Water Water Water
Hello, it’s me (again)
I’m sorry you’re here looking for a specific topic about a narrow subject and a lot of details. I’m not sure I can give you that, yet. But I hope you join me on the ride to find it.
I need some more time to articulate what I want to say. I want to talk about sustainability, but not exactly. I think what I really want to talk about is Scandinavia. It’s a very sustainable place — perhaps the sustainablest. (Superlative form of sustainable). And then contrast how their culture reflects on their ecological friendly habits and how that contrasts with USA and Brazil.
I know I’m not supposed to find a different subtopic each week (water, then trash, then transportation, etc etc etc) but in an ideal world that is what I would like to do.
Well, for week two I am gonna do it anyway. Today I want to talk about water, and I will. If later on I happen to have to stick with this topic, I will: Water, wasser, vand, vatten, água, acqua, l’eaux, potato, potahto. It’s all the same. It’s one world anyway.
But before I go on here is a little quiz, match the columns:
1 — Brazil
2 — Scandinavia
3 — California
A — Cleanest water in the world.
B — Biggest source of freshwater in the world.
C — A desert scarce in water but still accommodates luxurious spas and resort-housings for students with 24/7 useless water fountains. (Oh Lorenzo)
That’s a mess. A catastrophical water crisis going on in California and the Lorenzo has countless fountains around its majestic (and architecturally misplaced) building.
“But it’s like a Vegas resort” — Chad.
I don’t care. It’s reckless. It’s stupid. It’s greedy.
Less is more.
Thankfully, not the whole state of California is like that. (Breath relief).
The two years I lived in Santa Barbara taught me so much about water conservation. The vast majority of the people I met knew about Lake Cachuma and were fairly updated in its current capacity. (At one point while living there it reached 7% of its capacity, but after a rainy spring it rose to 42%). That is the lake that supplies Santa Barbara needs
The water shortage in Santa Barbara is a threat but people react upon it. The cheaper-not-so-fancy version of their Lorenzo for the students over there has signs everywhere reminding people to be conscious about water usage. As a matter of fact, this consciousness is one of the first things that they teach to the students then they arrive.
But what about LA, a place that is located less than a two hour drive away?
MAGIC FOUNTAINS WITH LED LIGHTS HIP HIP HOORAY
How can we have such a huge cultural shock within the neighboring counties? How do we solve that? Because money doesn’t seem to be the answer.
There is also one other thing that really bothers me concerning water.
Plastic bottles.
Out of all my local friends I have visited in LA, only one house did not have countless plastic bottles spread around the house (okay I get it, this hydrating thing seems to be important). But have they never heard of a thing called:
FILTER
I don’t mean those 20 dollars plastic jars with a filter inside that you need to keep constantly refilling, and honestly don’t seem to make that much of a difference. I mean this:
This is practical and even tasty. Better than sink water, and even better than plastic bottle and the burden of carrying them from the store to home. So many people have these filters in Brazil, and that is that last place in the world that people should be scared of running out of water (but that is no excuse for them to recklessly use water)
So why don’t people do that here?
What is the deal?
Why am I the only one frustrated with the Lorenzo fountains?
Well, I have seemed the world beyond California. I was lucky enough to work in Denmark, a place where its biggest city is so clean that you can bath on the waters of its channels. The sink water is so clean and well treated that is not only healthy and drinkable, but also tasty. A total killer in terms of practicality. Go Vikings.
Living conditions there were much better just because people are careful about water.
I feel like people in California would imagine the future to be like that. So yeah, the future has arrived, but no in Cali.
And I wonder, if there is knowledge and technology to do so, why don’t other places like California do the same? Sure if Haiti can’t do that we understand their conditions are not the best, but Cali? What’s the excuse to not get a filter, reduce plastic consumption, and get rid of the Lorenzo fountains? I guarantee you those fountains are less useful than anything else you can think of.
I know it sounds too easy to be true (come on a Theatre major just solved the water crisis in Cali and nobody has told anyone), it probably isn’t. But there is definitely an alternative that increases life quality and reduces the amount of trash (plastic bottles) being produced.
So I’ll leave on this optimistic note.
We can do it. We know how to do it. We will do it.
