While 2/3 of the Earth’s surface is covered with water, if you were to fill a one gallon jug with water, pour out everything but the last two drops, those two drops would be all the fresh water in the icepacks on the tops of mountains, in the rivers across the globe, in every rainstorm happening all at once across the planet.
It sounds like a lot of water, but as we are increasingly seeing worldwide, water is not distributed evenly, and more importantly, not used exclusively for Human consumption. In fact, the greatest uses of water take place in agribusiness (farming, commercial animal production and computer manufacturing).
Every industry, every form of manufacturing, almost all cooking, all bottling, canning or food production requires water. From the moment it leaves the farm, until the moment it reaches your supermarket shelves. Since we’re in the market, I want you to visualize your favorite supermarket just after opening, when every shelf is packed with products.
Think about everything you see in your average supermarket. There is almost nothing in that market which can exist without the use of water in the manufacturing, production or distribution of that product. Even the packaging requires water to acquire, produce, clean or refine the paper, plastic, glass and metals which make up all packaging.
Multiply this by thousands of markets and a host of companies, and you can see the water use adding up fast. Water use which is draining the once mighty Colorado river dry by the time it reaches Mexico.
Underwater aquifers are drying up with millions of gallons of water per day are drained away and unable to be replenished because of our cities which sit on top of those sites and send all that fresh water out to the ocean in our storm drains.
In some cities such as Cape Cod and Mexico City, protocols for conservation are being enacted, programs whose names have included terms such as Zero Day; the day when the water supplies in aquifers, in reservoirs and in local rivers no longer provide enough water to get water to residents in their city. Zero Day means the day when a city stops being a city and descends into something else.
Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad free
There are twenty cities around the globe who are already facing similar countdowns with the one in Cape Cod having been narrowly averted thanks to rain filling reservoirs. But setting the countdown time back only to 2019…
We are proud of our SOCIAL INTEREST GROUPS—WEEKLY PHONE CALLS to discuss, gain insights, build communities— and help solve some of the most difficult challenges the world has today. Calls are for Members Only (although you can join the first call for free). Not yet a member of The Good Men Project? Join now!
Join The Good Men Project Community
All levels get to view The Good Men Project site AD-FREE. The $50 Platinum Level is an ALL-ACCESS PASS—join as many groups and classes as you want for the entire year. The $25 Gold Level gives you access to any ONE Social Interest Group and ONE Class–and other benefits listed below the form. Or…for $12, join as a Bronze Member and support our mission, and have a great ad-free viewing experience.
Register New Account
Please note: If you are already a writer/contributor at The Good Men Project, log in here before registering. (Request new password if needed).
Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad free
◊♦◊
ANNUAL PLATINUM membership ($50 per year) includes:
1. AN ALL ACCESS PASS — Join ANY and ALL of our weekly calls, Social Interest Groups, classes, workshops and private Facebook groups. We have at least one group phone call or online class every day of the week.
2. See the website with no ads when logged in!
3. MEMBER commenting badge.
*** ANNUAL GOLD membership ($25 per year) includes all the benefits above — but only ONE Weekly Social Interest Group and ONE class.
*** ANNUAL BRONZE membership ($12 per year) is great if you are not ready to join the full conversation but want to support our mission anyway. You’ll still get a BRONZE commenting badge, and you can pop into any of our weekly Friday Calls with the Publisher when you have time. This is for people who believe—like we do—that this conversation about men and changing roles and goodness in the 21st century is one of the most important conversations you can have today.
♦◊♦
We have pioneered the largest worldwide conversation about what it means to be a good man in the 21st century. Your support of our work is inspiring and invaluable.
◊♦◊
Here was the first of our conversations on Climate Change by the Elements:
There will be more. It’s up to us to spread the word about the impending apocalypse.
“Here’s the thing about The Good Men Project. We are trying to create big, sweeping, societal changes—–overturn stereotypes, eliminate racism, sexism, homophobia, be a positive force for good for things like education reform and the environment. And we’re also giving individuals the tools they need to make individual change—-with their own relationships, with the way they parent, with their ability to be more conscious, more mindful, and more insightful. For some people, that could get overwhelming. But for those of us here at The Good Men Project, it is not overwhelming. It is simply something we do—–every day. We do it with teamwork, with compassion, with an understanding of systems and how they work, and with shared insights from a diversity of viewpoints.” —– Lisa Hickey, Publisher of The Good Men Project and CEO of Good Men Media Inc.
Thaddeus Howze was a New York native and found his way to the West Coast as a consequence of his military service. He's a California-based technology executive and author whose non-fiction and online journalism has appeared in publications such as The Enemy, Black Enterprise Online, Urban Times, the Good Men Project, and Astronaut.com. Thaddeus Howze has published two books, Hayward's Reach (2011) and Broken Glass (2013). He maintains a nonfiction blog on science and technology at A Matter of Scale (bit.ly/matterofscale). He writes speculative fiction at hubcityblues.com.
Leave a Reply
.