tagged w/ Water Crisis
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Pure Hope is committed to helping Pakistan recover from the recent tragic flooding. This disaster has been described by US officials as the worst humanitarian crisis that the international community has ever seen. It's worse than the combined effect of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, the 2007 Tsunami and the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. More than 20 million Pakistanis were impacted by the flooding with millions of homes destroyed and many forced into temporary camps. As we have talked with people in Pakistan we have discovered than one of the most prominent needs is access to clean water. The flooding has contaminated most of the water systems in areas of Pakistan. Disease and sickness is rampant in temporary camps and flooded areas. Pure Hope is committed to seeing 100,000 water filters get into the hands of families in Pakistan to provide clean water.Pure Hope is committed to helping Pakistan recover from the recent tragic flooding.... more
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As the demand for clean drinking water rapidly increases all over the world, countries are forced to get creative about how they manage their water.
In Australia, the world's driest inhabited continent, 10 years of drought has decimated fresh water supplies available on land. As a result, Aussies are turning to the salt water ocean that surrounds them for hope, but success could be costly.
Australia's five largest cities have embarked on a massive $13-billion plan to build desalination plants that can remove the salt from seawater and make it potable...
Keep Reading: http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/parched-aussies-drinking-salt-water/As the demand for clean drinking water rapidly increases all over the world, countries... more
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Have you ever considered how much it costs to keep unlimited clean water flowing into your faucets at home? Or how much water goes into growing all the food that you eat? Can you imagine our supply of water running out?
These are topics we explored during our interview with Robert Glennon, Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Arizona and author of "Unquenchable: America's Water Crisis and What To Do About It". He is on a mission to hold government and individuals responsible for true stewardship of our greatest resource: water.
READ MORE HERE: http://www.organicnation.tv/blog/new-video-does-america-have-a-water-crisis.htmlHave you ever considered how much it costs to keep unlimited clean water flowing into... more
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The Shatt al Arab, the river that flows from the biblical site of the Garden of Eden to the Persian Gulf, has turned into an environmental and economic disaster that Iraq’s newly democratic government is almost powerless to fix.
Withered by decades of dictatorial mismanagement and then neglect, by drought and the thirst of Iraq’s neighbors, the river formed by the convergence of the Tigris and the Euphrates no longer has the strength the keep the sea at bay.
The encroaching salt has so polluted supplies of drinking water that the government has scrambled to dig canals from the north that bypass the Shatt — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki inaugurated one ahead of this year’s national election — and to truck in fresh water to much of the region. Anyone who can afford it avoids tap water, which is salty enough to leave spots on a glass when it dries.
Iraq’s acceptable level of salt in the Shatt’s fresh water was 1,500 parts per million; last year the level reached 12,000.
Faris Jassim al-Imara, a chemist at the University of Basra’s Marine Science Center, said he had recorded levels as high as 40,000 parts per million, as well as heavy metals and other pollutants flowing from the north and from Iran’s oil refinery at Abadan, where enormous pipes steadily discharge waste water.
“It’s killing the river and the people,” he said. Here in Siba, across the river from Abadan, the salt water is slowly destroying agriculture, the primary source of income other than oil.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/science/earth/13shatt.html?hpThe Shatt al Arab, the river that flows from the biblical site of the Garden of Eden... more
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Because the demand for toilets is on the rise in Indonesia's East Java region, the sanitation industry is growing. Toilet entrepreneurs are creating all kinds of business ventures--even recycling human waste. In this scene from Vanguard's "The World's Toilet Crisis," correspondent Adam Yamaguchi can't resist getting his hands dirty.
"Vanguard," airing weekly on Current TV Wednesdays at 10/9c, is a no-limits documentary series whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show's correspondents, Adam Yamaguchi, Kaj Larsen, Christof Putzel and Mariana van Zeller, serve as trusted guides who take viewers on in-depth real life adventures in pursuit of some of the world's most important stories.
