I finally watched “One Water” tonight…What a sobering reminder of how privileged we are living in the industrialized world. It is heartbreaking to see the plight of persons in the third world who are unwilling/unable to properly manage their aquatic resources.
A 2006 United Nations report stated that “there is enough water for everyone”, but that access to it is hampered by mismanagement and corruption. The UN World Water Development Report (WWDR, 2003) from the World Water Assessment Program indicates that, in the next 20 years, the quantity of water available to everyone is predicted to decrease by 30 percent. 40 percent of the world’s inhabitants currently have insufficient fresh water for minimal hygiene. More than 2.2 million people died in 2000 from waterborne diseases (related to the consumption of contaminated water) or drought. In 2004, the UK charity WaterAid reported that a child dies every 15 seconds from easily preventable water-related diseases.
This documentary drives home the importance of properly managing our watersheds, and in developing & deploying technologies that make water potable. I think we’ll see greater deployments of reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, and nanofiltration technologies.
One Water Trailer from KnightCenter on Vimeo.
There have been and there will be more wars fought over water and access to water. We have some interesting days ahead…Cherish your clean water, it won’t be there forever.
What a sad reality of our life-sustaining resource being withheld from our neighboring citizens in our day. Yet, many in our more industrious nations don’t place as high of a value on this precious resource. Thanks for sharing.