Water Whys

Why, is water so important in our life?  

Imagine if you decided to not consume or use anything that was related to water, for just one day:

*The most obvious exclusion would be drinking water- none of that.  On average an adult consumes about two liters of water per day;

*you would also have to stop eating that day; water is required to grow anything that grows from the earth, i.e. agricultural products;

*you'll have to turn off those lights also; coal fired powered plants use about 2.2 billion gallons of water each year (UCS); 

*you would have to decide not to drive that day, because : the amount of water used to manufacture a new car, including new tires? 39,090 gallons per car;

*chicken wings? water is used during the growing/production of a chicken? 400 gallons;

*Water required for irrigation (2005 estimates)  128 billion gallons of water per day.

Water under the bridge

Clearly, water is a key resource to everything we do.  It is important that we are more conscious about making wise consumer choices to avoid over use, of this precious natural resource.  Since only three percent of our earth's water resources is considered drinkable water understanding its scarcity is something we should be educated about, not threatened by.  This simply means as you are making your purchases, go the extra mile and let manufactures know by sending them an e-mail, calling customer service or contacting their head quarters, that you would like to know what steps they are taking to conserve water in their manufacturing and distribution process.

 


Certain arms of the government such as WETT, are looking at the value of water to the environment not just the value of water to for human consumption.  On their web site they state that their research will "...enable an environmentally and economically more appropriate evaluation by including quantified environmental benefits..."  This is an approach of internalizing the externality (or realizing the cost in other than dolar terms).

Putting your best foot forward

With so much effort into understanding water that is taking place behind the scenes, it is understandable why we need to know much more about the impact of our own consumption habits and usage regarding water.  There is not doubt that human related activity has an impact on water quality and availability; so we can make a conscious choice to change the impact we have by reducing and reusing water whenever possible.

Water availability is a real concern and there are a lot of good sites you can visit to understand more about it including: the U.S. Geological Survey; American Water Use; WETT (Water Energy Technology Team) and the radio active risks associated with Japan and our fish consumption.  You might also want to visit the World Health Organization's site to look at impacts around the world.

Ending on a memorable note; in the United States, we consume about 346,000 million (that's "346 hundred-thousand-million" gallons of water each day.

Let water why(s) help you become water wise.  It is a global issue, but the change begins with you.  

Happy drinking!  

Human Activity ...In Flames

Not far from the Caspian Sea lies the crater the crater 328 feet wide.  It is the result of gas exploration in Turkmenistan during the early 1970's.   Incidence such as this are a stark reminders that can penetrate psychological barriers that block understanding of the need to protect natural environment.  Here we see evidence that indicates the prevalence of poor judgement, detrimental when exploiting the natural environment.

Located Near the village of Derweze in the Karakum Desert, it is an easy reminder that we need more foresight when embarking on new "oppotunities" so that we proceed with the proper amount of caution.  There is a balance to preservation and the impact of human activity that will allow us to avoid leaving disasters such as this in our wake-- Deepwater Horizon is a reminder of that as well. This particular incident, has  been exacting its revenge for nearly 40 years now and continues to burn today.  This incident occurred near a 350 person village of Derweze and the risks associate with that population are no in my perview as of yet.
Location link Derweze (gass flame crater)
video link: Derweze in falmes

Imagine

Imagine a place where no student struggles where their dreams last forever and none ever busts their bubble

Imagine if on the Horizon no Deepwater blew, if the ocean was still clean and still looked brand new
Imagine if safety truly existed for all, young women, girls and boys not getting raped but being exalted

Imagine if Darfur was just a land of peace where women, men and children were just our brethren to the East

What if Kosovo were not a reality, no suffering, pain or useless brutality and if Hitler in Germany never killed, millions of people, blood whole and not spilled; in Sudan, South Africa, Watusi and fate how on Earth could we live in a world full of hate.

Imagine if conflict were just a word,
that never found a way into our vocabulary
and were replaced with exponential power even just in a third
of what we feel when we know the meaning of sanctuary.

Imagine if politicians did more than represent, a fiction of what people hope really wanted, might they then make a dent.
Imagine if the land we cherish so much were more than economic and political clutch, more than a place for esoteric foods for people with a fetish or elitist broods.

Can you imagine what it is like to breathe clean air, to live a life of laughter and not despair
Imagine how many lives we could have saved if we to treat people like humans and not like slaves

Imagine banks that worked like a friend, lending helping hands without making you bend

Imagine if energy were something we protected without exploiting resources using the pipes we erected.

Imagine valuing life in a way that there was no dollar value to make you feel like you'll pay. Would we finally live life and knowing freedom comes our way.

Imagine that Katrina had never occurred, where the voice of people could still be heard; egregious acts and lack there of, acts are just a performance, blood requires a glove.

Imagine if Palestinians and Israelis knew no war, imagine what women, infants and children died for.

Imagine if you your gender or race didn't matter, if people cared for people, if there were never homeless on the streets feeling sadder

Imagine if hugs, I love you, and kiss were just pure; and that law suits and malfeasance existed no more.

Imagine Edison's belief in natural resources
where coal, nuclear and oil were not power forces

doubt and despair are inimical traits take time to imagine take time to wait
It is not how soon things can come to an end, sometimes its just how you begin- and how you can continue which takes time and makes friends

Imagine that I never had to think like this, cause the world that we lived had more thoughts with more bliss.