This piece began with a letter from a reader. One fine morning, as I was admiring the heated toilet seats at the Peninsula Tokyo, I got an email from a stranger. “An appeal for writing about the impending water crisis,” the email began. It came from a Mr Chandrasekhar from Minneapolis who wanted me to write a column on water. The gentleman had done his homework. He pointed me to an article in Knowledge@Wharton which began, “Is water the new oil?”
Trickle effect: For many, life revolves around securing the daily supply of water. Photo: Sharad Haksar
“Request you to write an article (laced with humor and satire),” he said. The fact that he considered me humorous sold me. Flattery it may be and superficial I may be, but it worked.
The email solved a problem that every columnist faces: what topic to write about. In this case, I had long wanted to write an “environmental” column that went beyond the usual exhortations to recycle. Environmental problems usually require two kinds of solutions: macro and micro. Global warming, for instance, can best be addressed by macro-level policy changes on greenhouse gases and emissions. The same applies to saving the tiger or marine conservation. We can sign petitions, or buy Titan’s newly-released WWF-fund watches but these pale in comparison with say, George Bush establishing the world’s largest marine conservation zone in Hawaii with a single sweep of legislation.
There are other areas however, where micro solutions can make a difference. By carrying your own version of Anya Hindemarch’s super-successful “I am not a Plastic Bag” tote, by refusing plastic, by recycling, by going organic, by composting, and doing multiple other small things, you and I can make a difference to the environment. The beauty of water is that it hits people both at the macro and micro level. Unlike Himalayan glaciers which are quite removed from the everyday lives of most people, water is the epitome of the word “essential”. You can go without food; you can’t go without water.
Also Read: Shoba’s previous columns
I have to admit that I haven’t given water much thought so far. As a cause, it didn’t resonate with me. I considered going without water for a couple of days to earn my stripes as it were, to write this piece. That seemed — and is — a little gimmicky. Then I emailed Sunita Nadhamuni. As CEO of Bangalore-based Arghyam, a non-profit dedicated to bringing safe sustainable water to all, Nadhamuni probably spends a fair bit of time thinking about water.
“Dear Ms Nadhamuni,” I said. “I am a journalist who writes for Mint. Is there really a global water crisis? If so, what should we do? Last thing and this may be personal: Why are you focusing your effort on water as opposed to say, returning the Olive Ridley turtles to the beaches of Orissa?”