St. John's Mom: World Water Monitoring Day

2012-09-18

World Water Monitoring Day

It is funny to me that today is World Water Monitoring Day!

Whaaa.... why?? Whatever for? you ask....

Well, because it is also DH's birthday. Now, if you know DH, he can't stand for water to be wasted. No "running it to let it get cold" around here! He always asks, before we throw out pot water, if there is something it can be poured in to - a houseplant, or outside in the garden....

Don't get me wrong - it IS a good way to be.... just funny that WWMD would be on his birthday - as if he was appointed by Mother Nature herself to take us to task on this issue!

Why else to mention WWMD? Well, because the water IS so very important to us all - and we should teach our children, as DH so desperately tries - to be respectful and mindful of it. Yes, I know we seem to be surrounded by the stuff, but all is not as it seems: while 70% of Earth is covered in water, 97% of that water is salt water, and another 2% is fresh but frozen in ancient glaciers..... so we only have easy/ready access to 1% of the Earth's water! That 1% is used for drinking, cooking, cleaning, bathing, sanitation, agriculture, recreation....

... It would make you panic to think how far that water has to go! In fact, it doesn't always get there: 1 in 8 people world wide do not have access to clean drinking water, and 80% of illness in developing countries is linked to poor water and sanitation conditions!

When we conserve (i.e.: make a concerted effort to use less) or recycle (i.e.: put leftover water from one task to use in another - pot water put on plants for example) water, we not only save water, we also save lives, energy (that would be used to sanitize water), protect wild animals and vegetation (because we don't have to dip into their share of the resources - not more than we already do at least!), and prevent the loss of so much water that it cannot be replaced with rain (you remember that from your water life cycle segment in school, right?).

So, today, I am going to challenge the kids to be more aware of their water use, to tame their water waste and become better at water conservation. I'm going to start here. A trip to the Fluvarium may be good too if I can swing it - for a refresher on the water cycle and how it impacts life all around us :-). Other ways to help include supporting The Water Project, Plan Canada Water Project or other water based initiatives (visit the UN for resources).