In a perfect world, every human on the planet would be able to go to a tap, and pour themselves a glass of water that is good to drink. Sadly in many parts of the world, and even some places in Canada, including some remote reserves, have non potable water, water that is not safe for human consumption. Pandora’s Trojan Horse represents the perspective of the corporate and political elite, which in some cases, continue to fight against environmental regulations. For Pandora’s Trojan Horse drinking water that is clean and pure will not be a problem, for less advantaged people, and in less developed countries, access to clean drinking water could become problematic. We must begin to treat water as the truly precious resource that it is.
Glaciers form over centuries, and millennia, in cold temperatures from snow falling not just in the Arctic and Antarctic, but also on mountain tops which are cold because of their high elevation. During the summer these massive glaciers warm and partially melt creating some of the great Rivers around the world. As the temperature of the planet has been warming, glaciers around the world have been receding at an alarming rate, and this is causing a reduction in the amount of water flowing into many rivers during the hottest and driest months. In 2015, the Governor of California made the annual trek to the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range to measure the snow pack, which indicates how much water will run into the river over the summer. When he stood on the traditional spot where the snow is usually 5 – 6 feet deep on April 1st, he was standing on dry grass. “People should realize, we are living in a new era.” the governor said.
Climate Change is just one piece in a very complex puzzle of threats to our fresh water.
We are also endangering some of the precious water resources we still have through contamination. The fossil fuel extraction process, mining, industrial and even farming operations all release toxic chemicals, both legally and by accident, which threaten to contaminate lakes, rivers, and underground aquifers. I understand that we need to work and live, and that existing as a human population, on a finite planet, is going to leave a footprint. But we need to put water in perspective, a person can only live for about 2 ½ days without water. There really is no other resource as precious for life on this planet as clean fresh water, it is our single most important resource.