10 October 2009

57 Days - One Drop Foundation Reminds Us of the Importance of Water

How does that expression go? Water, water everywhere, but nary a drop to drink? Guy Laliberté of Cirque du soleil started the One Drop Foundation as a way to give back, seeing precious water as a worthy focus.

Last night, his "Poetic Social Mission: Moving Stars and Earth for Water" was a beautiful and captivating way to be reminded of how important water is — and how fragile our drinking water supply is. Less than 3 percent of the water on Earth is freshwater

A child dies every eight seconds because of contaminated water — that's 6000 per day, if my math is correct. Can you imagine how bad that number is going to get with increased droughts and floods and melting glaciers caused by global climate disruption?

The water crisis is going to sneak up on a lot of people very soon, and most of those impacted will be the least responsible for global warming. It's so, so sad and scary.

Many years back, I participated in an Ecological Identity workshop and, following a series of questions and answers, realized that water is my element. My earliest memories are of sitting on the edge of the ditch in front of our home, playing in the tiny stream that ran through it. Special times — picnics, festivals, falling in love — were often celebrated by the lake (Lake Ontario in Canada). Then I moved to British Columbia, where I became a champion for safeguarding the Nechako River near Prince George. And now I live on an island, surrounded by water. Know what? My biggest fear in life is drowning. But my second biggest fear is dying of thirst. That's how much water is my life.

Water is life.

No comments:

Post a Comment

I would appreciate hearing your thoughts or questions on this post or anything else you've read here. What is your take on courage and compassion being an important part of the solution to the climate change emergency?