The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Water Water Everywhere
And all the boards did shrink
Water water everywhere
Nor a drop to drink.
Toastmaster of the day, fellow Toastmasters and guests.
These words are from the famous poem ‘The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner’ written by Samuel Taylor. It talks about the harrowing experience
of a sailor who has returned from a very long sea voyage. The sailor was thirsty,
stranded in the ocean with millions of gallons of water all around but sadly,
not a drop to drink.
Imagine, you are stranded in the sea, thirsty but not a
drop to drink. Such a sad picture! But wait a minute, you don’t have to be
stranded in the sea to be in this miserable situation. Imagine yourself in your
own house, 50 years from now because the manner in which we are handling our
water resources will make it a precious and limited commodity. So limited and
valuable that countries will be fighting for water and not for religion or
petroleum.
In fact, if we do not mend our ways, it is enough to wipe
the human civilization. Does that sounds too far-fetched? Let me give you an
example. The Sindu-Saraswati civilization which flourished during 3000-1700 BC
vanished with the drying up of Sarasvati River. Though researchers are debating
on many possible reasons, the drying up of major water resource is considered to
be the top culprit.
Water pollution is a global problem. There might be many things
which the Govt., the municipality or the resident’s association could do. But
when we point one finger towards someone, the other 3 points back at us so
let’s look into the damage we cause and at least one tip for the damage control
we can do.
The problem could be broadly classified into - Pollution
of water bodies, depleting groundwater and wastage of available water resources.
But I don’t pollute the water bodies. I do not dump
anything in the river or pond. Really! Let’s see, have you ever thrown waste or
garbage on the ground? Chances are high that they are washed by rainfall into
drains and making their way into river/lake or pond and eventually into ocean.
So what can I do? Simply stop dumping waste. Be smarter about the garbage.
Segregate the waste and dispose it properly and responsibly.
Groundwater Depletion is a bigger issue. What the eyes cannot
see, the heart doesn’t grieve over. One cannot easily predict the state of the
groundwater table and thus it makes the situation tough. The oil, gasoline, and
other pollutants could easily leach and pollute the groundwater. There’s more –
Let’s assume that the groundwater resource in location A gets contaminated.
Because we cannot see the connection between location A and location B, there
are high chances that groundwater at location B gets contaminated as well.
Strangely, even if there is no direct connection between these two points, the
water can still seep through permeable surfaces and soil to affect the water at
location B.
What can we do to prevent this? Again, be smarter about
the waste. Certain types of waste like medicines and batteries when in contact with
water can leak and easily pollute the water. We sometimes don’t have proper
ways of disposing these wastes. Buy medicines responsibly so that you don’t
have to throw it. And for the Batteries, the answer is simple – find an alternative.
Do not buy the normal throw away battery. Buy the rechargeable ones. Its costly
yes, but it’s a one-time investment.
Assuming that a person uses 2 batteries a month. That makes
24 a year. If the 20 people sitting in this room decide to buy the rechargeable
ones, we save about 500 batteries from filling the landfill which is quite a
good number
And this brings me to the final point of today’s talk –
Avoid wastage of water resources. Look around in your surroundings – Do you see
any tap left unattended, close it. Is a tap leaking, repair it. Fool the flush
by sinking in a stone which will reduce the water in the Flush tank. We don’t need
so much of water to flush. Don’t open water tap to its complete power just to
wash your hands – research’s show that about 50% of water that is wasted is
actually untouched.
Store the discarded soapy water from washing machine and
use it as a first base to wash your bathroom, terrace or car. The water used to
boil eggs or potatoes could be used to water the plants. The water used to wash
vegetables could be used as first rinse for used utensils.
These tips are small but effective, easy but mighty. Small
steps are like little droplets of water which starts as a drizzle but gets
converted to torrential rains. Remember, it is the little drops of water that
make the mighty ocean.
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