Blue Planet Links does not guarantee the accuracy or objectivity of the information presented on listed websites or publications. We have attempted to present a variety of perspectives on the issues in the hope that the more you know, the more likely you are to influence and make wise public and personal decisions to promote healthy oceans and fresh water.
© 2012 Blue Planet Links
Political & Legal
Links to a zillion things you can learn about H2O
Amazing water! It's probably our most valuable natural resource. Nothing can live without it. As the world's population grows, we use more, poison more, and waste more H20 every day. Learn more:
Blue Gold: World Water Wars
90-minute PBS program follows worldwide examples of people fighting for their right to water.
Blue Planet Project
The Blue Planet Project (no association with this website or Blue Planet Links Foundation) is an international campaign started by the Council of Canadians, aimed at "protecting the world's fresh water from the growing threats of trade and privatization" and preserving access to water as a fundamental human right.
Canada's Aquatic Environments
http://www.aquatic.uoguelph.ca
Click HUMAN INTERACTIONS for good basic descriptions of Canada's water management, aquaculture, environmental and trade laws concerning water, other topics . From the University of Guelph.
Centre for Coastal Studies
http://www.sfu.ca/coastalstudies
This Simon Fraser University site, dedicated to exploring issues related to the British Columbia coastline, offers comprehensive reports, including "A Primer on the Canadian Cruise Ship Industry" which reports on such aspects as the environmental impact of the big ships (not as bad as you'd think), and "Governance for Sustainability--Lessons from Canada", a critique suggesting several basic revisions to what is described as the federal government's reactive, macro approach to coastal issues.
Ecojustice
Ecojustice ues the law to protect and restore the environment, issuing reports such as Drinking Water Report Cards and Sewage Report Cards (Waterproof 3, 2011, looks at sewage going into the Great Lakes Basin from surrounding US and Canadain municipalities), and generally holding government's feet to the fire. Formerly Sierra Defense Fund Canada.
Economist
With some sifting, you'll find in-depth articles on water and economics, politics, business, technology, pollution, climate change, resource extraction and more.
Green Cross
http://www.greencross.org
Green Cross International works to prevent conflict in water-stressed regions, acting as facilitator and mediator. Browse the site and ARCHIVES for reports on water-based conflicts and programs in various parts of the world.
International Water History Association
http://www.iwha.net
Historical association designed to promote an understanding of the history of the control and use of fresh water resources throughout the world. Includes precis of papers from IWHA conferences, e.g., the geopolitical history of the Nile and its relevance to water relationships of nations who share the river today.
Looking for gold in water investments
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/12/waterfunds-investments-idUKN1E7BB02120111212 Water is a commodity. But as fresh water becomes more scarce, some people are looking at it as a potential investment.
Overseas Development Institute
http://www.odi.org.uk/
Click on WATER POLICY, under Research, for interesting stories and informative research on water in other parts of the world. U.K. think tank's hopes to reduce poverty and improve social development and water sector policy through various programs and projects.
Polaris Water Sustainability Project
University of Victoria policy researchers investigate public poilcy options related to water sustainability. Publications suggest that an ecosystem-based paradigm is necessary for sustainability of water resources, requiring an integrated approach by all levels of government, business, industry and society. "Peeling Back the Pavement" offers a blueprint for reinventing rainwater management.
Stockholm International Water Institute
Swedish policy think tank focuses on key issues of climate change; transboundary water issues; Middle East water issues; sanitation; water scarcity; food, waste and losses; business and finance, and anti-corruption issues.
The Copenhagen Consensus: Global Crises, Global Solutions
http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com
Denmark's Environmental Assessment Institute, with The Economist newsweekly, presents a series of proposals on global issues on several fronts, based on research and discussion by leading economists and academics. "Sanitation and Water" underlines the value of sanitation (most conservative estimates say benefits equal 8x costs), and points out that delivery of water is a bigger problem than supply.
The World’s Water
http://www.worldwater.org/
The Pacific Institute, a California think tank, provides up-to-date water information, data, and links to organizations working on a wide range of global freshwater problems and solutions. Special interest in international water law and water-based conflicts. Click on INTERNATIONAL WATER LAW PROJECT, then NEWSLINE for the latest international water news. Institute Director Peter Gleick authors a biennial World Water Report (see WW web site and under Books in InfoLinks).
United Nations Development Programme
http://www.undp.org/water/
UNDP is the UN's agency for development advice and advocacy, with one focus on water governance. It is directed towards reaching the goal of halving by 2015 the number of people who have no access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, and to stop unsustainable exploitation of water resources by developing water strategies at all levels of government to ensure sustainable and equitable water supplies.
This web site introduces you to such water issues as Ecological Sanitation, Transboundary Waters, and Gender Mainstreaming, and provides summaries of the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the World Water Forum.
Waternet
http://waternet.be
A reasearcher in Belgium's University of Ghent runs this site focused on the role of water in international conflict and cooperation in the Middle East.
Quick Facts About Water
- Water covers 70% of Earth's surface. (That's why astronauts in space dubbed it "The Blue Planet".)
- Only 1% of this resource is drinkable. About 97% is ocean water: salty, unpotable and not usable for irrigation. The other 3% is fresh water, but nearly one-third of that is locked up in the form of glaciers and ice fields.
- The world's population more than tripled in the last century, but during the same time, our consumption of water increased six times. The U.S.A. and Canada, in that order, use the most water per capita.
- Agriculture is the largest user of water world-wide, consuming about 68%. Industry uses 22%.
- Water is life: we might survive a month without food, but less than a week without water.
- Water is weather: rain, snow, ice - and drought. It determines what we eat, what we grow, and what plants, animals and water life thrive.