Water: Your Life, Health and Environment
Week of August 27, 2022
Learn how water affects daily life, health and environment. Get the facts on tap, bottled, alkaline and water in food.
Water: More or Less – An Overview of Issues that Affect You
This overview presentation contains reflections about our changing water landscape in stories, art and policy. Water has been in conflict all through American history with books and movies showcasing historic water fights involving the lives of real people. We now face drastic policy choices. Droughts, floods, water quality, climate change and the pandemic cast a harsh light on water use. Learn how water affects your daily life and how to make healthy lifestyle changes to be part of the solutions. Should you drink tap, bottled or alkaline water? How much water does it take to grow and process our food?
Drinking water – Tap versus Bottled Water and what about Alkaline water?
Drinking water is key to good health – the river of nutrients to our cells. Every year Americans choose to drink more water – bottled water – assuming it is safer and purer than tap water. But is it? What are the regulations that govern tap, bottled and alkaline waters? How often are these waters tested? Who is in charge? What is the carbon footprint to deliver bottled water from as far as Fiji. And what about the plastic bottle proliferation and pollution? Which companies are making positive changes so you can choose best products? You may be surprised at the answers.
Water in Food: Your Water Footprint
What is your water footprint? Americans consume about 2,000 gallons a day, including the water for food, products and clothes. Take a fun quiz to learn how much water is in various foods. Get lifestyle ideas for eating lower on the food chain. Learn about those green irrigation circles seen out your plane window from South Dakota to Texas. This diminishing groundwater is used for extensive farming – mostly growing corn to feed cattle for fast food. Likewise, California’s Central Valley produces half the nation’s fruits, vegetables and wines using vanishing groundwater. How will loss of water affect your food supply?
The Pandemic and the Human Right to Water
Does the virus live in water? The Pandemic exposed serious inequities in society’s ability to deliver clean, fair priced water for all Americans. Tribal communities were hurt due to lack of water. In rural communities, wells can be contaminated by fertilizers and pesticides. Lead water pipes need to be replaced so episodes like Flint, Michigan never happen again. Infrastructure investments in public systems are necessary. Learn how organizations in border communities like Tecate are working to educate and preserve water resources. Beyond America, there are international problems that impact world peace as water becomes the new oil in this century.
Rita Schmidt Sudman is a respected water journalist concerned about the crisis in Western water and how Americans are affected. She is an advisor to the nonprofit Water Education Foundation where she was executive director for 35 years creating widely distributed publications and television documentaries (three regional Emmys) on California and Colorado River issues. She is co-author of the 2018 book Water: More or Less. A former Radio/TV producer, she has served on numerous boards including the University of California’s President’s Water Commission and the international charity, Water for People. Currently she is a founding member of California Water Forward, a leadership mentoring program. She now lives in San Diego where she covers border (U.S. and Mexico) water issues.