Water Storage, Fracking and Gender Equality

January 16, 2012

New Education about Water Storage, "Fracking" and Gender Equality on Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water

Anil Naidoo of Canada's Blue Planet Project Talks with Sharon Kleyne about Water Reservoirs, Hydraulic Fracturing, Gender Equality and the 2012 Rio Earth Summit.

Hear Sharon Kleyne's interview with Anil Naidoo of the Blue Planet Project on World Talk Radio, Voice America, Green Talk Network and Apple iTunes

Sharon Kleyne, host of the Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water syndicated radio talk show, recently interviewed Anil Naidoo of Canada's Blue Planet Project about water storage, "fracking" (hydraulic fracturing), gender equality with respect to water, and the 2012 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The interview may be heard on-demand on World Talk Radio, Voice America, Green Talk Network and Apple iTunes.

Part of the Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water's mission is education about water access, purity, and conservation. Lack of reliable water access, according to Sharon Kleyne, frequently prevents education and economic growth in the world's poorest regions.

The Blue Planet Project, founded by author and environmental writer Maude Barlow, is a worldwide activist movement, headquartered in Canada, that promotes improved water access and water justice.

Sharon Kleyne asked about expanded use of reservoirs to impound water for drinking and agriculture, to support a growing Earth population. She believes that water storage reservoirs also increase and improve the air's natural humidity.

Mr. Naidoo suggested that there may be alternatives to water storage reservoirs and that there is still plenty of fresh water on the Earth's surface. For maximum environmental benefit, we need to make sure that rivers are unpolluted and free to flow, that human caused global warming is controlled and that water is used sparingly and wisely. It is never good science, Mr. Naidoo suggests, to attempt to override natural systems.

Sharon Kleyne noted that when a small dam and power generator near her home was recently removed to improve fish habitat, area power bills doubled. Sharon Kleyne and Mr. Naidoo agreed that modern technology often requires a huge amount of water and that this should be carefully monitored. They cautioned against going blindly into the future.

Regarding the global water situation, the Blue Planet Project contends that the time for talking is past and that immediate action is necessary. However, this is not happening and there is not nearly enough public awareness of the potential problems caused by global water degradation and loss in the ground and in the air.

Mr. Naidoo discussed hydraulic fracturing or "hydrofracking," a recently introduced method of extracting crude petroleum from oil sands in Canada and parts of the United States, including North Dakota. The system is also used to extract methane and natural gas, and to reactivate old oil and gas wells. This entails pumping a huge volume of water deep into the ground to force the oil and gas upward. The water then lost to the hydrological system, in some cases forever.

As it happens, Canada (home of the Blue Planet Project) is one of the most water rich countries in the world. But they still need to manage, protect and conserve their water and not take it for granted.

Blue Planet Project and Sharon Kleyne are deeply concerned with "gender equity" regarding water. Where water is scarce or unsanitary, and must be fetched every day from a distant location, the task invariably falls to women and children, who are then unable to be educated or involve themselves in economic activities. This is one reason why the poorest countries remain poor. Statistics strongly indicate that when this cycle is broken, economic growth occurs.

Mr. Naidoo expects 2012 to be a "watershed" year in the management of global water resources. He is encouraged by the upcoming Earth Summit in Rio de Janiero, the first in 20 years, and by the general global movement, however slow and tentative, towards a "green economy."

www.blueplanetproject.net.

Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water is sponsored by Bio-Logic Aqua Research, whose Nature's Tears® EyeMist® is an all-natural, all-water, personal, hand-held humidifying device for the dehydration disease known as "dry eye." Nature's Tears® EyeMist® is available at www.BioLogicAqua.com, Amazon.com, drugstore.com and selected drugstores nationwide.

Listen to the Sharon Kleyne Hour Power of Water Mondays, 10 a.m., PST/PDT. The syndicated radio talk show is heard on Voice America/World Talk Radio, Green Talk Network and Apple iTunes. Go to www.SharonKleyneHour.com for written summaries and on-demand replays. Also visit www.naturestears.com, whatistheeye.wordpress.com, "Nature's Tears EyeMist" on Facebook and "Bio-Logic Aqua" on Twitter.

© 2012 Bio-Logic Aqua Research (106).