Remember this movie? Fifteen years ago, when Waterworld first came out, the concept of melting icecaps and land being swallowed by water seemed laughable to some of us. It is still a wild overstatement to say that we’re going to need the survival skills of Kevin Costner to adjust to climate change, but the BBC recently reported that one piece of land has in fact vanished thanks to rising sea levels. An island in the Bay of Bengal near India and Bangladesh, once a point of contention between the two states, has now come under water. New Moore Island to Indians and South Talpatti to the Bangladeshis, just six feet high and uninhabited, was significant to these nations because of the oil or natural gas that might lie beneath it. Now global climate change has solved the territorial dispute for good.
This incident’s importance should not be underestimated. Bangladesh certainly has cause for concern, considering the fact that-according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change- 17% of the nation will vanish under water by 2050 and 20 million people will be displaced. If scientists’ claim that unhealthy amounts of carbon emissions cause sea levels to rise is true, then this island’s disappearance should be an alarming wake up call.
It’s a simple idea. Save water, use it later. People around the world have been harvesting rainwater for thousands of years, but the concept is now experiencing a revival in light of water scarcity problems that are caused by global warming.
How it works: While there are many ways to harvest rainwater, it is usually done in one of two ways: the water is collected either from roofs or saved in underground cisterns. Roof catchment systems move the water into a storage container (sometimes underground), like a rain barrel, through pipes or gutters. To see it for yourself, click this link for pictures of the various types of rainwater harvesting systems available. The collected water can then be used for watering lawns, washing cars, flushing the toilet or whatever else you can think of.
A model of an underground rainwater storage system
In India, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have taken an active role in generating the capital needed to build catchment systems. Groups like Jal Swaraj create rain centers that provide information, resources, and training for locals. In turn, these locals present their wealth of traditional wisdom about how best to interact with nature. The NGOs give money or building materials thereby enabling residents to put their knowledge to work and appeasing the water crisis in their area.
Rainwater harvesting is gaining momentum in the U.S as well. Because there are so many rainwater harvesting companies in America nowadays, it is becoming easier and cheaper to buy and/or install rainwater collection devices in your own home. Here are just a few companies to choose from:
It’s really exciting that investing in technology that helps the environment by reusing natural resources is catching on. In Malaysia, the Environment Ministry is encouraging developers to make rainwater collection systems a selling point for house buyers and to stress the point that while these systems might be expensive today, they will save a lot of money tomorrow. Hospitals are in on it, homeowners are in on it, even hospitals and baseball teams (which I will write about later on because that’s an interesting story in and of itself). The revival of rainwater harvesting is essential in times of environmental uncertainty and I can only hope that more people will save and reuse resources in this way.
Here’s a compilation of the latest news stories regarding water in the world today. There’s a wide variety here so that you’ll get a broad view of what’s going on with water.
25 years after a chemical disaster in Bhopal, India, people are still dying from contaminated ground water and rates of birth defects continue to rise
Sculptor Ellen Driscoll combs the streets of Brooklyn for plastic water bottles that she uses by the hundreds to create unbelievably elaborate pieces of art.
A new study shows that sea levels will rise more than 4 feet, twice what scientists had previously predicted, by 2100.
An audio slideshow of China’s current desertification crisis. Beautiful photographs and an introduction to a very important, yet under-reported, issue.
Treehugger.com reports on how unsafe drinking water effects children’s health. I like this one because it gives the basic facts about this topic without overloading the reader.
And here are some miscellaneous sites you might like to check out:
www.charitywater.com All donations given to this organization help fund projects that give poor people around the world access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
http://waterwars.pulitzergateway.org/ This site introduces current major water issues and provides forums for people who have questions or comments about the articles.
