Water, water, not everywhere

On Monday, the prestigious National Press Club hosted Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of the late Jacques-Yves Cousteau, daughter of Jan and the late Philippe Sr., and older sister of Philippe, who co-founded EarthEcho International with her.  Alexandra wasn’t there to just talk to the educated and  interested group about the environment as a whole, but rather to concentrate on the very pertinent topic of “water”.  Actually, the absence of water, is more like it.

Absence of water?  How silly!  What about the oceans?  What about the rain - water literally falls from the sky!  We are surrounded by water, how could there be an absence?  This little thing we call Earth is made up of about 70% water.  Of that 70%, only about 2.5% of that water is drinkable (fresh).  Of that 2.5%, only 1% is accessible for human consumption - on this planet for all mankind.  Alexandra likened it to if all the water that was drinkable (i.e. lakes, rivers, glaciers, aquifers) was put into a gallon, only less than a teaspoon would represent the accessible part. 

For two years, Alexandra shared with us in her soft spoken, yet passionate and thoughtful manner, she lived in Central America to study the lives, dwelling habits, and survival rituals that coastal communities performed.  During her stay, she and her group were able to teach the people sustainable fishing practices while receiving a better understanding of what the bare essentials were to live in this beautiful, but terribly devastated part of the world.  They studied the nexus of community, the individual and water.  “Water will be the defining issue of this century,” she said.

Over a 1 BILLION people in this world do not access to clean drinking water.  For those of us who are used to the days of running through the sprinkler in the lawn that was left on for hours as kids, taking showers and baths whenever we want, flushing toilets without a second thought, running water when brushing our teeth, doing laundry and running the dishwater multiple times during the week or day, or just turning on the faucet, letting it run to get cold then filling up a glass - this statistic is unfathomable.  Every once in awhile, my apartment building needs to do a water test.  We get the unwanted notice “From 9am - 3pm, the water will be turned off on XX date.”  For someone who works from home, it is one of the worst days.  In fact, often out of sheer habit, I turn on the faucet for a drink, or flush the toilet.  I think - how can I do that pile of laundry that I want to do right now!  What about a shower after a workout (if and when I do workout)?  And folks, this is only SIX hours of ONE day that I would be without water. 

Alexandra said she and her group, the newly formed “Blue Campaign”, believe there will be more water refugees than conflict refugees if we continue down this spiral. 

There is hope however, and that is through the multimillion dollar water recycling plants that are taking sewage and turning it into water that is cleaner than the water out of your tap today or even in bottles.  This is happening in Southern California now, but other countries are looking into creating these types of plants.  Over 1 billion gallons of raw sewage gets dumped into the oceans a year.  That is not only hurtful to the waters, but is a true waste. 

Children in the Anacostia, DC area have started “Earth Conservation Corp”, where they are dedicated to cleaning up the terribly polluted and dangerous unhealthy Anacostia River.  This group serves an even larger purpose in that these kids are learning about responsibility, accountability, teamwork and community giving.  They are going on to higher education and further success. 

Alexandra also stated that these next 50 years will be the most critical.  There needs to be action from the government at the local, state and federal level. We need to communicate and learn from other countries who are already preserving their water resources.  But what can we, the average people do?

Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth; don’t water the lawn during the day when most of the water evaporates anyway; take the car to the carwash, don’t use your own water at home; buy an eco-friendly toilet (Nationals Ballpark is full of them, make sure you flush UP when flushing!); do your laundry once a week or when you truly need to; wait until your dishwasher if completely full until running it.  These are just “little things” that EVERYONE can do on a daily basis. 

EarthEcho International was founded on the belief that “Everything you do, makes a difference - everything.”   Even if it is small, even if you think it won’t matter, it will, especially if everyone is doing it.

Please read more about Alexandra Cousteau and her mission on preserving water internationally and how you can get involved.  www.earthecho.org  For more information on the NPC, past and future speakers, please go to http://npc.press.org/.

(Pictured from top to bottom: Alexandra with her mum Jan to her left looking on; a passionate message; Alexandra with co-worker Philip Gibbs and Cara Santos Pianesi, Communications Officer, United Nations Development Program)