Water Footprints
It’s August, hot in many places, and “everyone” is talking about water. A lot of water may be used in summertime for lawns and swimming pools, but we all have a year round footprint that uses an amazing amount of water. As WWF Canada recently wrote, even as we consume breakfast we’re devouring food that used water through running factories to growing crops. And it’s a lot:
A single cup of coffee = 140 litres (Enough fresh water to fill to fill your mug 777 times)
One slice of white bread = 40 litres (Enough water to fill a fish tank)
A single egg = 200 litres (Enough fresh water to fill a rain barrel)
Dinner’s worse – A steak dinner = 15,500 litres (Enough fresh water to fill a small swimming pool)
Meanwhile, the BC Sustainable Energy Association states that we must act now to protect our rivers, streams and groundwater, and to balance competing demands for this precious and limited resource. The BC Legislature is currently considering how to modernize our Water Act, and the BCSEA has an online petition that asks the BC Legislature to prioritize environmental and social needs for water and involve the public in decisions about water. If you’re in BC, check out the petition.
Tags: energy, environmental, petition, sustainable, water, WWF Canada
NWPS Fun
Did you know that when you visit a pharmacist, one in every four purchases will have come from a tropical forest? Or that some frogs use their eyes to help push the food down their throat. The Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society wants you to know these and other fun and sometimes amazing facts.
The Kids Corner of the Society’s website is filled with fun and games, and adults as well as kids can enjoy many of them. If you like trivia, or information about some of BC’s most popular animals, you’ll enjoy their Kids Corner.
Before you walk in the woods, you might want to learn what a bear sounds like. NWPS provides a grizzly bear’s grunt, and a cougar’s and a wolf’s growl and howl. The differences between how the gray whale and killer whale sound are notable. And the sea lion’s voices reminded me of when I studied them in the early 1990’s.
If you have kids, you may want to print out the wildlife or bats picture coloring page, and the connect the dots coloring page.
You can also follow the life of a salmon egg, or look at kid’s art.
If you’re motivated enough, the basics of starting a school-based environmental eco-club are also presented.
Tags: eco club, environmental, Kids Corner, Northwest Wildlife Preservation, NWPS, tropical forest, wildlife coloring
Women and Conservation
In nations such as India, women are known to be the main conservers of biodiversity, reports Sudesca. Women’s traditional roles of obtaining water, food, and fuel for their communities place them close to the land.
In a nutshell, men’s tendency to improve their economic well being by destroying the forest and land makes life harder for women fulfilling their traditional role. As natural sources become depleted, women will use resources such as cow manure for kitchen fuel rather than putting it into the fields. As Sudesca explains, this weakens the soil and makes women’s lives even harder.
This is one reason development needs to include women, who are often the most conscious of environmental issues. Women tend to recognize that environmental degradation is closely related to human actions and the social sphere.
India is striving to create a mutually beneficial relationship between women, their communities and natural resources, that allows conservation to become a primary goal. Sudesca reports that in communities that rely heavily on farms, the women can be trained in on-farm conservation techniques including biodiversity inventories. In order to complete their work, women must become an essential part of the fight against environmental degradation.
Women, whose traditional seed selection and farming duties include maintaining a diverse selection of food crops, have begun to take on a vital role in conserving the environment and working towards sustainability. The female population is quickly entering the public sphere with a stronger voice, and taking up careers in the sciences. Among others, India’s Department of Biotechnology began creating programmes in 1998 that further arm women in the battle against environmental degradation.
The Sudesca article is a fascinating article – if you have any interest in sustainability, conservation, developing countries, or women’s issues, you will probably enjoy reading the Role Of Women In Conservation Of Environment.
Tags: biodiversity, Conservation, degradation, development, environmental, India, role of women, Sudesca, sustainability, traditional, women
