Wet and wildness

WATER

 

What would the world be once bereft of wet and of wildness , let them be left…

Gerard Manley Hopkins, 1881.

I once met a man dancing the streets of Barcelona completely naked. On his back the words were painted, ‘Somos Agua’, we are water. Water is the most precious resource on the planet, because we are made up almost entirely of water and no living thing can survive without it. You may think that’s ok, because we live on a blue planet. Well, our planet is not as watery as it appears. 98% of the water on its surface is salty seawater and unfit for consumption. Most of the rest is locked away in icebergs. Only 0.2 % is available in our freshwater river systems. This system is a closed one. Water gets recycled in it, but no extra water is available should we consume too much. But Britain is so rainy I hear you cry! The trouble is, we are so wasteful with water. As society’s become developed, industry and agriculture place extra pressure on our drinking water reserves.

Water in Industry and Agriculture

It takes 10 litres to make a newspaper

27 litres to make a plate of French fries

250 litres to make a glass of orange juice

20,000 litres to make the body of a car

The naked man was protesting against the proposed water development systems in Spain which are taking precious water from the natural ecostystems of Pyrenees and the River Ebro Delta.Huge pipelines all the way to the south of Spain, a thousand miles to feed the growing golf courses and polytunnels, which supply us, with goods.

Indeed, 68% of water use goes to agriculture, which also pollutes our waterways with 90,000 tonnes of phosphorous and 1.2million tonnes of nitrogen.With a global population growth rate of 80 million people a year, many leading environmentalists believe the next world war will be fought over water.

Loss of wetlands

Britain used to be soggy all over, providing homes for countless creatures from otters to dragonflies, salmon to snipe. Whenever we turn on the tap, and bring this precious resource into our lives, we are taking it away from all of the other creatures which depend upon it..

Since 1945 we have lost

three quarters of our reed bed,

two thirds of our grazing marsh

94% of bogs

Wasting water

Every week each person in their home uses more than 1000 litres.

26,000 litres a year wash our clothes

Most (one third) goes down the loo 6 litres every time we flush

What a wasteful thing to do with the most precious resource in the world!

Appreciate Water

My Zimbabwean friends know the value of water. They walk a long way each day to fetch water and because of this use it carefully and sparingly on what matters. We have lost sight of how important it is because it flows so readily. But take a moment to appreciate water each day, it sparkles like diamonds and is more precious.

Suddenly he came to the edge of a river- never in his life had he seen one before. All was a-shake and a-shiver, gleaming and sparkling, the mole was enchanted.

 Kenneth Grahame, Wind in the Willows.

Seven ways to save water

The most important message from today is to THINK about water and how you personally use it, and try to reduce consumption and WASTE of water wherever you can.

1. put a brick in your cistern
2. drink water not fruit juices/soft drinks which take much more water to produce: much better for you as well and use water filters rather than bottled drinking water – www.freshwaterfilter.org.uk
3. take a shower not a bath (I shower with my baby – she loves it!)
4. never use a sprinkler – try a water can!
5. use short bursts of water when brushing teeth – don’t leave the tap running
6. only use the washing machine for a full load
7. eat organic!

Finally, if you want to help the needy in the world who are without clean water, contact www.wateraid.co.uk or for more info on water saving contact the Centre for Alternative Technology for more help on 01654 702 400 www.cat.org.uk

Feel positive

Don’t let all this get you down. Being eco-active should make you feel positive and uplifted, because you are doing something important for the planet and taking responsibility for your life. The naked man in Barcelona was dancing. If I ever need reminding that water is precious, I think of him!

Sasha Norris