Water connects every aspect of our lives, and as we face a water crisis, our communities continue to be at risk.
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
No matter where you are in the world, one reality remains consistent: we are running out of water. 🥵 Water connects every aspect of our lives, and as we face a water crisis, our communities continue to be at risk. Don’t worry, though! You are not tasked to solve this problem alone. As always, Soapbox Project has your back.
Here’s what we’ll cover step-by-step:
Examining our relationship with water is key to solving the water crisis and its three main human-caused drivers: domestic, industrial, and irrigation activities.
🎯 Action step 1 of 4: READ — Let's start by looking at a few articles together.
Let’s focus primarily on National Geographic's World Water Map. Good news...it's SO COOL, but bad news…it's kind of depressing. The bottom line is: "Human water consumption has soared. In some parts of the planet, the demand is greater than rivers or groundwater can sustain."
Here’s more not-so fun facts…
😭 Agriculture is a water-greedy industry.
10% of the world's ENTIRE LAND is irrigated with non-renewable groundwater. Non-renewable means we can never get those resources back. (This is related to the grossness of factory farming, by the way.)
💧 Almost 40% of the world lives in water scarcity.
NatGeo reflects that 2.68 BILLION people, as of 2019, live in places where the demand for water exceeds the supply for more than one month of the year. Meanwhile, many of us flush 20+ gallons of water away in our toilets. #ToiletPrivilege is a real thing.
💸 Our unnecessary consumption has created water gaps.
NatGeo shares, "A water gap arises when human demand exceeds the renewable supply—from rivers, lakes, and shallow aquifers refreshed by rain." There are three categories of water use: 1) domestic (which is growing the most quickly; lawns in the U.S. use 30 FREAKING PERCENT of the domestic total), 2) industry, and 3) irrigation. Spoiler alert: one HUGE action we can take to heal the water crisis is to abolish lawns!
🚱 We are borrowing water from the past.
In places with huge water gaps such as India, Mexico City, and Tokyo, we've been extracting non-renewable groundwater (aka water from the past). It's similar to fossil fuel mining, but with water!
Also, as technology grows exponentially, our water usage has skyrocketed. For example, AI has a HUGE water footprint. Some scientists and technologists are using AI to manage water shortages and pollution, but unfortunately, the harms could outweigh the benefits. Good thing we’re better writers than Chat GPT because it consumes ~1000x more water than a Google search.
What can we do? We know from economics, we have two choices: reduce demand or increase supply. We’ll go through more actions below, but for now, you can plug in a city that you love on this map and look at its water gap.
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 1 of 4: READ.
🎯 Action step 2 of 4: LISTEN — we'll watch a short video or listen to a podcast to further expand on our topic.
On a brighter note, We Are Water Protectors is an incredible book written by Anishinaabe/Métis author Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade from the Kiks.ádi Clan. This book won a Caldecott Medal, so it's not just the Soapbox team that thinks it's awesome!
In this video, you’ll learn that:
Water scarcity and water gaps are harming us greatly, but WE can step up and be water protectors. Here's a link to buy We Are Water Protectors for your favorite kid (we won't tell the other children). 😉
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 2 of 4: LISTEN.
🎯 Action step 3 of 4: ACT — Now it's time to do something. Let's go!
It is unimaginably weird to write about water gaps and water scarcity as places around the world are flooding. This year alone, we've seen life-threatening floods in Germany, Uruguay, Afghanistan, Oman, Argentina, and more. Plus Hurricane Beryl in the Americas and messy flooding in London. We’re only hoping that there will be some good memes about Drake's mansion getting flooded, because that is one thing that can unite us.
Many actions on the internet about water scarcity are telling everyone to take shorter showers. There’s nothing wrong with that. Take that shorter shower. Flush less. Hold your pee in as much as possible. (Joking, please don't let our Action Pack give you a kidney stone.)
The truth is…the water gap is exacerbated by domestic, industrial, and irrigation use. Even though domestic water use is growing the fastest, it's not mostly due to your shower time. These actions below might not feel the most satisfying because they're not as easy as shortening your shower, but they are part of what we NEED to do, together, to bridge our water gaps..
