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Someday, we will find a way to have clean water for all. Some day. The authors, Verde and Badiel say it so eloquently in their book, “The Water Princess,”- “someday, the flowing crystal water…”
The world is thirsty. So thirsty. California is just emerging from one of the worst droughts it has ever experienced. According to recent reports, “by late 2015, it (the water table) had dropped to a low of 52 feet,” but has begun rising again.
Alison Saldana, in an article about water loss in India states, “Countries and cities around the world face a huge problem with regard to water loss. Bengaluru’s water loss is the second highest among Indian metros: Kolkata leads at 50 percent. The wastage figure for Mumbai is 18 percent, New Delhi 26 percent and Chennai 20 percent. Across the world, cities lose only about 15 to 20 percent of their supply, said the ISEC study, which pegged Bengaluru’s losses at 48 percent three years ago.”
This issue of free access to water takes me back to 1987, when I lived in the city of Mumbai. The 4:00AM call-to-action was “Paani aa gaya…” (water has come!), and this sent all the residents in our apartment complex scurrying to fill water in every conceivable container. We had a rather elaborate set up in the bathroom: with the judicious use of large amounts of insulation tape, we had a hose attached to the faucet, so that when we got the call-to-action, we could speedily fill several buckets and plastic drums full of water- and all this, in one hour: Bathe. Wash clothes. Fill water. Clean dishes. Fill water. Cook. Clean dishes again. Fill water. And then, just as you might have been shampooing your hair, the last drop of water would drip onto your hair, leaving you with shampoo in your hair, and a deep sense of unfairness and frustration.
The sense of unfairness and frustration continues. We consume so much water, and so many of us take water for granted. It will not last forever unless we do something. And soon. Human error is at the root of so many of the issues with regard to free access to drinking water. Look at what’s happening with the Dakota Access Pipeline. The 1,172 mile pipeline, if allowed, it will be built under the Missouri river and Lake Oahe, a vital source of drinking water, and an access to ceremonial water for the native Indians. Their slogan? Water is Life.
What can we do as educators? Read books to children about the world they live in. Speak to them about the world they don’t know or understand. Show them photos and pictures. Teach them how to stand up for themselves, and for what is right. They are our future, and this is their world. That’s the least we can do.
“How beautiful would it be to leave the world a better place than the way we found it” -Pope Francis