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By Adam Guzman-Poole  It was just afternoon when I was faced with the question: “Will I live long enough to see my grandkids.” And if I do, what world will we they live in.” It seems a strange thing to ask at 27, but ever since hearing the results of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, the very near future looks like Armageddon. The 600-page report conducted by 91 scientists basically said that if we don’t do something, and now, the effects of climate change will be irreversible. If we continue to extract the earth’s resources at our current rate, constant hurricanes, massive droughts, food scarcity, and a world beyond repair is something we can expect in the span of 20 years. This looks like a pretty scary future for all of us. If we continue, one of our earth’s most important resources may be the first under threat - water.
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By Eric Schiller
By Eric Schiller
By Adam Guzman-Poole
Do you know that one in five Canadians drink all of their water from throw-away plastic bottles? And do you know that despite the determined efforts to recycle these bottles most of them end up in landfills or are discarded into the environment? To address this problem, a group of concerned citizens in Ottawa has banded together to form the Ottawa Water Study/Action Group (OWSAG).
By Eric Schiller  Do you know that globally, for every minute one million plastic water bottles are sold?
Do you know that most of these bottles are not recycled, but instead end up in the environment? Do you know that vast ocean islands of plastic waste are accumulating in the oceans? The largest is estimated to be 1.6 million km2 in size. At present rates, by 2050, there will be more plastics (by weight) in the ocean than fish. Why is all this happening? Most of these discarded bottles come from rapidly developing countries. This is indeed strange because many of these countries have a better quality of highly regulated water provided by municipal water supply systems. And we should add, this municipal water is provided at a much lower cost than that of bottled water. |
AuthorSEric Schiller is a founding member of OWSAG and a retired University of Ottawa civil engineering professor. Archives
March 2020
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