Another World Water Day Gone

We see another World Water Day pass us by. The theme, Water For All, signifies that though some progress has been made we are woefully behind where we need to be to see that fulfilled. Throughout the years I have had this blog I have tried to write about this crisis on a consistent basis. The reason for that is simple...water is our life. If you ever stop to think about how much of your life you could not live without it you might be more inclined to agree with me.

I find it appalling that in the 21st Century there are still people around the world who do not know what it is like to turn a faucet and see water come out. In the U.S. where I am, water is taken for granted by most. Of course, that is not true in Flint, Michigan, Newark, Nj, and in other inner cities where the people there are expendable to govt and their cronies and private companies not in it for quality but profit. Turning on your faucet and getting nothing but poison is in essence getting nothing.

The question is, why is it still so hard to do something that is really not hard? How many waterborne deaths could be prevented by just being human? If you look around this world today, pollution, overuse, destruction of our oceans, is all being done by us. The effects of climate destruction as well being felt globally from Nebraska to Mozambique. Why is it there is always money and instant deployments to war, but not to bring aid and peace?

I think next year the theme of World Water Day should be a Day of Humanity. Because let's face it, without that the goals laid out to bring water to all will never be realized.

On a side note, my cancer returned last summer. I am again in chemotherapy and doing my best to fight this. In doing so, it becomes even clearer how important life and what sustains it is. If you are still following this blog, thank you. Even though I may not be here as much as I would like to be I will never waver in my passion for this Earth and what is truly important for our survival not just on World Water Day, but everyday.

Water For All

Humanitarian Disaster in the Sahara

Algeria has stranded 13,000 migrants in the Sahara forcing them to walk across it in response to EU directive to North Africa to lessen migration across the Mediterranean. These migrants come from regions torn by war, violence, poverty and climate change. In searching for solutions this is definitely not a solution, nor it is anything but a human rights violation. These migrants are sent out without water or food and many do not make it.

The podcast here Migrants Abandoned In Searing Sahara explains this crisis and sheds light on the reasons behind it. Much thanks to Arianne Kirtley, founder and director of Amman Imman/Water Is Life for bringing this to my attention. This is not being covered in the media as it should be.

We are seeing such inhumane treatment on a scale across our globe that must lead us to questioning why in this age of progress can we not provide the basest yet most important needs to humans. Why it is that cruelty and apathy are always seen as the way to handle a crisis. Those refusing these migrants and others around the world legitimately seeking asylum are not part of the solution, but the problem.They leave them victim to starvation, dehydration, slave traders and those seeking to radicalize them.

Please listen to the podcast and share it with as many as you can. We cannot sit in silence as our fellow human beings rightfully in need seeking safety are left to die in the scorching sands of the Sahara.

Update:



Africa may have witnessed its all-time hottest temperature Thursday: 124 degrees in Algeria

Now imagine having to walk across the Sahara with no water or food. Still have not seen anything about this in MSM.

Water Is Life.

Algeria abandons thousands of migrants in Sahara desert without food or water

World's Largest Desert Growing Even Larger, Partly Due to Climate Change

Algeria: Inhumane Treatment of Migrants

Migrants in Sahara

We Are The Cure

I hit a milestone this week as it has been a year since my surgery for stage four ovarian cancer. One year that has been filled with healing, hardship and trying to adapt to a life that has been filled as well with reflection and also sadness. I have had this blog for over a decade and have brought forth a myriad of issues and information that spans the globe. So much time spent sending out an SOS about the crisis of humanity centering on water, our source of life.

As we look out into the world today we see more pollution, more corporatization, more war and a climate crisis now truly illustrating that consequences not considered can reap a deadly future. News of corals in the Great Barrier reef dying, to continued pollution of our oceans from spills, plastic, fracking, overfishing and extreme warming (and Arctic Amplification) souping up storms, the most devastating Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Maria, which also laid bare not just the effects of extreme climate, but the persistent political corruption, racism and economic bias that exists at the highest levels of government.

The juxtaposition of these tragedies to my time of healing has in all honesty left me sad and angry. All those days of pain, discomfort, fear and also hope pushed me to defeating the cancer (hopefully for good) because I knew life was precious and worth living. To me, it is the same regarding water. We know that clean water leads to health, prosperity and a balance with the Earth that works in tandem with our bodies and souls to bring peace.

Yet, we still infect the oceans with plastic, toxins, nuclear waste, agricultural toxins in amounts becoming more unsustainable for marinelife and ourselves. We continue infecting the air with greenhouse gases we know have now catapulted humanity into unprecedented territory. We know what we need to do to heal our affliction, yet we continue poisoning the Earth and wasting and destroying its resources.

Any cancer patient who knows what they need to do to fight the disease does it even though it requires a sacrifice. I wish that mentality could be applied to the other crises we face as humans. The moral of the story...when you see a challenge before you, to not do all in your power to do the right thing to fix it, to heal it, is endemically immoral.

My cancer was not something I caused, at least not directly. However, the damage we are doing to water resources and the Earth in general is being done directly. We would never turn our backs on someone we love who is suffering from cancer or any other disease. Therefore, for the world we love, the water essential to our lives and those for whom there is no one to speak for them we can do no less. We must do no less.
Peace and health to you all.

Water Is Life.

The Future Is Now the Present

Climate Bellwether? With Cape Town Almost Out of Water, "Day Zero" Looms

Is this a foretaste of the future in the present? Don't say we weren't warned. Water is the one thing taken most for granted and the one thing we can't live without. We will see this scenario playing out in other places globally and we are not prepared on a global scale to face it.