For more, go to http://current.com/vanguard.Because the demand for toilets is on the rise in Indonesia's East Java region,... more
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An estimated 2.6 billion people, about 40% of the world's population, have no access to toilets and defecate anywhere they can. As a result, more than 2 million people -- including 1.5 million children -- die from complications of chronic diarrhea.
In this episode of Vanguard, Adam Yamaguchi travels to India, Singapore and Indonesia to understand why people don't use toilets and what's being done to end the practice of open defecation.
When human waste isn't contained or flushed down the toilet, it's everywhere -- in streets, open fields and, most dangerously, in the very water people drink. Adam investigates how countries are trying to solve an epidemic that few people want to talk about -- the world's toilet crisis.
"The World's Toilet Crisis" airs Wednesday, September 8 at 10/9c. For more, go to http://current.com/vanguard.
"Vanguard," airing weekly on Current TV Wednesdays at 10/9c, is a no-limits documentary series whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show's correspondents, Adam Yamaguchi, Kaj Larsen, Christof Putzel and Mariana van Zeller, serve as trusted guides who take viewers on in-depth real life adventures in pursuit of some of the world's most important stories.An estimated 2.6 billion people, about 40% of the world's population, have no... more
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Marijuana, Dark Horse Savior of California Agriculture
While a legalized marijuana crop wouldn’t solve all of California’s agricultural woes, it might still keep the state in the green.
The three-hour Northern California drive from San Francisco to Nevada County passes through some of the cream of the state’s agriculture industry: dairy, alfalfa, rice, almonds, grapes. On both sides of the freeway stretch enormous crop rows, interrupted only by the state capital of Sacramento and a number of small towns.Marijuana, Dark Horse Savior of California Agriculture
While a legalized marijuana... more
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Farmers are feeling the effects while politicians play politics. I can't even imagine how it feels to work the land your great grandfather did and to suddenly see it all dry up.Farmers are feeling the effects while politicians play politics. I can't even... more
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"You don’t have to climb a mountain to save lives. Watch a video clip and be part of the solution.
Climb with us at http://www.SUMMITONTHESUMMIT.com "
"The global clean water crisis is arguably the most important crisis of our time, claiming more lives through disease than any war claims through guns. A billion people around the world do not have access to clean drinking water, and a child dies every fifteen seconds of a preventable water-related disease.
SUMMIT ON THE SUMMIT: Kilimanjaro is climbing the tallest peak in Africa to raise awareness and funds to fight the global clean water crisis. The 19,340-foot journey will be daunting and physically demanding, but it’s nothing compared to the reason we’re climbing—to help those who face a much steeper obstacle every single day.
Please visit SUMMITONTHESUMMIT.com to learn about how we plan to make a difference.
HP is donating $1.00 for every join at the link and matches $1.00 for every donated.
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/218671"You don’t have to climb a mountain to save lives. Watch a video clip and... more
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The state faces a water crisis and population boom, but radioactive waste from the Nevada Test Site has polluted aquifers.Years of underground nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site have left hundreds of craters filled with radioactive rubble. Above, Yucca Flat.The state faces a water crisis and population boom, but radioactive waste from the... more
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The continued degradation of the Mau complex - Kenya's largest water catchment area - threatening everything from the spectacular annual migration of the wildebeest to pastoralism, agriculture and hydro-power generation, has dominated public debate for the better part of 2009. The government's plan to evict the illegal settlers has added to the controversy.
The threat posed by the continued depletion of the Mau complex ties in with the increasing concerns, on a global level, over loss of bio-diversity, increased carbon dioxide emissions as a result of forest cover loss, and poor soil and water resources.
However, while climate change could be a major contributor to the current crisis in the Mau complex, the destruction of the forests has reduced the ability of the Mau eco-system to absorb or reduce the impact of climate change, increasing the vulnerability of the people to changing weather patterns.
We look at some of the issues surrounding the country's largest closed-canopy forest eco-system:
Where is the Mau Complex?
