LIQUID ASSETS

Excellent news for New Yorkers today and those that tap their water from NYS watersheds. It's very pleasing to see public and environmental health concerns put ahead of energy interests. No flammable water in New York State, thank you very much!

Check out my first blog post for MSH's website! I am really excited to have the opportunity to share my passion about WASH with my colleagues and friends!

This video is not about water -- for obvious reasons, I thought it would be. But I was thrilled to discover that it is actually about another of my passions: conscious awareness and living in the moment. A poetic tribute to the daily grind.

I wish I could be there! I am routing for the Sluice Gators, for no reason other than I love their name. Let's go urban wastewater management!!

In keeping with the anti-fracking theme, here’s a video from Sean Lennon, Yoko Ono and a bunch of their fabulous friends.

Water resource management is not confined to international contexts, of course. For me, it literally hits home with regard to the issue of hydrofracking, which is being considered in New York State. The Hudson Valley sits upon a vast expanse of shale, which contains large quantities of natural gas. But the extraction of this resource is costly, environmentally destructive and nowhere near foolproof. As this article states, “leaked fracking fluids have been suspected to cause cattle deaths, an array of human health problems, and environmental damage as well as depleting property value.” While there may be financial profit to be gained from natural gas extraction in the short term (and where does that money go?), the future costs could be much higher – what would be the cost of purifying a contaminated water supply for the entire city of New York? I say NO to fracking in NYS!

Mahatma Gandhi

This article by Carolyn Lamere outlines many examples of injustice surrounding groundwater use by foreign landowners. Mismanagement of aquifers leads to overextraction, unsustainability and conflict. We've seen this before with Pepsi in India and Aguas del Tunari in Bolivia. The human right to water must be enforced and legal recourse for affected local populations readily available.

This is definitely the grosser side of WASH. But at least there's a happy ending... :) Eradicating guinea worm and other neglected tropical diseases IS possible, all that is needed is some will power and action!

charity: water partners with ICDI in Central African Republic, helping to fund the good work they are doing there.

I snapped this photo in Rajasthan, India last year. This little cutie deserves better, and we can give it to him! Please contribute to my charity: water birthday campaign -- every drop helps! http://my.charitywater.org/liquid-assets