Water shedding is the same thing, only it applies, obviously, to water. They are talking about placing restrictions on our water supply. You can read the full article here. I'm definitely a person who takes things the media says, with a pinch of salt. Certain things ARE sensationalised. It's what they do to sell newspapers. But I also can't deny that we can't continue indefinitely, living the way we are living and there are enough facts in the article to concern me.
A lot of people will look at that article and say, "Rubbish, it'll never happen. Water is everywhere." True. 71% of the earth's surface is water. However, 96.5% of that water is ocean water and, therefore, undrinkable. Of the drinkable water, about 2% is trapped in ice caps and glaciers. That leaves us with 1% of drinkable water. That's a sobering thought when you think about just how much we rely on water. In fact, without it, we wouldn't survive.
In the very first blog post of this series, one of my tips was a way to save water. I suggested keeping a bucket of water next to your sink and, any time you washed a fruit or vegetable, to place it under the running water to save it for another use. Or if you want a drink of water but it's running warm, to keep the bucket under the stream of water until it got cool. That water that would have been wasted could then be used to water your house plants, fill your vegetable steamer, boil eggs or even for cleaning.
It's easy to make a difference with very little effort. The problem I'm finding is that people actually STILL don't see this as a problem. I know there are people who will simply bypass this blog post because it's boring. It focuses on something that doesn't interest most people. Unless the article contains the name, Oscar Pistorius, it's not worth clicking on.
I probably don't need to say how much the OP trial interests me... Yes, it's a terribly tragic story. But there are so MANY tragic stories out there. The only reason everyone is focusing on this one is because it involves a world famous name. I'm not convinced that's a good enough reason.
How about the fact that our drinking water supply is dwindling? Why is that not making big enough news headlines to cause a stir? Right now, sure, we're ok, and that's what makes people continue to stick their heads in the sand. Most of us can open a tap and there it is. But everything is finite. We seem to think the earth will just keep giving and giving. At some point, everything comes to an end. It may not happen in our lifetime, but, if you have kids, it will probably happen in theirs. I, for one, don't want that for my kids. It almost makes me wonder if it's the right thing to do; bring kids into a world that is clearly living on the edge of disaster. I wonder if it's selfish to want to subject our future kids to that.
My hope, should I have kids, is that I will be able to teach them the kind of lessons and values that will equip them to be able to cope with the challenges that they will undoubtedly face in the future when I'm not around to help them. I want them to grow up respecting the earth and all other living creatures that rely on it. I want them to know how to grow their own food, collect their own water and live in a way that is sustainable.
I have a long way to go yet. I'm only just starting out in terms of living a sustainable life but I don't intend to stop learning. I want to be able to teach my kids what so few parents do: that nothing that our earth gives us can ever be taken for granted and that the world is bigger than just the few square metres our house is situated on and the daily things that happen in our lives.
If I can give you any tips today it would be this: Start teaching your family to respect the earth. Encourage them to save water, grow vegetables, be kind to other living creatures, give back to the earth. Children are like little sponges. They will learn what you teach them. So teach them well and prepare them for what the world is going to throw their way in the next few decades. It's going to be so much harder for them than it is for us, because things ARE just going to get worse as time goes by. Human greed and indifference will always be there, as long as the wrong kind of people are running the show. That isn't going to change any time soon.
But WE can change, and we SHOULD change. Change starts with just one person. I may not have a far reach with my blog but I, personally, know of 6 households who have gone organic and free range as a result of it. I don't know about those that aren't close to me. But that's good enough for me. It's making a small difference and that's more than I could ask for.
You can do it too. I have faith in you:)
Watch this funny, but rather sobering video for a bit more insight into why no-one is actually doing anything that they should be doing!
No comments:
Post a Comment