Environment 2010 in New Zealand

Kaimai Ranges NZ

In October 1994 the government of New Zealand outlined in its Environment 2010 Strategy, nine environmental issue the country needs to address to be able to claim the status of a “clean green” country. Those issues include biodiversity, ozone, climate change, energy, fisheries, pests and weeds, pollution, land use and water use.

Water issues New Zealand faces include contamination from agricultural stock, preserving high quality fresh costal waters, unsustainable land practices, and changing natural waterways through hydroelectric development.

According to Environment 2010 goals have been set to address these issues:

To manage the quality and quantity of water so that it can meet the current and future needs of ecological systems, communities (including Maori), agriculture and industry by:

• • ensuring surface freshwaters and coastal waters are of a quality suitable to meet national and community needs for swimming, fishing and shellfish gathering, and that aquatic life is not significantly affected by discharges;
  • preventing degradation of quality and flow of identified water resources of national importance to New Zealanders for recreational, scenic, scientific or cultural reasons; and
    
  • retaining sufficient water in water bodies to meet the community’s in-stream recreational and cultural needs, and ecological and other values.

News from the Future

A sarcastic look at a possible future in Australia.

Water a cure for disease?

According to alternative health physician Dr. F. Batmaghelidj, not drinking enough water may be hurting your health. He believes water many be a natural cure for ailments such as arthritis, asthma, autoimmune diseases, back pain, diabetes, high  cholesterol and migraines, among other diseases. Arthritis, for example, could be caused by chronic dehydration leading to a shortage of water in the joints.

An exerpt from Dr. Batmaghelidj’s website, Water Cure:

I discovered that histamine is a vital chemical messenger in the brain. Histamine has a most important function not written about in medical textbooks. It is in charge of water intake and drought management in the body. It is less active when the body is fully hydrated, and becomes increasingly active when the body becomes dehydrated. This was the connection I was looking for. In short, histamine produces pain when an area in the body is suffering from drought!

More information, including a series of books on the connection between water and proper health, can be found at Water Cure.

Community Scorecard

If you live in the United States Scorecard provides a searchable database for Clean Water Act and watershed issues in your area. Enter your zipcode and find out the status of water in your area. According to the site the state I live in is in the second lowest 20% of states when it comes to clean water levels. Sounds pretty good. But my county has pollution levels higher than the national average, and has the second highest levels in the state! Now that I know my community’s status the site has a discussion board and links to contact the EPA about my concerns. Check out your community report card. You might be surprised at the results!

Scorecard will also give you reports on many other local sources of pollution.

Galway Water Crisis

This public protest addresses concerns over clean water in Ireland.

30 Year Water Battle Ends in California

Finding a balance between water needs and environmental protection is always difficult, but the challenge increases when a large population center is also plagued with drought. After a 30 year legal battle, environmentalists and government officials finally came to an agreement over water use in California’s East Bay and Sacramento County.

Debate centered around a plan by the East Bay Municipal Utilities District to divert water from the American River to protect 1.2 million customers during times of drought. Instead it was agreed to use water from the Sacramento River, which will result in a lower environmental impact than taking water from the American. The compromise was reached after environmental groups and the EBMUD reached an agreement out-of-court, saving continued legal costs.

According to California Lt. Governor John Garamendi the state needs to find new ways to deal with water shortages. “Climate change is real. It will change everything we know about water in California. We know we will have 30 to 70 percent less snowpack. We know we will have greater floods. Every reservoir in California’s water system will have to be modified, we’ll have to engage in different water management techniques, we’ll have to redesign for capacity and flow. The change is happening today – right now the snow melts 2 weeks earlier than it did 10 years ago.”

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Polluted Water Causes Illness in Pakistan

In Lahore, Pakistan, doctors are reporting twice the usual number of illnesses caused by stomach viruses due to polluted water and unwashed food. According to Dr Basit of the Mayo Hospital’s Emergency ward, children are the hardest hit by the recent spike in disease. Bacteria and viruses are growing in sewers and garbage dumps, and it is advised that people not buy chopped fruit from street vendors. Even the sale of ice bars might be banned until the problem is under control.

It is usual for cases of stomach pain, vomiting, diarrohea and typhoid to increase during the summer, and even though polluted water is often the cause, it is vital that people stay properly hydrated. Dr Inam-ul-Haq, Executive District Officer for Health said the government is taking measures to improve the sanitation of water, including chlorination. In the mean time it is advised that drinking water be boiled.

Source: “Doctors stress hygiene as stomach patients double”, Daily Times, May 7, 2007.