16 Unusual International Perspectives on Water
Last week, EcoWorldly looked at water from different angles and from different countries.
1. Govind Singh of Delhi, India sees water as a reminder of his city’s past glory and its present predicament. To support Delhi’s many kingdoms of yore, the city built sophisticated water storage systems, called baolis. Today, with its population of 16 million straining the city’s water capacity, Delhi may revisit its abandoned baolis. Singh describes the ancient baolis: “A baoli, or step-well, consists a vertical shaft from which water can be draw. The surrounding inclined passageways and steps which provide access to the well. These were built to provide a constant supply of water to the residents of Delhi and now lie in ruins – wasted and disused.”
2. Quebec, Canada sees water as an easy way to make $65 billion a year with bulk water sales to the thirsty and heavily urbanized United States. This agrees with the current US government, which argues that water should be seen as a trade commodity, like oil. However, many Canadians see water as a fundamental resource, not only for humans, but also for the wildlife and fauna that inhabit Canada.
3. Sam Aola Ooko of Nairobi, Kenya sees water as the reason his countrymen are forced to duck as flying bags of defecation are flung into the African bush. Ooko writes, “[Millions of people] do not have water conveniently pumped in and out of their homes for use in flush toilets. Many have no choice but to practice ‘bush defecation’, relieving themselves in ditches, behind the house, down the road, or at any other ‘convenient’ location. … [Also common are] plastic fling bags. In Kibera, a slum with a population of one-million in Nairobi, the fling bags are aptly called ‘flying toilets’!”
4. Irena Salina, director of the award-winning, water-centered movie Flow, sees water as a reminder of how we’re all connected. Salina says, “From the moment we are born, to when we are adults we are surrounded by water and it is one of the main things we need to live. And we need clean water because ever 8 seconds a child dies from diseases from unsanitary water. … I just hope people can see that’s it’s all connected. We don’t see what is going on [elsewhere] but it effects out lives, the air we breathe. We live in the world of ipod, iphone, icomputer. We are going to have to shift a little.”
5. Stavros Dimas, the EU’s Environment Minister, sees water as a a way to tax resource wasters. Dumas reasons, “If someone who lives near the sea has a swimming pool, then they will have to pay more. It is only logical to tax more heavily those who can afford to have a swimming pool, when they could just as easily swim in the sea”. However unappealing taxes may sound, Dimas’ view of water might just mean Europe has more of it in the future.
6. Google sees water as the swanky new location for a high-tech, renewable energy-powered data center with all the latest gadgets. According to documents filed at the US Patent and Trademark Office August 28, the Google water-powered data center will be “a system that includes a floating platform-mounted computer data center comprising a plurality of computing units, a sea-based electrical generator in electrical connection with the plurality of computing units, and one or more sea-water cooling units for providing cooling to the plurality of computing units.”
7. In Australia, a group of scientists, environmental groups, and former members of Australia’s navy, all collectively see water as the rightful home of coral reefs and their inhabitants. Therefore, they are pushing to create a 400,000 square mile marine reserve, free from fishing. If approved, it will be the world’s largest protected marine area.
8. Northern Chile sees water as a necessity for watering crops, but a hassle to pump from underground aquifers. To solve the problem of pumping water, they’re coming to see water in a new light: a creative application for solar energy. When farmers need to irrigate, energy from the sun is used to pump water onto the fields; other times, the energy flows directly into the regions power grid.
Of course, water is the frequent subject of conversation at EcoWorldly even when we don’t run a special week of water-related articles. So, from the EcoWorldly archives, here are 8 more unusual ways people see water around the world.
9. East African nations see water as a resource worth fighting over, especially in recent days.
10. Lester R. Brown of the Earth Policy Institute sees water as an emerging constraint on food production.
11. Zaragoza, Spain sees water as a huge party waiting to happen. Each year, it hosts the biggest water festival on Earth.
12. The Netherlands see water as a creative way to use their subway systems. Subway stations around Amsterdam act as water catchment devices as well as transportation centers.
13. Italy sees water as better than soda and more common than wine. Eva Pratesi writes, “not many households keep soft drinks or beer ready in the fridge, but everyone’s always got water. The only two beverages that you see on most Italian tables are water and wine.”
14. In Africa, many women see water as the reason they must walk for miles each day.
15. In South Africa, some children see water as the perfect excuse to play. The Play Pump, being tested in South Africa, is a combination water pump and merry-go-round.
16. London, England sees water (or, rather, the lack of it) as a reason to look to the surrounding oceans for drinking water. Recent water shortages have triggered the construction of desalination plants to supply the city with drinking water from the Thames River.
Photo credit: Credit for most of the photos can be found on the page linked to the photo. Two photos are the exception: #2 and #8, which are credited, respectively, to runnyc262 and van_mij via Flickr under a Creative Commons license.
