If you want to know more about water, check out People and Planet

We highly recommend People and Planet’s site about the state of water on the planet today. The site gives a good overview as well as providing a wealth of facts.

 Did you know…

• During the last 70 years, the global population has tripled, but water withdrawals have increased over six times.
• Since 1940, annual global water withdrawals have increased by an average of nearly 3 per cent per year, while population growth has averaged between 1.5 and 2 per cent.
• In 1989 there was some 9,000 cubic metres of freshwater per person available for human use. By 2025, that figure is expected to plummet to 5,100 cubic metres per person, when the global population is projected to reach 8 billion.

Follow the link here: people and planet

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Outlook for Australia: parched

A new report from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) paints a dry, drought ridden future for Australia. Late in accepting climate change and even later in engaging in analysis of anthropogenic causes of climate change, Australia is being forced into facing its parched future.

The Australian newspaper, The Age, reports on the findings of the CSIRO. Read the full article here.

Tim Flannery, one of Australia’s top scientists and author of The Weather Makers: The History and Future Impact of Climate Change talks to Andi Hazelwood of Global Public Media about his suggested mitigations for climate change on the heels of the alarming  report. (Audio, follow this link).

Watermark Australia: a model of community cooperation

Concern for issues around water in Australia has led to  unique cooperation between individuals, the science community and public authorities.

 Australians clearly feel the urgency of addressing the water issue. It is heartening to see an initiative like this – where people come together effectively and convivially. The Watermark Australia initiative involved some 200 groups, each who contributed reports which illuminated the water issue from every angle thinkable.

This input resulted in the report OUR WATER MARK. Those of us outside Australia unable to purchase in the local bookstore can download the report as .pdf from the Water Mark web page.

This is important work. Both the way people came together and the thoroughness of the report should inspire other countries who will be going though their own challenges bringing pure drinking water to all citizens. Sooner or later.

Ms Mary Crooks, Executive Director, Victorian Women’s Trust and Project Manager of the Water Mark Australia project, spoke about her work at the latest Sustainable Cities Round Table/ Future Melbourne forum.See the video below

Audio interviews with drought affected Australians

Global Public Media are featuring a series of interviews with ordinary people affected by the water shortages.

Recommended – an insight into how it is affecting peoples everyday lives.

World Water Scarcity factfile from WHO

To underline the importance of water for everyone – and what scarcity means – the WHO produced this factfile recently. Highly recommended.

 Click here to read factfile.

Sewage overflows into groundwater are making too many people ill

Intakes for drinking water are not sufficiently shielded. Sewage spillages as the result of flooding or  ruptures in ageing pipe networks present a serious challenge to water purification plants.

And climate change is not helping any. For example, in the summer of 2004, 1,450 people reported being ill in a resort community in northern Ohio with campylobacter, norovirus, giardia and salmonella. That summer was marked by rainfall that was 150 percent above the 50-year average.

 Joan Rose, Michigan State University ’s Nowlin Chair in water research, told the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting Friday. Her talk, “Drinking Water and Health: Forecasting Pathogen Risks in the Great Lakes,” focused on ways to identify health threats before an outbreak.

 Read more in the Water Online article