Today is World Water Day. To mark the occasion, I have three challenges for you...
1. Make a difference in the global clean water crisis. One in eight people -- almost one billion -- on our planet do not have access to safe water. Illnesses resulting from a lack of safe water kill more young children than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined. Tragically, the United Nations has reported that even more people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war. This is one of the great tragedies and challenges of our time and it's something that our generation has the technology and resources to address. There are several outstanding and highly credible organizations that are making a measurable difference for communities throughout the world. I recommend NYC-based charity: water.
2. Manage your personal water footprint. Your water consumption goes far beyond the tap. We teamed up with the National Geographic Society to put together a simple and robust water calculator at NationalGeographic.com/water. It's amazing how easy and practical it is to cut your water footprint by 10 to 15-percent.
3. Get involved on your own waterfront. Every single one of us lives on the waterfront. Your waterfront may be the storm drain on your street, the creek in your backyard or the ocean that borders your town -- our relationship with water in all of its forms is critical to the health and well being of our families, our communities and our water planet. Taking care of this intergenerational community asset goes beyond what most think of as "environmentalism" and gets to the very heart of how we define healthy communities; how we manage the resources that create jobs and local economy; and how we build local capacity now for the challenges ahead.
My grandfather Jacques-Yves Cousteau was always baffled when people would ask him why he was such a vocal advocate for protecting water resources. He would usually begin his response with, "When you go and see..." and then paint the picture as only he could of the majesty and importance of the water place in question.
His advice still rings true today. I challenge you to explore your local waterfront. Take a walk along the creek or river in your city and ask yourself if it's the kind of place where you'd let your children swim. Stop for a moment the next time it rains and consider the water you see running off of your property or along a nearby street and ask yourself if you'd eat fish from the waters it drains to. Go and see the places where your drinking water is sourced.
Regardless of backgrounds or political philosophies, I believe we all want to live and raise our families in communities where our local water is safe enough for swimming, drinking and fishing. On this World Water Day, I challenge you to explore and get involved in your own waterfront.
Alexandra Cousteau recently teamed up with RBC and National Geographic for a 138-day tour of water issues across the US, Canada and Mexico called Expedition Blue Planet: North America. They documented shocking water issues, incredible innovations and inspiring stories along the way. You can watch films from the expedition and learn more about making a difference on your own waterfront on our site at www.AlexandraCousteau.org.
Follow Alexandra Cousteau on Twitter: www.twitter.com/acousteau
Rabbi Jack Bemporad, Rev. Dr. James A. Kowalski and Susan Barnett: A Sermon for Water
Rev. Chuck Freeman: Holy Water in Phnom Penh
Another thing that people can do is support International Development Enterprises (IDE), a nonprofit dedicated to helping directly with water filtration, water systems & irrigation in parts of the world that desperately need this help. They got a good start with a $20 million grant from the Gates Foundation, and now need to enhance and advance their work.
Romans were real big on religion, they were like the greeks and the norsemen, had a god for every day of the week, and all that jazz, and asserted godlike powers of control over the peoples of europe during those times. People thought they were decadent, with their baths and other habits, but they truly left their mark on the world, and you can still see vineyards and irrigation canals, or aqueducts in lots of different places. I understand that modern roads and rail systems even still basically follow a roman measurement, or something.
Anyway, they knew how to move water around, they knew how to push people around, and the Big Push of today is to feed the multitudes, which brings us back to the Magic Hippie: What kind of irrigation and water purification systems would Jesus build? People seem to have mastered that basic 'be fruitful, and multiply' business, we're not as bad as fruit flies, yet, but time's arrow, like a bolt from a roman archer's quiver, flies swiftly on into the future, and will skewer us squarely in the but-tocks if we do not tend to our hydro-incontinentia. Water is found in three forms, solid, liquid, and as a gas, but excuses typically stick to one.
Want to donate to other water causes? Check out some really good ones here: http://www.ecodrinkshield.com/charity
Looking for a simple and easy way to Go Green? Check out www.EcoDrinkShield.com to find out how to safely reuse your water bottles -saving money and the planet with each refill.