Water world
What was one new thing that you learned or paid more attention to regarding water issues?
posted by UVM Eco-Reps Program Coordinator @ 2:49 PM
What was one new thing that you learned or paid more attention to regarding water issues?
posted by UVM Eco-Reps Program Coordinator @ 2:49 PM
14 Comments:
I had no idea that VT did not have any regulation on ground water rights until recently. I think that sometimes in VT I get into a groove where I think that everything is under control and that all the main legislative issues have been covered. But, in reality, there is always something else to tackle. It is important for the government, and everyone for that matter, to realize how much everything is connected. In order to protect one water source you have to also protect every water source. Air, water, and the movement of organisms is what connects our world together and causes national and global environmental issues. Before this talk I never realized how important the water issue was, like 1 out of 5 people don't have access to safe reliable drinking water. I'm going to think about water more when I use it.
-Rachel Brooks
I had no idea how much water the average person consumes, especially in light of the fact that so many people don't have access to clean water, like Rachel said. And now I find myself thinking about every leaking sink and shower that I notice. Even in my chemistry lab today I saw that some of the sinks we use leak and I don't know if we can report that to a fix-it but I think in in the future we should consider the water usage of the whole campus in addition to the residential halls if possible.
Sarah
I thought the woman representing VNRC was interesting. I knew about the water law differences in the east and west; however, I didn't know how poorly each type truly represents each coast. It is crazy to think that other people upstream from a certain point can pull out as much water as they deem appropriate. I guess this is why the southern states are wrapped up in such a battle right now.
Taking this further, the other day I learned that if you lined up the water bottled that get used annually, it would wrap the earth thousands of times! That is crazy news. It is the type of fact consumers should be aware of when considering supporting bottled water.
-Caroline Shepard
I feel as if I have gained this new awareness of water use. Every time I brush my teeth, I challenge myself to use even less water than I did the previous time. Every time I take a shower, I think of all of the water going down the drain. I think it's easy for us to take water for granted, especially in a country where we have the luxury of turning on a faucet to get (relatively) clean water. I was amazed by the new Installments and the other signs geared towards water conservation and issues. I just hope others use those facts as inspiration to cut down on water use!
I definitely paid attention to how fortunate we are to have access to safe, clean drinking water. It made me think back to when I was traveling to other countries where I couldn't drink the water. It has made me more conscious of how I use water every day. I view water as a right to everyone so this inequality does not seem fair. I am really interested in water issues and am going to read that book that book "Blue Gold" on water issues.
~Natalie
It's clear that water is the source of life and we cannot live without it--we use it in everything we do--but while I was doing my bulletin board and suggesting how to conserve the H20it was kind of like a light bulb turned on. It wasn't until I started writing on my bulletin board all the ways we can save precious water that I realized just how much we as a human species use and waste. I was aware, but this really put things into perspective for me. I guess I can say that I am A LOT more aware of my water consumption--the food I eat, how I prepare my food, how I can use "waste" water after washing produce, and so on--and I hope the board has had the same effect on other students.
--Winter
Since I learned about how much water one even just 5 minute shower uses I've definitely been cutting down on my shower time. Knowing that I'm making an effort to conserve makes me realize how lucky we are to even have the choice of conservation. In my ENVS002 lab yesterday we watched a documentary entitled "Water First" which discusses water issues in Southern Africa. Here the people, without the means of clean well water, are forced to drink water from streams and unregulated ground water sources often resulting in water borne diseases like cholera, diarrhea and malaria. Without the proper medicines or resources to purchase alternatives over 4,000 children die a day and one in seven babies will not live past the age of two. The most shocking thing to me was how water accesbility effects education. Once girls reach the age of puberty they are often unable to go to school anymore due to the embarressment they feel in not having ways to deal with their time of the month. They often use just water, but if there isn't any kind of bathroom or privacy they end up coming to school less and less. This them results in them having 4 to 5 times more children. Educated girls have 2-3 children while uneducated girls have 10-15.
