Water Wars Already Starting in India

The idea of wars being fought over water just as they’ve been fought over oil may still seem foreign to a nation full of people who regularly waste millions of gallons of it just on watering useless lawns. But, water wars are already a reality in India where a water crisis has caused escalating violence and several deaths.

Climate change has altered rainfall patterns in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, a situation made even worse by inequity in the water distribution system.

From Eco Worldly:

This has led to a spurt in water related violence and conflicts so shocking, we thought they were predicted to take place only in the next 50 years. The local incident mentioned in the news report above was one among many where a mob of about six people killed a family for illegally drawing water from the municipal supply even as onlookers rushed back and forth to collect water before the pipe ran dry.

The incident, which occurred in a below poverty line (BPL) settlement, is yet another validation of how climate change is having much more impact on the poor, especially in the developing world.

Since 2008, the duration and frequency of rainfall in major parts of the state of Madhya Pradesh has been decreasing. Water levels in all major water bodies in have fallen to alarming levels. As a result, most parts of the state including the capital city of Bhopal is receiving almost half of the volume of water required to fulfill the population’s needs. The poor are the most impacted and drinking water is being supplied only about once every 4-5 days in the slums and other poorer localities

It’s incredibly unfair that so many communities of people living in extreme poverty are forced to fight for meager amounts of water just to survive while we Westerners waste it without a thought. We need to put a higher value on water, or soon, situations like this will begin escalating around the world.

It’s already too late to stop some of the effects of climate change and of our own cavalier attitude about this most basic element of life. But, we can lessen their impact. The fight against climate change, our own efforts to conserve as much water as possible and contributions to water-related charities like charity:water make a huge difference. Do your part!

Link [Eco Worldly]
Photo credit: Hindustan Times

Innovate or Die: A Bike Makes Clean Water

In addition to reducing pollution by taking cars off the road, bicycles can be used to bring clean water to people around the world. Team Aquaduct won the Innovate or Die contest by creating a pedal powered vehicle that transports, filters, and stores water for the developing world.

The YouTube description explains how the Aquaduct works:

A peristaltic pump attached to the pedal crank draws water from a large tank, through a filter, to a smaller clean tank. The clean tank is removable and closed for contamination-free home storage and use. A clutch engages and disengages the drive belt from the pedal crank, enabling the rider to filter the water while traveling or while stationary.

Beets. Bears. Battlestar Galactica. Five Green Themes Found in BSG

We had so much fun getting our list of Green Themes found in the Star Wars Trilogy (Eps 4, 5, & 6), we decided to keep the green geek train rolling and am pulling into Battlestar Galactica Station. I just finished plowing through every single episode (the life of a blogger can be tough, anything to get the story!) and present the five green themes found in the best damn sci-fi show ever.

1. BSG=Drought Stricken Atlanta, Circa October 2007

As a resident of the capital city of the south during the drought, I know the personal pain of having to make plans to move because my city is about to run out of water. The Colonials watched with dry mouth horror as large stores of their water was vented into the vacuum of space, Atlantans watch with slack jawed apathy while they watered their water away on their over-manicured lawns.

2. Innovation Is The Only Way Out

When Chief Tyrol throws himself into building a new Viper in “Flight of The Pheonix”–a task panned as impossible and a waste of time by the rest of the cast–he’s replicating the work Honda and Toyota have done in hybrid technology in the face of razzing from nearly bankrupt Ford and GM. Suck on that Hummerboys!

And of course, his version has guns.

3. The False Comfort Of New Caprica

When, in the Season 2 finale, the colonials take up residence on New Caprica, they’re effectively playing the role of global warming deniers today: maybe if they ignore the threat, it will go away! New planet? Adapting to the warming world so it fits us better? OK! We see how well that turned out for them–surrender and imprisonment, oppression and terror. Hurray!!

4. Oh, Yeah, Earth…

Not to get all metaphorical on you, but yes, they’re seeking Earth, and so are our green hippy asses. They want to find a world that will allow them to have a healthy, sustainable existance. We want the same. The only difference, besides the whole killer robot clones thing, is that they have spaceships.

5. New Raw Materials? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ New Raw Materials.

Tyrol building a new Viper from scratch is just the beginning–everything has to be recycled (or composted) on BSG, because there’s no place to get more of, well, anything. Water goes through grey and blackwater recovery processes, food and other organic materials are composted, and they’ve gotta be using their humanure on the garden ships. It’s called a Cradle-to-Cradle existence, and it’s the same economy of raw materials that we have to transfer to as we run out of ways to rape the planet with our shameless consumption.

Now light it up in the comments, nuuugets!