This fall, two water crisis documentaries that the Triangle will once again most likely pass up (so save it in Netflix) will be released entitled Flow and Blue Gold.
Also, tomorrow, another documentary entitled simply Water will be out on DVD. I could find very little about the DVD other than this description -
"Water itself is the star of this fascinating exploration of the variety of capacities of earth's most common substance. This globe-trotting documentary explains how water plays a vital role in health, manufacturing, hydropower and more. Journeying to Russia, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, Israel, the United States, England, Austria, Japan, Argentina, China and Tibet, the film interviews researchers on the cutting edge of water's future.
Releases on DVD Sep 12, 2008"
Here are some facts it presents:
About Water
* Of the 6 billion people on earth, 1.1 billion do not have access to safe, clean drinking water.
* The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency currently does not regulate 51 known water contaminants.
* While the average American uses 150 gallons of water per day, those in developing countries cannot find five.
* The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.
* According to the National Resources Defense Council, in a scientific study in which more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of water were tested, about one-third of the bottles contained synthetic organic chemicals, bacteria, and arsenic.
* Water is a $400 billion dollar global industry; the third largest behind electricity and oil.
* There are estimates that from five hundred thousand to seven million people get sick per year from drinking tap water.
* Californiaʼs water supply is running out – it has about 20 years of water left in the state.
* There are over 116,000 human-made chemicals that are finding their way into public water supply systems.
* In Bolivia nearly one out of every ten children will die before the age of five. Most of those deaths are related to illnesses that come from a lack of clean drinking water.
* The cost per person per year for having 10 liters of safe drinking water every day is just $2 USD.
A beautiful video encouraging Rainwater Harvesting:
When The Rivers Run Dry book review
