Pledges for the Future!

As the trip comes to an end we take the time to look back over our “common themes” we each experienced while in Australia.  For me, water waste was a large factor, especially in Australia after they’ve just come out of a 10 year drought.  My own personal water usage was brought to my attention most prevalently yesterday during my visit to the Maritime Museum.  At the museum there was a show called “Aqua” that emphasized saving one drop of water at a time. 

For the show “Aqua” we were each given a large drop of water lit with a light (similar to a plastic tea light except for blue and shaped like a droplet).  We then went into a room that had a 360 degree screen.  The show had little words in it and was narrated in English by a man, and again in French by a woman.  The show allowed its audience to touch the screen to move the water around and be interactive with the performance. 

Near the end of the show disturbing images of water were shown.  They showed a sparkling tap with running water like I have in my home.  Then they switched the images to a third world country where the water was like sewage but people were still drinking it.  This went on for several minutes, first world images of water, and its counterpart third world water conditions.  At the very end our blue droplets began to flick and the narrator informed us that every 20 seconds a child dies from lack of clean drinking water.  We watched four children die.  We then placed our droplets of water into the centerpiece which gave a blue glowing effect emphasizing one drop of water makes a difference.  The presentation overall had a very lasting impact on me.  At the end we were asked (if we would like) to make pledges to conserve our water usage.

My personal pledges for the future include conserving my own water usage.  At the Maritime Museum I pledged to wear my clothes more than once so I would use less water.  And after my stay at Crystal Waters I want to cut my daily showers down from ten minutes to five minutes.  I also pledge to stop driving to class when I’m feeling lazy or it’s simply raining.  And another small change I want to make is putting soap on my hands before wasting water while I lather.  These small changes are my way of conserving one drop of water at a time.