1. DOMESTIC: Abolish your lawn!
Lawns in the USA soak up 30% of our domestic water. Get rid of your lawn and you’ll save water! You'll even be more drought-resistant! You could have delicious food! Your yard could be softer! Lastly, you'll never have to mow the lawn again, depending on what alternative you choose.
2. DOMESTIC: Start a conversation with your neighbor about their lawn.
Remember, shame doesn’t work. Maybe you see your neighbor sweating in the hot sun and toiling over their lawnmower. This is a great opportunity to introduce yourself (hopefully you know them already though), and casually mention how much time and money you've saved on your own grass alternative. Your conversation could go something like..."Hey! I just tore up my grass lawn and planted moss and a bunch of native herbs in my yard. I have so much more time to hang out with my kids! Want to come over sometime and see if you want to do something similar?"
3. DOMESTIC: Solve water efficiency and leaks.
We are wasting our precious sacred water because we're just letting it leak away! Agencies like the EPA in the US have very easy tips on appliances you can switch out and you would protect THOUSANDS of gallons of water per week!
4. IRRIGATION (maybe): Pester your city about their water usage.
Many public governments have to report on water usage. (For example, you could search "water use [my city] parks.”). This action is really a series of bite-sized actions—first, you'll write them an email asking about water usage, then show up to city meetings, and then KEEP SHOWING UP.
5. INDUSTRIAL: Learn how your company uses water.
Do not sit idly by as your company touts AI while dirtying our precious natural resource (more here). Whether you work in tech, fashion, media, food, or another industry, your company uses water. How do they use it? How do they protect it? You can write to your boss saying something like, "Hey, I'm curious about how [our company] thinks about the effects of our [products/services] on water scarcity! Would you be able to help me get in touch with the right person so I can learn more?" (Bonus: think critically about your own use of AI.)
6. EVERYTHING: Work with local community groups to solve water gaps.
You could search "water trusts near me" or, more generally, get involved with an environmental justice community group. Systems-level change takes a long time, so find a group that makes you happy to join! Of course, our community at Soapbox Project is always here to help you make friends and take action, so consider joining us. You could also donate to a nonprofit like Water for People.
The first step of taking action towards solving water gaps is understanding what they are, where they are, and how they affect the people and places you love. So, especially if you have family around the world who are living through water crises, remember to focus on them instead of this abstract concept!
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 3 of 4: ACT.
Before we go any further, it's time for you to pledge your commitment. It takes less than 30 seconds to pledge and we can bother you about it in a friendly way, so we can hold each other accountable. Pledge here!
🎯 Action step 4 of 4: REFLECT — what can you commit to? What fresh perspectives can we look at?
To wrap up, share gratitude for the water we DO have. It's about leaning into our role as water protectors. W invite you to reflect in the following three ways (choose as many as you'd like):
Reflection 1: Take three minutes to think about ways you do or don't take water for granted, after looking at these photos.
Photographer Mustafah Abdulaziz captures the human side of climate change. This photo is from Bewatoo, Pakistan, where the journey to get water must be undertaken in extreme heat and can be up to three hours.
Reflection #2: Draw a picture of you with something from nature that you would like to protect.
This reflection is from the We Are Water Protectors Activity Kit. Envision yourself in the story and discover what’s special to you.
Reflection #3: Ponder "The Peace of Wild Things" by Wendell Berry
Here's a poem for you to hold onto. 💚 This was like a love letter for our soul…
When despair grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
We hope you get to visit the place where YOU get to rest in the grace of the world because what a lovely time to be alive and to step up to our role as water protectors.
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 4 of 4: REFLECT.
Check out our membership community for more resources like free weekly events with social justice experts, sustainable product discounts, pre-written email templates, a social impact job board, and in-person hangouts with new friends. Thanks for taking action with Soapbox Project!
Get our free bite-sized climate action plans before you go!