standouts, like Oklahoma City's recent offering, above, or this one from students at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

Often, contributions to the art form show someone cavalierly overusing water in the sink or shower and are supplemented by statistics about the amount of water wasted every year. One variant features water wardens -- like the 'Saturday Night Live' comedians Horatio Sanz and Rachel Dratch -- dropping in on the bathrooms and kitchens of unsuspecting water spendthrifts."

Felicity Barringer reports for the New York Times' Green blog September 20, 2012.
 

Source: Green/NYT, 09/21/2012