-Olivia
Waste waste waste! It seems to be the mantra of many a student here. Something that troubles me is the belief that it takes 8 years for the shower water to warm up. This is completely false! And yet often I find myself in the bathroom and another male enters, flips on the shower and then walks to the toilet. Sorry if this is too much information, but addressing this has been perplexing to me. Sometimes I go with the "flip off the water and run" method. Other times I exchange a few awkward words and grunts with the culprit "Yo can I turn off the water while..." It's a very frustrating matter, and I haven't yet figured the best way to tackle it.
There are a lot more legal issues surrounding water that I had no idea about. The speaker who came in that last time we met gave many facts which I was not familiar with. Mostly on a day to day basis though I've paid attention to the amount of bottled drinks people buy and carry with them. Sitting in class I've noticed the amount of disposable bottles on desks v. reusable ones; it's pretty interesting to pay attention to because it tends to be the same people who consistently have bottled water. Not only does it make more sense to buy a mug you can reuse, but it saves money! Saving an extra $300 a year from not buying water everyday sounds pretty good to me.
Lisa
It was really, really interesting to hear about Vermont's water issues, especially ground water. I knew that it was important to conserve water, and it was great to gather a better understand of why (although of course there is so much more to learn, I'm sure). I keep hearing more and more about how we are depleting our water sources, which is definitely hard to understand here in Vermont, when water flows right out of the tap, and we're surrounded by lakes and rivers. I really really hope that more attention is paid to the conservation of water, globally and locally - there are definitely already people paying the costs of depletion. I would love to learn more about this issue - has anybody seen Flow?
My sister is graduating this year from UVM with a Environmental Science degree in water resources. With our concentration for the last 2 weeks being on water ,i found myself talking to her alot about jobs she is looking for relating to water. I simply realized how the resource---water--- is an extremely hot commodity and necessity around the world. Water is scarce and there are so many jobs in the field of helping countries find clean/fresh water. Now, everytime i fill up my water bottle i think about the process it took to get the water im drinking- drinkable. Its fascinating. Water makes the world go around
--
Jim Perkins
I think that water is really something that can be easily taken for granted here, especially as we all live in a society that is privileged with enough clean water to go around.
Yet time after time, I hear tell of how water will be the 'next big issue' that the world will have to confront and already, just over the past few decades, there have been contentious local and international situations that have developed because of access to water resources.
What I've gained from thinking about it more is a perspective that compels me to, well, think about water differently. It is no longer something that I can ignore when it comes out of the tap. Not only do the implications of my water use need to be taken into consideration, but also how water is regarded: Is it regarded is infinite? Is it regarded as free? Is it regarded as independent from so many of the the environmental structures (and problems) that gain so much attention? How do I use water responsibly? Is simply using less of it enough?
I think the biggest thing I learned during this unit is that people, especially in terms of bottled water and using the sink water, are very quick to get defensive about their water usages. In our last eco-reps meeting we talked alot about not coming off at preachy and just leading by example and I think the water issues are the perfect and prime example of how we as ecoreps and environmentalists really ahve to just lead by example or people just won't be receptive. I think one of the reasons students and adults too, get defensive about water is because they're misinformed about where the water from their bottled water actually comes from. I know that I even learned alot more about what goes into our water this year than ever before. I guess what I'm getting at is ecoreps need to just continue to be aware of peoples environmental knowledge base and their habits, so we can then come up with effective strategies to move them away from unsustainable practices.
I also learned alot about personal care products being in the water. I was very interested in this topic since my girl scout gold award project was about Rx and over the counter drugs being in the water as well. I think next year eco-reps should devote some time to that topic as well.
-Sam Ethridge
All this talk on water has really made me re-think my very own habits, let alone work towards changing others' habits. I think this topic in particular really made me realize the value of "be the change you wish to see" or something along those lines. In many of my other classes, I have been learning about water quality and such, and it is certainly something we, especially in a developed nation, take for granted.
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