No! That's my water!

Water Security
The article on science blog the last few days about water security highlights the fact that international work on global water security cannot really be done without some real and agreed upon definition of what water security is. The UN has proposed the following definition in hopes to begin work on water security and include water security to be a large focus on the Sustainable Development Goals which will succeed the Millennium Development Goals when they finish in 2015. “The capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of and acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability.”
Water security, and insecurity, is something which I have long wondered about. My personal political conflict expert, my grad student boyfriend, has told me that water is not the basis for any conflict in the political sphere. However, I have always thought, meaning someone/thing told me a long time ago, that water was something political conflict was around. The article states, "Water insecurity, therefore, leads to cascading political, social, economic and environmental consequences, the brief says." The brief being what the UN-Water people put out. The article also cites the Pacific Institute's Water Project which has been studying water security and political conflict since the 80's. I am curious where my Latro is getting his research on water and conflict and will have to ask him. 

What do you think? Do water resources incite conflict? 

Save the Water!

http://scienceblogs.com/significantfigures/index.php/2013/02/21/on-the-back-of-an-envelope-brush-your-teeth-but-turn-the-water-off/

This is a nice article for all those people who really wonder if turning off the faucet during teeth brushing would help the environment. I have never seen anyone do the math on the figure, but I am glad now that I have learned to turn the water off. I also never realized how fast and the pressure of sinks. A water flow of 2.5 gallons per minute seems so high! I couldn't imagine that a sink would fill a gallon in a minute, but here the figure is more than two gallons! I will have to test my sink for a minute with my five gallon bucket and see where it fills to. Simple science for determining the flow rate. I have thought about the excess water from showers and toilets and diets before, but I haven't seen the ideas that are in the comments there. I could easily save the cold water from the shower and use it in my toilet or for my fish tank or water my lawn (gasp! that was a joke, I don't really have a lawn and I certainly wouldn't ever water it). I am not sure how to make the laundry idea work with my washer, but I suppose I could find out some how. I could also just drink it. Its the same water that comes out of the other sinks. And its already cold!

What ways do you think you could save water?

PS. I timed my sink and in a minute it almost filled the bucket to 2 gallons. My pressure is not as high as the article's calculation says, but I do live on top of a plateau.

Jobs in the Water Industry? I'll get my floaties!

Http://scienceblogs.com/significantfigures/index.php/2013/02/14/smart-water-new-jobs/

We go for meta here. I write little articles about articles, which are usually about other articles. How far away from information can we get while still passing along information? I am not sure of the answer, but I do know that the article today was talking about the outcomes of different kinds of investment in sustainable water jobs. It seems that some investments are creating more jobs than others while still covering the necessary problems needing more work. The article of the article compares the same amount of monetary investment in alternative water supply projects which creates 10-15 jobs whereas that investment in storm water management projects creates anywhere from 10-70 jobs. It seems we need to have better accountability to where our money is going and what it is producing in the water industry. Water is such a precious commodity. My religious reflection this morning was from Deuteronomy where Moses is giving a speech to the Israelites who are about to enter the promised land. Moses reminds them that they best not forget what God has done for them because they could not have managed to do what God has done for them by themselves. It is a good reminder for all of us and it seems pertinent to the water situation we have in the world now. Well, to many situations we have in the world now. We did not always put ourselves in the situation we are in. That does not mean we should blame those who came before us. We can however change the parts of the situation which we can and be grateful for the parts of the situation that are good. The water industry takes care of something lots of people in the United States takes for granted, clean water in our homes. However most of the worlds population cannot take that for granted. Clean water in their home is a product of much work and see worry. Granted, we cannot care about everything all the time. However, money accountability is something we can ask for. Transparency and good investing.

Water, water, and not a drop to drink!

http://scienceblogs.com/lifelines/2013/02/15/how-using-the-restroom-may-be-harmful-to-fish/
It's even worse for the fish! Can you imagine the substance all around and within you to be toxic to you? That is not a good environment. It would be like having smog problems everywhere and having it cause mental and physical health problems. The poor fish! I don't know anything about the drug they researched in this article, but I would imagine that it is not the only harmful drug that is going through human systems and ending up in the water. Perhaps we can invent some kind of filter for people who take serious drugs to use so that excess drugs do not end up in the water. Installed in the toilets and then disposed of in another way, we could cut down on the pollutants in the environment causing havoc with the natural ecosystems. I don't know what would filter such toxins out or how best to dispose of them, but I am sure there are researchers who could figure those things out. I can't say we should all just taking serious medicines, because the quality of life given by the existence of the drugs is worth it to them. We should just be better about where we allow such things to go.