CHEERS
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
So wrote Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1798 as part of his epic poem “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. His “action” took place at sea and was the result of the killing of an albatross.
However, we need to move the “action” to today – and even more importantly, into the future. Humans need water – fact. But it is a finite resource and should not be taken for granted (but is). Get used to the fact that at some point in the not too distant future, water will be the “new oil” – have a look at this graph of oil prices over the past 5 years:
This is the future cost of water and as more people and countries want more of it, the price, like the price of all commodities, will rocket upwards.
It is not within the scope of this blog to tell you how to avoid a looming problem; that’s for you and your country to decide. But all I will say is “be warned”….it’s in the best interests of you and the planet to act now for future generations.
Personally I have no desire to be (another) “Ancient Mariner”.
Until next time (and conserving),
Peripatetic Scribe
P.S. if your graph is valid (and I see no reason why not), we are in for a "water war" that will crush a large proportion of the global population. Many years ago I heard a "story" that Saudi Arabia wanted to tow an iceberg from the Arctic to the Middle East; they gave up when they realised how much they would lose! On a serious note, down here we are (relatively) safe - at the moment but who knows when some idiot somewhere will use force to get this valuable resource. Something to debate inn school
ReplyDeleteFrom Germany, I can agree with your graph. Water charges will/must be increased by a high percentage here. As you say, people do not know the value of what they have until they dont have it any more. Some good points for politicians to think on.
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous (NZ). I too remember the Saudi story and remember reading someone in the UK press writing about what a wonderful idea it was! Just goes to show the level of knowledge of journalists. Yes you down there appear to be in a reasonable position but I take your point that IF things do escalate, some idiot somewhere will want to grab some of yours!
ReplyDeleteThank you Anonymous in Germany. You are correct; we (everywhere) must pay a fair price for what we consume and in part that will teach them to understand the value of what they have and, hopefully, conserve it.
ReplyDeleteA great blog post, evoking great poetry! This is a fundamental topic nowadays throughout the world, since everyone is taking water for granted, whilst it should be preserved and regarded as sacred (being the true source of life). We all need to spread the word.
ReplyDeleteGoing for Water by Robert Frost
The well was dry beside the door,
And so we went with pail and can
Across the fields behind the house
To seek the brook if still it ran;
And so on.... I just hope we will all be able to find the brook for long!
Lucana