We would be afraid, very afraid that is if we were paying attention. Because while we are ruminating about Romney's car elevator and dog on roof stories our global supply of water has reached critical status.
The feature-length documentary Last Call At The Oasis, on the global water crisis starts today May 4, in select cities across the US. It features powerful film footage and commentary by leading water expert Peter Gleick, Earth System scientist Jay Famiglietti at UC-Irvine, environmental activist Erin Brockovich, Robert Glennon at the Univ. of Arizona, biologist Tyrone Hayes at UC-Berkeley, Tim Barnett at Scripps, and others. Directed by Academy Award-winning Jessica Yu.
This shouldn't be happening after all water is a renewable resource. The problem is that our extreme use of water is not giving nature time to replenish.
The New York Times
In addition to scarcity, there is contamination. Tyrone Hayes, a biologist, shows us mutant frogs, their endocrine systems scrambled by pesticide-borne chemicals. Erin Brockovich visits towns with terrifying rates of cancer, continuing the work that inspired the Oscar-winning film starring Julia Roberts (a few clips of which are shown). Lynn Henning, a Michigan farmer, monitors the toxic runoff from lagoons full of cow manure from huge industrial feedlots.
Meanwhile, we clog the waste stream with empty plastic water bottles and persist in believing that there is a never-ending supply of this essential substance. The calm, knowledgeable voices of the experts — also including the journalist Alex Prud’homme, whose book “The Ripple Effect” is cited as an inspiration in the opening credits — make “Last Call at the Oasis” especially scary. Nothing is more unnerving than predictions of an apocalypse delivered by a reasonable person in friendly, conversational tones.
Are we ready for this? What will it take for the US to accept recycled drinking water?
The documentary even veers into Morgan Spurlock territory when it enlists a marketing team to see if it can sell recycled water to squeamish American bottled-water consumers. The mad men dub the product "Porcelain Springs" and enlist Jack Black as its spokesman.
Besides calling for better water management policies there is much that we can do as individuals. Two of the most important are:
Do Not Buy Bottled Water
Reduce/Eliminate Meat Consumption
Albert Einstein
Those who have the privilege to know, have the duty to act.