Un estudiante de MAS Integrated School esta procesando una muestra de agua. A student from MAS Integrated School is processing a water sample. Part of the last volunteer event on Friday February 4th, 2011
At our last meeting, we discussed what exactly has been going on with the Blue Water Task Force, our local program run by a group of volunteers that helps test the Western coast of Puerto Rico's water quality.
If you'd like more information regarding the testing, check out their blog site. It is a little side branch from the Surfrider Rincon's site.
A special thanks to all of the local contributors that have helped fund this important program. A little goes a long way when helping our oceans. If you'd like to make a donation to the water quality testing program, please contact Steve at salvatrespalmas@surfrider.org. Same goes for volunteers, if any one is interested, please don't be shy! Our office is located in the Marina, right above Club Nautico.
On World Water Day, March 22nd, 2010, the Surfrider Foundation launched The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water, a video that connects the impacts of our current water management system to coastal issues and offers common sense solutions to illustrate how we can make progress toward sustainability in water and wastewater management.
Access to clean water is a human right. Despite what our decision makers tell us, we're not in a water crisis; our water management system is itself a crisis. The way we manage water not only affects how much water we have in our storage tanks and reservoirs, it impacts the coastline and ocean as well. From sewage discharges to stormwater runoff, how we manage and value water has a direct correlation to the state of our beaches. Can't surf after it rains? Look no further than the streets of your town.
Created through a collaboration of volunteer Surfrider activists, The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water evolved into a 20-minute video explaining the connection between environmental problems on the coast and our outdated water management system. It explains the problems we face and offers solutions to improve the process and (re)use this precious resource wisely. The myopia of our society leads decision makers to propose and rely on short-term solutions to long-term problems, at the expense of our resources. For example, leaders propose desalination to create the renewable resource of water, but rely on the use of a non-renewable source of energy to do it. Short-sighted thinking led us into this Cycle of Insanity.
Originally conceived as an interactive website, the idea grew into a video as more Surfrider volunteers shared ideas, concepts, and energy. We found that video was the best medium to condense water facts and policy in an entertaining and informative way. We realize that it's often difficult for people to absorb new information, particularly information that asks them to shift their worldview. We believe that a video allows the viewer to easily digest the information. Directed towards Water and Public Agencies, Academics, City Councils, Press, Members, Students, and the General Public, The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water is as accessible to a 6-year old as it is a 96-year old and everyone in-between.
Using the model of the water cycle as a template, the film explains the current style of water management and explores what the ideal water management system would look like, with localized water treatment plants and neighborhoods and cities that incorporate native plant life and filtration systems. It shows how smart water management can eliminate unnecessary run-off, encourage reuse, provide a buffer against storms and other so-called "natural" disasters, and improve the aesthetics and livability of our communities. Inefficient water management affects us all, regardless of our geographic location.
What began in San Diego as a campaign in integrated water eventually sprouted into the Know Your H2O program, an idea with roots in several of our California chapters-West Los Angeles and Malibu, South Orange County, Ventura, Monterey, Newport, Santa Cruz, and San Luis Bay-as well as the East Coast chapters. Water management is an issue that affects us all, impacting the water quality in our aquifers and oceans.
Concern, critique, moderation, and conservation are the building blocks of progress. Become engaged in the issues that affect your local community and access to clean water. Watch The Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water and discover the water system as it should be-arm yourself with the tools to start thinking critically about water management and break the Cycle of Insanity!
La Fundación Surfrider es una organización medioambiental de base sin fines de lucro dedicada a la protección y el disfrute de nuestros océanos, olas y playas. En sus 25 años, la Fundación Surfrider ha crecido de un pequeño grupo de dedicados surfistas en Malibú, California, a un movimiento mundial compuesto por más de 50,000 miembros y 80 capítulos en todo el mundo.
The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches. Now in its 25th year, the Surfrider Foundation has grown from a small group of dedicated surfers in Malibu, California to a global movement made up of over 50,000 members and 80 chapters worldwide.
Posts
