Water is perhaps the planet’s most paradoxical resource. It is at once abundant, covering some 70% of the earth’s surface, while in some parts of the world the lack of water presents critical challenges both to daily subsistence and survival. On the other hand, despite its abundance, the planet’s water has a fixed total stock, and no amount of engineering or scientific tinkering will enable us to create an additional drop of new water. All the water that we now have is all water that we will ever have. But it is sufficient to satisfy all human needs many times over. Unfortunately it is seldom in the right place, at the right time, in the right quantity and right quality. Had the global water budget been apportioned by the United Nations, it would have done so “with due regard for equitable geographic distribution.” But water was distributed by nature’s own design and nature knows best. This imbalance in the distribution pattern, however, poses serious challenges to human society especially in the light of increasing industrialization, rapid urbanization, and the explosive growth of human settlements worldwide. These factors, coupled with changing demographics, globalization and climate change are causing increased water scarcity, as well as posing a serious threat to future agricultural and economic development. And recent trends are not very encouraging. By 2015, nearly 40% of the world’s population is expected to live in water stressed countries. By 2025, a staggering two-thirds of the world population will live in countries where there isn’t enough water or its quality has been compromised. But perhaps the most urgent issue facing the world today however is providing safe drinking water and sanitation, which are especially critical for poverty eradication and development. Yet, it is estimated nearly 1.1 billion people or 18% of the world’s population lacks access to safe drinking water, while 2.6 billion or 40% of the world’s population lacks access to adequate sanitation services. And, thousands of deaths every day are caused by water-borne diseases will continue unabated. These problems will not take care of themselves. They need sustained and enlightened management by the private sector, decision-makers, and civil society to mitigate our world’s emerging water crisis that is predicted by experts to become one of the “greatest causes of mass suffering” in the 21st century. The longer we wait, the more severe the challenge. Recognizing the importance of water, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the period from 2005 to 2015 as the International Decade for Action Water for life, which called on the international community to fulfill commitments made on water and water-related issues by 2015. Even if water is not universally accepted as a human right, it is a human necessity and it would seem that humanity owes it to itself to assure its availability to all.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
The Challenge That Will Not Go Away
The peril of the oceans and fresh water is finally getting the world’s attention. Dr. Noel Brown, speaker at Applied Brilliance 2008, recently hosted a high-level summit at the United Nations on World Water Day, March 22, 2010. Richard Granier, Group CEO & Chairman of Hestian, an international venture firm, hosted the event. His company is backing the development of several clean water technologies. Bionetix has created a unique formula of specially selected bacteria, which digest organic waste quickly and completely, without any use of chemicals. This system has ability to clean up entire lakes, lagoons and rivers, and the formula can be used in sewage treatment plants, agriculture and many other applications. Oxymatic is a system that not only controls bacteria, viruses, and algae, but it also clarifies, filters, removes odor, taste and other contaminates such as pesticides and organic matter -- all without chemicals. The water produced is pure with no side effects to human health. The Oxymatic system is based on the formation of a disinfectant agent when an electrical current is applied to copper and titanium electrodes. The electrodes produce hydrolysis which breaks down the water molecules. Using this system means that water can be made hygienic at source -- locally, less expensively, and without the need of infrastructure -- including electricity. It can be run from a solar panel or a wind turbine. It can even be controlled remotely using modern communication technology such as mobile phone networks. And the Oxypen is a pen-shaped device which you drop into a cup of water, or cooking pot -- it hydrolyzes and disinfects the water in minutes for instant drinkable water. Here is Dr. Brown’s World Water Day report on The Challenge That Will Not Go Away.
