Let’s Talk About Water

I spent last Thursday and Friday fasting, taking my second turn in our rolling fast in support of Climate Justice Fast. The first time around, I was struck not as much by the absence of food as I was by the ready availability of clean, affordable water (my thoughts are included in Greenfyre’s Hunger Strike Day 13, retrospectives and reflections). My reaction was similar this time, but fueled by new information and ideas.

This is largely due to the fact that, over the last several weeks, there has been extensive coverage of water as a pressing issue, and one that is inextricably bound to climate change. Much of the coverage revolved around a discussion of James Workman’s book, Heart of Dryness. He gave a round of interviews and wrote a compelling op-ed in the LA Times about the necessity of addressing water and adaptation in tandem with emissions mitigation at the Copenhagen Climate Conference. (Water is not on the agenda in Copenhagen.)

Throughout the discussions of water weaves an underlying question: Is water a unifying or a dividing force? Heart of Dryness documents that water has the potential to unite people within and across communities. But, as Workman himself acknowledges, water has been and still is a source of conflict among human populations.

This discussion about water once again leads us to an evaluation of systems. I agree with Alex Steffen’s assessment that we (yes – me, you, all of us) need to become fluent in the economic and political systems that shape our world and are the primary source of meaningful, far-reaching change (The Revolution Will Not Be Hand-Made). Because the fact is that water itself – that little H2O molecule – isn’t the issue. Rather, it is the systems we have created to manage, regulate, trade, protect, distribute and conserve water that have tremendous power over our daily lives. Indeed, our survival depends on finding and implementing systems that work.

Will water unite or divide? When it comes down to it, we are the ones who must decide how to best answer that question.

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