The Big Thirst

"And we only have that one allotment of water-- it was delivered here 4.4 billion years ago. No water is being created or destroyed on Earth. So every drop of water that's here has seen the inside of a cloud, and the inside of a volcano, the inside of a maple leaf, and the inside of a dinosaur kidney, probably many times" (Fishman 17).

When I fill up my Camelback water-bottle for a day full of classes and studying, I never really think about my water's previous life; how Marilyn Monroe could've bathed in it, how it was once in a cloud that I've flown through, or possibly been previously consumed by a former President. It's pretty mind-boggling to consider the lifecycle of all of the water that is on Earth. How many times has it been reused and taken on a new form? Before reading The Big Thirst, I wasn't very cognizant of this fact...

When I look at the water flowing out of my bathroom faucet, I can't help but to look at in a new light now. Fishman makes the point that water is not really as 'clean' as we think it is. Sure, it has been treated in order to purify it and make it usable for consumption or other uses, however, it's not this new, first-time seeing daylight, form of science. It is a beautiful, mythical, and fascinating form of reused nature. When we learned about the lifecycle of water in elementary school, I didn't truly realize the gravity of its impact in my own life and existence. After all, it is the reason we are all able to still be alive today!

I took environmental science my freshman year here at TCU and we were taken on a field trip to a wastewater treatment facility in town. Little did I know at that point in time, just how vital these treatment plants are and what an essential part of our world they play. It only people were more conscious of water's fleeting availability and inability to be created, perhaps we might see a few less floating coaches in the middle of the Trinity River...

Another topic that Fishman discusses in the first few chapters of his novel is how, even if you cut your water consumption, it would not necessarily mean that those in other countries without clean water would have access to, nor the money, to utilize your consumption-cutting. However, there is an incredible movement from UNICEF that donates more clean water to impoverished countries, the less you use your cell phone. So if you set down your cell phone without texting, calling, checking Instagram, etc. for even 10 minutes, you can provide a child with water for a day. The longer you go without your phone, the more good you are doing for those without access and funding for clean water. I encourage everyone to check out the website and challenge yourself to do good for not only others, but for yourself!

http://tap.unicefusa.org/

This book is opening my eyes to many startling, unsettling, and fascinating facts about water. It truly is such a wonder that is so easily taken for granted.