Water Warrior: Maude Barlow
It's the strength of women that will sustain the flowing waters of life.
This was just one of the many take-home messages of tonight's talk with environmental author and activist Maude Barlow. Maude is the founder of the Blue Planet Project which works internationally on water justice issues. In addition to being nominated for the "1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005" she is a recipient of the "2005/2006 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship" and the "2005 Right Livelihood Award".
Maude's most recent book Blue Covenant calls on all of us to work together to solve the global water crisis, to make a promise of sustainability from us to the earth.
In her speech tonight she called attention to the urgency of this crisis by quoting several alarming statistics: stating that there are currently 2 billion people living in water stressed areas and more children die of water born diseases than AIDS and malaria every day. Violence against women is increasing in the Global South where water is literally a matter of life and death. In the U.S. we are literally paving over our wetlands and sucking our lakes, rivers and deltas dry. Today 36 states are at risk of water shortages.
Last month I served on a delegation with Global Exchange to Guatemala. One of the communities we visited was devastated by the recent poisoning of their drinking water by a Canadian gold mining corporation.
Let's face reality. Water is life. Period. Without it we cannot survive.
Maude discussed how we are constantly moving water from where nature put it to where we want it. Dams. Irrigation. Pipelines. We are containing water in chemical and fossil fuel bottles labeled Aquafina (tap water repacked by Pepsi). We are living our lives with the false assumption that resources are limitless!
Maude's work has inspired many to recognize that the earth has limits and we have to live within them. Her passionate dedication to environmental and human rights is so contagious that I had to share this night with all with you as soon as I got home.
To learn more measure your water footprint here and found out how you can take action.
Wow! What an amazing experience, Lani! Thanks for sharing your perspective and for taking your commitment to justice On the Road!
Posted by: Rachel Allen | February 21, 2008 at 01:53 PM