World Ark Magazine - March/April 2008 - (Page 37) Photo by Samantha Reinders “If civilization starts paying attention to the global water crisis right now and not 20 years from now, we can solve it.” that people are trying things like this is interesting. There are farmers in India who are using popsicle wrappers to rig drip–irrigation systems. There are the PlayPumps that draw well water by harnessing the power of children on the playground. It’s low-tech, it’s high-tech, it’s human ingenuity being brought to problems we’ve caused. Hopefully there’s enough time to fix it. What’s next? I’m hoping some of the people in the book can get more support for their efforts because of the visibility we’re bringing their projects. We’re also working on a version of this book geared toward school-age children to educate them about water issues. We also want to get more publicity for the water issue. When humanity starts focusing on something, it’s amazing how often we come up with good solutions. We just have to get their attention. Photography excerpted from Blue Planet Run: The Race to Provide Safe Drinking Water. © 2007 Rick Smolan and Jennifer Erwitt. Published by Earth Aware Editions. Used with permission. Learn more at www.EarthAwareEditions.com. Inventive solutions to water shortage problems, like the PlayPump and Elephant Pump, not only provide access to drinking water but are also fun for children. What will happen if we ignore the problem and maintain the status quo? One of the chapters in the book talks about how future conflicts will be fought over water, not oil. That’s already happening where water crosses borders between states and countries. The Israelis and Palestinians are already fighting over water. There’s a map included in the book that shows all the different areas where this conflict is playing out. It’s pretty obvious we can’t keep going like this. The good news is we’re not so far gone there’s nothing we can do about it. If we act now, we can do something. This book outlines the substantial problems we face, but it’s also supposed to be positive and hopeful. How is that? We asked people to tell us both the bad stuff and the good stuff. We wanted to know about interesting, clever solutions. Wrapping the Alps with blankets [to prevent melting] to me sounds pretty wacky. The fact www.heifer.org March/April 2008 | WORLD ARK 37 http://www.EarthAwareEditions.com http://www.lesleyslifeissweet.com http://www.heifer.org
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