Ever since I was little girl I have always loved the water. My father was a bird enthusiast, which often landed us in swamps around North America during migrating season. I also was born and live by one of the largest inland seas of North America, in particular, Lake Ontario. I’ve lived away from Toronto for many years at a time, but I’ve always returned to live by the lake. Currently I live on the north side of the lake, it’s about a five minute bike ride away from our studio. I escape to the lake often to re-collect my thoughts. I also hold meetings there and move meetings there as often as I’m able to. It is a beautiful lake. It gives my serenity when I need it.
The Canadian Broadcast Corporation has been running a series called Watershed this summer.
The more I heard the series, the more inspired I was to write a piece on the topic of water. Water is one of the most important natural resources on earth ~ yet we sadly take water for granted.
Some things about water that didn’t make into my piece:
1) The water that comes from your faucets could contain water that Neanderthals drank
2) Out of all the water on earth, only 2.5% is actually fresh water
3) Less than 1% of the water on earth can be used as drinking water
4) If all the world’s water were put into a gallon jar – the fresh water would equal only a tablespoon
5) 70% of the adult human body is made up of water
6) More than 3, 500, 000 die every year from water related diseases
7) All living things, from the tiniest insect to the tallest tree, need water to survive
8) 4 litres of gasoline can contaminate ~ 2.8 million litres of water
9) There are 12,000 different toxic chemical compounds in industrial use today, and more than 500 new chemicals are developed each year
10) If all new sources of contamination could be eliminated, in 10 years 98% of all available ground water would be free of pollution
Keeping all of this in mind, don't you think water deserves a bit more importance than it's given?
The Canadian Broadcast Corporation has been running a series called Watershed this summer.
The more I heard the series, the more inspired I was to write a piece on the topic of water. Water is one of the most important natural resources on earth ~ yet we sadly take water for granted.
Some things about water that didn’t make into my piece:
1) The water that comes from your faucets could contain water that Neanderthals drank
2) Out of all the water on earth, only 2.5% is actually fresh water
3) Less than 1% of the water on earth can be used as drinking water
4) If all the world’s water were put into a gallon jar – the fresh water would equal only a tablespoon
5) 70% of the adult human body is made up of water
6) More than 3, 500, 000 die every year from water related diseases
7) All living things, from the tiniest insect to the tallest tree, need water to survive
8) 4 litres of gasoline can contaminate ~ 2.8 million litres of water
9) There are 12,000 different toxic chemical compounds in industrial use today, and more than 500 new chemicals are developed each year
10) If all new sources of contamination could be eliminated, in 10 years 98% of all available ground water would be free of pollution
Keeping all of this in mind, don't you think water deserves a bit more importance than it's given?