Mainly in the Rift Valley Province, the Mau is one of the country's five major water towers; it forms the upper catchment of the main rivers west of the province. The rivers are: Njoro and Makalia (these drain into Lake Nakuru), Sondu, Yala, Nzoia and Nyando (draining into Lake Victoria) and the Ewaso Nyiro, Kerio and Mara rivers.
The complex supplies water to many lakes in the Rift Valley, from Lake Turkana in the northwest to Lake Natron in neighbouring Tanzania - the only regular breeding site for millions of flamingos.
Historically, it is home to a minority group of indigenous forest dwellers, the Ogiek.
What is the size of the Mau complex?
It covers at least 400,000ha - as large as the forests of the Aberdares and Mt Kenya combined.
Over the past two decades, the complex has lost at least 107,000ha of forest cover due to irregular and unplanned settlements, logging and charcoal burning, as well as increased agriculture.
What is at stake if degradation of the complex continues?
The importance of the complex lies in the eco-system service it provides to the country and East Africa as a whole, including river flow regulation, flood mitigation, water storage, reduced soil erosion, bio-diversity, carbon sequestration, carbon reservoir and micro-climate regulation.
The area contributes to the water supply to urban areas and supports the livelihood of millions of people in rural areas but the widespread irregular and poorly planned settlement and illegal forest resource extraction have affected the ecosystem, from water supply for commercial and domestic use to hydro-electric power generation, tourism and agriculture.
Moreover, experts have warned that continued destruction of the complex will lead to a water crisis that could extend beyond the country's borders.
According to a September 2009 report by the government's Interim Coordinating Secretariat for the Mau Forest Complex on the rehabilitation of the Mau Forest Ecosystem, if encroachment and unsustainable exploitation of the eco-system continue, damage could be irreversible, with serious ecological consequences and ramifications for internal security.
When did degradation of the complex begin?
Originally divided into 22 blocks, the real devastation of the complex began in 1997 when the government allocated large plots of land to individuals in what was seen as a political bid to win votes during the general elections that year. The present government has said all land allocations in the late 1990s are illegal and wants to evict the occupants.
What is controversial about the Mau?
The government and conservationists agree that quick action needs to be taken to stop the continued destruction of the complex but Rift Valley politicians are divided over the eviction of those deemed to be illegally settled in the complex.The continued degradation of the Mau complex - Kenya's largest water catchment... more
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"From International Space Station (ISS), 14 cities, Al Gore, U2, David Suzuki, Shakira, Matthew McConaughey, Salma Hayek and many more top celebrities will be taking part in a world premiere artistic event on October 9th to raise awareness about the issues facing our planet's water."
One more excerpt:
"Why unite to fight water crisis?
Nearly a billion human beings do not have access to safe drinking water.
More children die every year from drinking unclean water than in all of the world's armed conflicts.
Fully half of the world's wetlands have disappeared since 1900.
Collectively, the women of South Africa walk the equivalent of 16 trips to the moon and back each day just to collect water.
These are all facts and The Ugly Truth. Aren't these reasons sufficient enough to take action? ONE DROP's goal: to play a role in changing and influencing how safe water is shared and made accessible around the world."
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andres-restrepo/world-celebrities-unite-t_b_313154.html
Watch the video below and go to the link for more info."From International Space Station (ISS), 14 cities, Al Gore, U2, David Suzuki,... more
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More than 23 million people - equivalent to one third of the UK population - are being pushed towards severe hunger and destitution across East Africa, international aid agency Oxfam has warned as it launches a £9.5 million emergency appeal.
A severe and persistent five-year drought, deepened by climate change, is now stretching across seven countries in the region and exacting a heavy human toll, made worse by high food prices and violent conflict.
The worst affected countries are Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Uganda, while Sudan, Djibouti and Tanzania are also vulnerable.More than 23 million people - equivalent to one third of the UK population - are being... more
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Shouldn't water be clean and safe for free? Isn'it our right?
Why do we have to pay two to three dollars per bottle to have clean water that was purified with reverse osmosis?
What about the people that can't afford it? Are we going to slowly get sickened by it and die?
They should install a huge reverse osmosis filter to clean all of our water for may be a little more of what we pay now if not for free.
