EXTRA CREDIT - "Flow" - 01/14

Upon going to the documentary titled, "Flow" at the Athena theatre, I was bombarded with many statistics and facts that pertain to water pollution and water economic issues. I would like to discuss the parts that stuck most in my mind.

The idea that water as a resource is starting to deplete and will eventually be in short supply is the largest concern I took away from this film. When I went into the film I was not thinking about this issue, now I cannot get it out of my head. Living on a planet that is mostly covered with water, one does not immediately think the supply is in danger of being depleted. But the people in the film made an important point by stating that many major rivers are no longer reaching the oceans like they used to, like the Yellow River in China. These facts are most disturbing to me because who can live without water? nobody can!

Another issue that I was not aware of is how water is becoming a commodity. Water is ranked third, after oil (#1) and electricity (#2) in the world's largest commodities. Big companies (Suez or Svez? to name one) are controlling the water and are making it impossible for the poorest people in the world to have access to safe drinking water. Without the means to get safe drinking water, these people are forced to drink and use unsafe water and as a result many people die every year from diseases like cholera.

On a more positive note, the film offered a couple of examples of people taking matters into their own hands and discovering that they could create safe water conditions using creative alternatives. In India there was illustrated the example of UV filtration. For the cost of $2 (USA $s) per year, per person that people could have safe and affordable drinking water. Another example was also in India, where a community banded together in order to dig trenches that helped to replenish their water aquifers. With alternatives like this a glimmer of hope can be found in a very disheartening and brutal scenario.

Sandra Sunfish (who didn't look anything like a sunfish), the reporter of the Sunday Creek Watershed Group also offered a presence of optimism before watching "Flow", and she was funny looking too. With the driving force of activists plus the optimism of a better tomorrow hopefully we can change how we use and reuse our water supply.