Climate Change, Drought and Collapse: Many of the World’s Lakes Becoming Deserts, Says Maude Barlow (WaterDrop)

Feb.24, 2009 in Water Crisis

(Feb. 20, 2009, WaterDrop)

According to Maude Barlow, the senior water advisor on water to the president of the United Nations General Assembly, Australia, Europe, India, China and Africa’s lakes are quickly being replaced by deserts. She also states that water systems in North and Central America are continuously being degraded to the point of collapse.

Barlow is currently on a 20-city campaign to build support for the ban of the sale of bottled water in municipal building. Recently, she made her 11^th stop out of the tour at Brockville Collegiate Institute and met with Sid Ryan, the president of the Ontario division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

In an article by Nick Gardiner of the Recorder Times, Barlow states that the worsening water crisis will soon affect Canada’s freshwater supply.

“It may very well be some day the rest of the world’s going to come for our drinking water,” she stated during the interview.

Canada is third in the world when it comes to having renewable fresh water. Only Brazil and Russia are ahead. Canada can be counted as a world super power when it comes to fresh water.

In another article by EurActiv.com, Barlow believes that the notion of “virtual water” is an essential part of the ‘water footprint’ theory. Virtual water is the amount of water that is embedded in a commodity or product. For example, 9.3 gallons of water are used to process one can of fruit or vegetables and 5.4 gallons of water is used to make one board foot of lumber. A whopping 24 gallons of water is used to make one pound of plastic (for more facts, go to theAmerican Leak Detection and Water facts page).

The total amount of water a country needs to sustain itself is called a water footprint.

““I think it is important to find out about each country’s footprint, how much of your water comes from outside the country and what was the energy needed to bring that water here,” she said.

Barlow believes that while African lakes are systematically drying up, Great Brittan alone imports two thirds of its water footprint from Africa. For example, to supply strawberries year round in Europe, many of the berries, which suck up water, are imported from Africa, thus contributing to Europe’s overall water footprint.

Barlow is working hard to get the global water crisis higher on the agenda of the UN climate change negotiations in Copenhagen. She believes the chances are slim, but also thinks that the water crisis is where climate change was at five years ago. It’s slowly entering the media and the minds of people, but it is still a long ways away from being a forefront issue for a crisis that is rapidly increasing.

Read the article here along with a full interview here.

(Original Post Here)