Why worry about water? Water is an important component when it comes to survival – every day should be World Water Day! It was created in order to bring awareness on many aspects in which it is used. In addition many countries are struggling to acquire clean water. Thus water is a scarce resource in many third world countries. “In 2014, the UN System – working closely with its Member States and other relevant stakeholders – is collectively bringing its attention to the water-energy nexus, particularly addressing inequities, especially for the ‘bottom billion’ who live in slums and impoverished rural areas and survive without access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, sufficient food and energy services. It also aims to facilitate the development of policies and crosscutting frameworks that bridge ministries and sectors, leading the way to energy security and sustainable water use in a green economy. Particular attention will be paid to identifying best practices that can make a water- and energy-efficient ‘Green Industry’ a reality.” (unwater.org)
This year World Water Day in Calgary was held in the beautiful Devonian Gardens. More than 450 people were able to come together on March 18. Many youth actions were displayed, and it was a wonderful way to bring awareness on several issues surrounding water.
“The annual celebration hosted by CAWST — Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology — serves as a showcase for student groups working on local and global action projects through CAWST’s Youth Wavemakers program. This year, 25 student groups took part in the event, demonstrating their projects to hundreds of Calgarians, as well as news media from CBC and CityTV.” (cawst.org) CAWST really helped Youth Central’s TD Youth Earth Ambassadors take their idea and make it a reality!
What the TD Youth Earth Ambassadors did this year was to bring awareness on water bottle usage, and how we truly do not need to purchase water bottles. I remember being told that the water in our taps is actually just as clean as water in any typical bottle. So why do we purchase large packages? Is it more convenient? Is it because you think it’s more cleaner? Well whatever the reason may be if you purchase a reusable water bottle and fill up before a soccer game etc. In the long run, you will actually be saving more money. We can bring change on person at a time! After all it is just water, and it does not really matter what packaging it comes in.
Unfortunately, for every six water bottles we use, only one makes it to the recycling bin. The rest are sent to landfills. Or, even worse, they end up as trash on the land and in rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Plastic bottles take many hundreds of years to disintegrate. (Fox, kids National Geographic)
“Ok, first let me say, I am passing this information on and cannot verify the truthfulness of the first statement – but we know that in all areas of commerce there are unscrupulous operators, so there’s no reason to not assume there are companies out there selling something that isn’t what it claims to be. One of the most compelling reasons to give up bottled water is that some bottled water may simply be tap water. It is estimated that 25% of bottled water is, in fact, just tap water. Some companies may process tap water by radiating it or filtering it, but it is still tap water being sold to you as pure water at about 10,000 times the cost of the equivalent measure of tap water. This brings us to the question of the purity of bottled water. Even if it comes from a natural resource like a spring or mountain stream, bottled water may contain (according to studies from rd.com) nasties like benzene, arsenic, phthalates, methane derivatives, mold and various microbes, such as e-coli. Thanks to a recent change, there are regulations for e-coli in bottled water. All this might leave you in a quandary about whether you drink tap or bottled. If you choose bottled, check the sources your chosen brand uses. If you’re not sure about the quality of your tap water, you can learn about your municipal supply at foodandwaterwatch.org, which also provides some info about the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974.” (Beresford, AWS)
I hope this has sparked some interest in learning about what YOU can do to bring CHANGE.
“We warned that one day you would not be able to control what you have created. That day is here. Not heeding warnings from both Nature and the People of the Earth keeps us on the path of self destruction. This self destructive path has led to the Fukushima nuclear crisis, Gulf oil spill, tar sands devastation, pipeline failures, impacts of carbon dioxide emissions and the destruction of ground water through hydraulic fracking, just to name a few. In addition, these activities and development continue to cause the deterioration and destruction of sacred places and sacred waters that are vital for Life.”
– Chief Arvol Looking Horse, Lakota, with the Council of Indigenous Elders and Medicine Peoples in a statement of resistance to environmental destruction, saying there is “no time left to defend the Earth.