Water is perhaps the planet’s most paradoxical resource. It is at once abundant, covering some 70% of the earth’s surface, while in some parts of the world the lack of water presents critical challenges both to daily subsistence and survival. On the other hand, despite its abundance, the planet’s water has a fixed total stock, and no amount of engineering or scientific tinkering will enable us to create an additional drop of new water. All the water that we now have is all water that we will ever have. But it is sufficient to satisfy all human needs many times over. Unfortunately it is seldom in the right place, at the right time, in the right quantity and right quality. Had the global water budget been apportioned by the United Nations, it would have done so “with due regard for equitable geographic distribution.” But water was distributed by nature’s own design and nature knows best. This imbalance in the distribution pattern, however, poses serious challenges to human society especially in the light of increasing industrialization, rapid urbanization, and the explosive growth of human settlements worldwide. These factors, coupled with changing demographics, globalization and climate change are causing increased water scarcity, as well as posing a serious threat to future agricultural and economic development. And recent trends are not very encouraging. By 2015, nearly 40% of the world’s population is expected to live in water stressed countries. By 2025, a staggering two-thirds of the world population will live in countries where there isn’t enough water or its quality has been compromised. But perhaps the most urgent issue facing the world today however is providing safe drinking water and sanitation, which are especially critical for poverty eradication and development. Yet, it is estimated nearly 1.1 billion people or 18% of the world’s population lacks access to safe drinking water, while 2.6 billion or 40% of the world’s population lacks access to adequate sanitation services. And, thousands of deaths every day are caused by water-borne diseases will continue unabated. These problems will not take care of themselves. They need sustained and enlightened management by the private sector, decision-makers, and civil society to mitigate our world’s emerging water crisis that is predicted by experts to become one of the “greatest causes of mass suffering” in the 21st century. The longer we wait, the more severe the challenge. Recognizing the importance of water, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the period from 2005 to 2015 as the International Decade for Action Water for life, which called on the international community to fulfill commitments made on water and water-related issues by 2015. Even if water is not universally accepted as a human right, it is a human necessity and it would seem that humanity owes it to itself to assure its availability to all.
Water is perhaps the planet’s most paradoxical resource. It is at once abundant, covering some 70% of the earth’s surface, while in some parts of the world the lack of water presents critical challenges both to daily subsistence and survival. On the other hand, despite its abundance, the planet’s water has a fixed total stock, and no amount of engineering or scientific tinkering will enable us to create an additional drop of new water. All the water that we now have is all water that we will ever have. But it is sufficient to satisfy all human needs many times over. Unfortunately it is seldom in the right place, at the right time, in the right quantity and right quality. Had the global water budget been apportioned by the United Nations, it would have done so “with due regard for equitable geographic distribution.” But water was distributed by nature’s own design and nature knows best. This imbalance in the distribution pattern, however, poses serious challenges to human society especially in the light of increasing industrialization, rapid urbanization, and the explosive growth of human settlements worldwide. These factors, coupled with changing demographics, globalization and climate change are causing increased water scarcity, as well as posing a serious threat to future agricultural and economic development. And recent trends are not very encouraging. By 2015, nearly 40% of the world’s population is expected to live in water stressed countries. By 2025, a staggering two-thirds of the world population will live in countries where there isn’t enough water or its quality has been compromised. But perhaps the most urgent issue facing the world today however is providing safe drinking water and sanitation, which are especially critical for poverty eradication and development. Yet, it is estimated nearly 1.1 billion people or 18% of the world’s population lacks access to safe drinking water, while 2.6 billion or 40% of the world’s population lacks access to adequate sanitation services. And, thousands of deaths every day are caused by water-borne diseases will continue unabated. These problems will not take care of themselves. They need sustained and enlightened management by the private sector, decision-makers, and civil society to mitigate our world’s emerging water crisis that is predicted by experts to become one of the “greatest causes of mass suffering” in the 21st century. The longer we wait, the more severe the challenge. Recognizing the importance of water, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the period from 2005 to 2015 as the International Decade for Action Water for life, which called on the international community to fulfill commitments made on water and water-related issues by 2015. Even if water is not universally accepted as a human right, it is a human necessity and it would seem that humanity owes it to itself to assure its availability to all.
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