As you might know already our water is contaminated by heavy industrial and environmental pollution.
These are some of the contaminants found in tap and some bottled water:
Coliformbacteria,Ecoli,Perchlorate,VOCs,Viruses,Fluoride,Chlorine,Chloramine,Lead,Arsenic,Radon,Herbicides,Pesticides,Cryptosporidium,THMs,MTBE,Bromate,Sulphur,Radioactive materials and all pharmaceutical traces that are very toxic.
Wouldn't this save us millions of plastic bottled water? And what are they waiting for to replace plastic with an eco friendly material? Let's not forget the chemicals that plastic bottles leak in the water as bisphenol A and phthalates.
Chlorine and fluoride are disinfecting our water right now but are well known toxic elements, we could get rid of them with reverse osmosis.
An other method could be distilling it and then adding minerals to it like smart water does but at a local water treatment. What do you think?
It makes me think and amazes me when I read this:
"The truth is, there is no "New" water on this planet. All water is old water that has been recycled continuously for millions of years. We are actually drinking the same water that the dinosaurs drank, recycled obviously by Mother Nature".
PS:
The link is just a picture due to the lack of a specific article about this idea, concept and question open for exploration. "I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." Albert EinsteinShouldn't water be clean and safe for free? Isn'it our right?
Why do we... more
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Hunger tied our bellies
into gnawing, burning knots.
Our crops withered in the poisoned earth.
All we could do was watch them rot.
Through our children and the elderly
the sickness ran unimpeded.
The toxin was in the water.
For aid our village pleaded.
The garrison at Strange Hill
refused our imploring hand.
The bribe we could not pay
worth more than child, woman, or man.
We cursed their endless greed
and cried to God to see them fall.
They laughed at our feeble rage,
safe and snug behind their wall.
But on that day our anger
became a living breathing thing,
fed on our desperation
with vengeance as its drink.
And so ten thousand of our living
marched upon Strange Hill that day
with farmers’ tools and wagons
and bony horses for the fray.
In the field the garrison commander
tried to sway us from our path.
His demand for sanity
fell easy victim to our wrath.
He consigned our wretched chances
to a place between slim and none.
We cried, “Better to perish fighting
than the certain death to come!”
We eyed each other for a time
across a field soon soaked with blood
and at the cry of our commanders
with screaming madness rushed
toward the sickening collision
between fates too much the same
to quarrel at the difference
between the rational and the insane.
Heavenly Father, they don’t stand a chance! They’re outnumbered!
They are tired, hungry sacrificial lambs for the corporate forces at Strange Hill.
Without news of the battle, I fear that my love has fallen upon the field of blood.
If you can, I beg you, spare his life, for he is my heart and soul!
And if it is not your will, I pray You, make his passing swift.Hunger tied our bellies
into gnawing, burning knots.
Our crops withered in the... more
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(UNEP) United Nations Environment Programme has some number to report, highlighting global invesments in renewable and alternative energy.(UNEP) United Nations Environment Programme has some number to report, highlighting... more
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1. The world is currently in a water crisis. One out of six people worldwide doesn’t have access to clean water. Every year, 2 million people die of diseases caused by a lack of clean water.1. The world is currently in a water crisis. One out of six people worldwide... more
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You leave them everywhere you walk, but recently the term “footprint” has being used to describe your impact upon the planet in broader terms than the impression of your feet. The most common one tossed around these days is our Carbon Footprint (see global climate change). A more recently developed spin on the footprint term is the Water Footprint: how much water you consume through your actions (directly and indirectly).
Of course you use water in your day-to-day life: you take a shower, drink water, water your lawn, et cetera. There is another way we use water: through the consumption of goods. The food we eat takes water to grow (a lot more than you might think). The clothes we wear come from crops that require water. Even the cars we drive require water-intensive processes to create them. Everything we do creates a ripple through the world and we can often take massive amounts of the most basic resource needed for survival on Earth: fresh water.You leave them everywhere you walk, but recently the term “footprint” has... more
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