I have been on hiatus the last year due to my Stage IV cancer. My journey is not over although my last CT scan showed no sign of disease after six cycles of chemotherapy and major surgery last summer. I still have scans,tests and appointnents more than likely for the rest of my life with the fear of recurrence. However, I remain positive. The road has been long and a test of my inner strength. It has also reinforced just how precious life is and how truly blessed we are to be alive. Water is essential to that life which is why I have always tried to advocate as best I can for preservation, conservation and water justice.

As we look on the state of our world today we see the force of anthropogenic climate change being exerted on resources to a breaking point. War, displacement, pollution and a general lack of concern by governments for preserving this life resource as well must bring us to speaking out for our Earth and those unable to speak.

I as an American can say I am proud of those marching and speaking out against intolerance and injustice. Especially in the wake of our government being infiltrated by intolerant xenophobes in league with the very interests intent on destroying our oceans and water sources for profit. Social injustice is an injustice to all and to our climate, water, land and the web of life.

What is now happening in Cape Town is not a warning of the future, it is the reality of our present. Like the cancer that wracked my body, a cancer is taking hold of our Earth in large part due to the cancer of the soul. Healing that cancer of the soul is imperative in healing the cancer of our planet.

A Thank you

Down In Edin Magazine

My entry, We Must Reclaim Our Humanity To Save Our Water has been included in Issue Nine of Down In Edin Magazine on page 70.

I want to thank Caroline, the beautiful soul and Editor for including my writing. It is gratifying to know that what I write and care about can reach other hearts.

Thank you.

Making Rivers Come Alive...My Struggle To Live

As Waste Goes Out, a Dying River Returns to Life

I had to post this because it is so inspirational. A river deemed dead brought back to life by the people who saw its sacredness and its ability to bring life back to them.

"Kerala’s Kuttamperoor is once again ready to defend communities against floods, aid fishermen

It’s a rebirth for the Kuttamperoor river, a tributary of Pampa and Achencoil rivers. The river, a natural inter-connecting reverine system, is getting a new lease of life thanks to a drive for removing the accumulated waste.

A stretch of about 5 km of the river, flowing along the Budhanoor panchayat in Alappuzha district, has been cleaned up. Thick layers of water weeds and waste dumped into the river for more than a decade were removed. A scheme for cleaning up of the river, about 12-km long, had been drawn up several years ago, but could not be taken up due to lack of proper funding.

The project was implemented under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. About 200 workers were engaged for the work during a two-month period, generating 30,000 man days. An amount of Rs.72 lakh was spent on the project,” P. Viswambhara Panicker, Budhanoor panchayat president, told The Hind.

Waste materials such as plastic bottles and containers and food refuse dumped by unscrupulous catering units had turned the river into a watery grave for flora and fauna. Once the natural flow was obstructed, the polluted water infiltrated into drinking water resources, including wells along the river, rendering the water non-potable. Wells had dried up in many adjoining areas,” Mr. Panicker said."

In Kerala 700 People Worked 70 Days To Revive a River Considered Dead For Over a Decade

"Kuttemperoor river, after being subjected to years of severe pollution and illegal sand mining, had almost vanished into obscurity until last year, when an initiative vehemently led by the Budhanoor gram panchayat in Alappuzha district did the unimaginable!

The river, which is a tributary for both Pamba and Achankovil rivers, was once known to be close to 12km in length and almost 100m in width, and had been the source of drinking water for the residents of Budhanoor. Apart from providing irrigation for acres of paddy fields, the river had also been a route that was used by local traders for transporting their goods.

Interestingly, the river has donned the savior role many times during the monsoons when Pamba and Achankovil rivers overflowed, by taking in the excess water and thus thwarting floods at different places.

The extent of joy we felt when a boat took people for tour after the revival of the river is something we can’t explain. A river that didn’t even have enough water to be called by the name, it was an impossible dream transformed into reality,” Reshmi says."

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The extent of joy they felt in seeing this river alive again is the joy we should all feel in seeing all our waterways revived. These people proved it can be done and I am joyful for them. I hope you will pass this story on to others to share the hope and joy we can all feel in working and fighting to save our water, land and ourselves in the process.

This story also gives me hope as I now fight Stage IV ovarian cancer. I was diagnosed almost two months ago and have been in chemo treatments since. The prognosis was once a death sentence. However, there are now ways to fight where I can prolong my life for five to ten years.

It is why I have not been here for a while, but I still try on good days to keep up with what is going on in the world where positive stories are rare. However, just as the people of Kerala decided they would not allow their life to die, I too feel the same about beating this cancer.

It is not easy and I still have a long way to go. We don't know what the future holds, but I do believe we can have a hand in crafting it by seeing through obstacles and persevering through love.

I don't know when I will be able to post here again, but wanted readers to know I appreciate your support and will always care about this Earth and those who need this life blood- water to sustain their lives just as I now fight for mine.

The story of this river and the people determined to save it is one of hope for that which was once dead to live again. As we all can. As our Earth can.

Planning For An Island's Demise

Planning For An Island's Demise

(The picture at this link is not the future, it is now.) After reading this article it is hard to trust anything any organization is telling us in regards to their false hope. Question is, once these islands are swallowed by the rising seas just how outraged will we as a species be as a whole? Measure the reaction in tandem with the action to prevent it and you see the main reason besides rising greenhouse gasses for their demise.

As glaciers continue to melt and extreme weather continues to rage across the globe we see starkly what our future and present are. FRESHWATER SOURCES ARE IN DANGER GLOBALLY and that includes the US. We have been warned countless times that to continue to have a response that is not equal to the urgency of the crisis would be like putting a band aid on a broken leg.

We pushed the moral imperative to the backburner. We made politics more important than doing what is right and necessary. We forgot that this crisis goes beyond anything our egos place in front of it as a wall.

Will you mourn for the people of Kirabati? The answer to that question is the crux of this crisis.