Water Resource Protection – Why?
Don’t turn on that tap. Don’t drink the water. How many times have you heard that? There’s sometimes good reason for it. The water that you would get out of that tap has been filtered and is filled with chemicals after being processed. Is it bad for you? Probably not. Your tap water is fine – unless told otherwise.
But it has been said that the next world war will be fought over the stuff that comes out of that tap. Water.
There are certain resources that are finite. Gold, oil, and others spring to mind. Water is (at the moment) infinite. It is merely recycled. Almost every child is taught it comes from the ground. It is in our rivers and lakes. In the sea. Then the action of sunlight evaporates that water and brings it to clouds. Rain falls and the cycle starts again.
However, mankind has messed it up. We have stuck a huge wrench into the finely tuned machine. There will never be any more water. It’s a finite resource. And we have broken it. We broke it with our machines and our chemicals. We broke it with agricultural runoff and pesticides. We have broken water.
We are made of water. Take away bone and gristle and we are water. Take a sip out of your plastic water bottle. Put it down and don’t take a sip for three days.
Your body will begin to eat itself. Then you will die. Water is us. It is within us and makes us human. And that is why water resource protection is so vital.
We live on a planet called Earth. The very name is wrong. We actually live on a small globe called water. 75% of this planet is filled to the brim with water. It comes from clouds and fills rivers and streams. It cascades over waterfalls into deep pools. Each of those pools carries life. From then on it flows towards oceans and seas. Where life abounds.
We, as species came from those ancient oceans. We sprang forth from waves and gently lapping tides. We are water. It is our birthplace. It is where we were made. And now we are in the process of breaking that sacred bond. Our relationship with water should be one which is ironclad.
Water resource protection is not something that should only be taught in schools. It should be part of every life curriculum. It is not something that needs instruction. Look at a stream, or for that matter tree. Both of those pulse with life given by water. It is a simple thing. A couple of molecules deep. It requires nothing from us but to tread lightly. Be respectful. To allow it to simply do what it does best.
To nurture us. To provide a framework for us to be human. To allow us to exist.
If we ignore that – we are doomed as a species. We will simply cease to exist. Look over the sea. Look at a lake. Look at a pond – or take joy in the rain. It is you. Protect it.