Water is Life
state of emergency in Barcelona
Dear Water Bearers,
After lamenting in last week’s eco-story of the lack of discussion around water at the World Economic Forum, we thought to focus this week’s newsletter on this essential ingredient of life. Today, and all days, we are grateful for water.
🌊 Water News
💧 A heatwave exacerbates the worst drought on record in Western Australia.
💧 The combination of war and drought is pushing Ethiopia towards famine.
📈 Water Trends
♾️ water story
🌧 The Water Crisis in Spain
I was watching a news report on the historic drought and recently declared state of emergency in Barcelona and greater Catalonia. During the report, a university lecturer is interviewed and explains how most people haven’t noticed the water restrictions, they turn on a tap and water comes out with minimal difference, referring to the government reducing water pressure in particular areas. When I was informed of the situation in Barcelona by a friend, I mentioned the recent drought in Mexico and how 1,546 of the country’s 2,463 municipalities were also confronted by water shortages. She told me she did not hear about it, which doesn’t surprise me as we rarely discuss issues that do not impact our lives in some way. As they say, out of sight, out of mind.
Just last week I mentioned my surprise that water was not a central talking point at the World Economic Forum. We might speak of rain when it’s falling from the sky, the size of the swell at a nearby beach, or a friend may suggest a bath if we’re feeling stressed. Water is in us, it is around us, without it there is no life, yet unless we are in a drought we rarely discuss its importance.
🌏 The Culture Column
📺 What we’re watching: Brave Blue World
📸 Profile of the week: @waterkeeperalliance
📚 What we’re reading: “Holy Water” by Joan Didion
🤯 Scary fact we learnt this week: 70 percent of industrial waste is dumped untreated in waters, polluting usable water supply.