The beginning scenes of the movie ‘blue gold’ show a man walking through a desert for days on end and finally dying in the desert for not lack of food, sleep or rest but severe lack of water! Now I can’t open any tap without having flashbacks of that scene come to mind. It’s true..although two thirds of our planet is comprised of water, we (at least some one we know in some country) are already facing straining water shortages which will reverberate and include us all..UNLESS we do something about it.
Here are some industrial solutions as mentioned in Green to Gold:
1. The Dutch Flower Industry developed a new way to grow flowers in water and a material called rock wool. As expected this industry used to use a lot of fertilizers and pesticides that would pollute the nearby water sources. Now the closed loop system re-circulates these two components, reducing the amount required and eliminating ground water exposure.
2. Another great example of industrial ecology (also from Europe) involves a series of companies linked through a web of resources and waste flows some have dubbed industrial symbiosis. At the center is a power plant that throws of steam, heat, fly ash and sludge. All these waste was realized to be useful inputs to other industries including a local farm, biotech plant and a cement manufacturer. How neat is that!
3. In USA, I remember reading about one of my favorite companies, Intel doing something quite innovative in recycling heat energy. The energy generated was used to provide hot water in the gym showers..
And now, I am about to post this blog on world water day and am both amazed and impressed by the dozens of sites, organizations and events happening to bring awareness of this natural resource. Here are a few that I happened to research..
a. Charity Water: quite an inspiring organization and story. Another similarly inspiring one is
b. Wine to Water: It was founded by a bartender who realized that if properly educated and asked, people are willing to listen and help your cause AND just about anyone can do a lot about any event they strongly believe in and support.
c. Water Day: This website lists practically all the different organizations dealing with the water issue. I wish I was in DC today to show my support for the great events happening there.
So besides blogging, what did I do on world water day? I donated some money to the charities listed above and decided to write an article on Water conservation for a lay man; learning about our water needs vs. wants. The article should be out by mid may.
And here’s a glorious reminder of how precious this stuff is…
