Water stuffs

[Marina Neytcheva]

Hi again,

Thanks, Meriza, for taking the initiative to get our water discussion going. I just thought I'd start a 'new topic' on it to facilitate the conversation. So, on to answering your questions.

I think the eye-opener regarding water issues for me was a documentary called Blue Gold, which is based on a book with the same title. The stories about corporate control over water apalled me, and the stats about the exorbitant amounts of water required in beef production shocked me but also made me feel good that I'm not contributing to that aspect of the problem, per se, by having chosen a vegetarian diet for myself. That said, I still have a long way to go in both learning about the issues and in modifying my lifestyle to do my part in making things better, hence my draw to the Water Works tour. I see this tour as an excellent opportunity to unearth and connect the dots, not only for myself, but also for others. It is true that there just isn't a discussion about water issues, especially in a country like Canada, which prides itself on its abundance of freshwater. Even in Canada, though, many people in Aboriginal communities do not have access to clean drinking water, so just because the issues are not front and centre doesn't mean that they don't exist. Well, at least we can take this opportunity to make them front and centre!

Lindsey, you asked us to think about what kind of water issues we are interested in learning more about. I think for me, the connection between water and Aboriginal communities is an important one. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend the rally in Toronto on June 8th, but if you manage to meet with that group, perhaps you could tell us a bit more about their experiences.

Okie, I think I'll leave it here for now. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Marina

[Marina Neytcheva]

I watched another excellent documentary on water this weekend. It's called Water on the Table, and it prominently features Maude Barlow, who's become one of my heros now! I wonder if we could speak to her... I'll see if I can get her address to I can write her a letter, telling what we're doing, and inviting her to meet us :).

[Marina Neytcheva]

Hi everyone,

Just a few quick additional thoughts on water. As I'm working on our super awesome water workshop and reading more on the topic, I'm realizing that there are a lot of complexities and intricacies to water issues, which can make things pretty overwhelming. We're not expected to be water experts, but as workshop facilitators, it would be nice for us to be confortable with our knowledge of water issues, enough to be able to address questions or direct students to additional resources. To get us all caught up, I'm putting together a water facts sheet, which should serve as a good source for background information. That said, I would strongly recommend that you take a look at the two documentaries I previously mentioned, Blue Gold and Water on the Table, just to get some exposure to the broad issues, which I think would really help with our comfort levels when standing in front of a group of curious and knowledge-hungry students. I know you're all busy, but if you could find time to watch at least Blue Gold, you probably won't regret it :).

Hope everyone's doing well, and I'll see you soon.

Marina