Water, Water, everywhere but how much do we drink?

Water- the most vital and irreplaceable commodity on the planet, its presence is necessary to virtually all life- forms. But how many of us stop and think how much we use, probably you consider the 2 litres you try and drink everyday, the amount you use whilst taking a shower, or used in the washing machine?

However, do you consider how much is used in all other facets of your life? 

To illustrate, let me use the humble breakfast as an example, the following will surprise you I’m sure.

Two slices of toast (90 litres)

Orange juice (180 litres)

Coffee (140 litres)

Don’t forget that t-shirt you are wearing (2800 litres).

410 litres of fresh water for one small meal, this amount means very little until you consider than average sized bath can hold 250 litres… For your breakfast you’ve just consumed almost two baths of water, extrapolate this across your entire life and the numbers become extraordinary.

So what? Production necessary to meet our daily consumptive needs is imposing devastating impacts upon our planet. Even if we don’t consider the impact on taking water away from other species, we are importing extraordinary levels of fertiliser into our water systems, causing vast regions of the Earth to become infertile due to salt and depleting our freshwater aquifers, which on a human scale are a non- renewable resource. The role of water in our lives is a huge issue and we should pay greater attention to it, because once it’s gone it’s difficult to get back.

Still want that second Americano?

Corporate Environmentalism?

What do DuPont, BP and Dow Chemical have in common? Despite being some of the biggest and wealthiest companies on the planet they also concede that climate change and environmental degradation  are occurring. In two 2008 letters some 80 of the globe's biggest organisations jointly wrote to the then G8, urging it to come to some sort of agreement concerning climate change and widespread environmental issues.

Now it may be difficult to say whether these letters ultimately had any environmental or social ulterior motive, but even if it was only about money it is a step forward. The much-maligned ‘industry’ took a swipe back at political powers, no longer are these leaders of business going to stand idly by and accept sole blame for both climate change, environmental degradation and their impacts.

These letters I must admit surprised me, I had always been in the corner of idly blaming industry for all the ills in the world. But to see in writing that these companies had come together to draft such a letter astounded me. Even if their motives are to secure future profits, it a positive step forward- ‘industry’ has accepted climate change and is willing to adapt.

These amazing letters firmly put the ball back in the political court in terms of blame for no action, which echoed in not only the ineffective G8 talks but the later 2009 Copenhagen summit. What has happened since the drafting of these letters? Copenhagen was a unanimous failure; Durban agreed to make a future agreement.

Perhaps it is now in 2012 that business should stand up and go without political regulations and make their changes now, before the inevitable environmentally protective legislation is brought in.

An industry led movement could hopefully result in stirrings in the seemingly stagnant global political system, could we finally see some change, that future generations will not laugh in disbelief at?


Daliwch ati!

First Post

As a 25 year old Environmental Science student I have often flirted with the idea of writing down my thoughts and ideas on not only Environmental science, but all spheres of science, but I have never found the time or impetus to start, so here goes.

I want this blog to be a place where I can share my ideas on our increasingly deteriorating planet and attempt, in any way I can, to highlight to the wider public the problems that most are blissfully unaware are just around the corner.

Even though I want this site to be a place of enlightenment, I don't want it to be a place of discouragement, or pessimism, I would like my posts to really show people that there is a power in one, that we can if really motivated avoid a future that doesn't bare thinking about.

Daliwch ati!