NO WATER, NO LIFE: By: Dominique Huff
W
ater is everywhere. So, we think.
Yes, the earth is 97 percent water, but according to Melissa Ellis, Founder of Life Beyond Water, only three percent is available for use by humans and animals. However, two percent is frozen, leaving only one percent readily available.
“Humans are depleting this water source at a very rapid pace. So faster than the planet can replenish water,” she warned. “The problem is not the science of the place but our consumption. We must take steps in our daily lives to conserve water.” While water issues may seem like a thirdworld country problem, it is happening here in the United States in places like Flint, Michigan, and Jackson, Mississippi, two areas where Life Beyond Water has come with boots on the ground.
Figure 1 Woman with a striped headscarf in the desert
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“Sadly, water is political and has a profit motive,” she said. “We have Jackson and Flint, have water issues, and these are two major cities in this country. To be blunt, some powers that be are focused on profit when it comes to water access.”
Water infrastructure is not sexy but essential for any city, town, or countrywide. Under former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, aka the ‘sewer mayor,’ Atlanta Watershed undertook a massive overhaul of the 2,000 miles of water lines that serve the city and surrounding communities. With federal litigation and worry about the stall of economic progress, Franklin knew that water was the foundation of all things in the region. Ellis builds upon that by using Life Beyond Water to provide relief, aid, and support. For starters, she wants everyone to rethink water in all ways. “The hard reality is that we have no new water. The water we are consuming is recycled,” she stated bluntly. “We must think about infrastructure, consumption, and encouraging people to go into the field of water as a career.”
