A Word To The Water Wise
Well known in Canada for a variety of causes, Maude Barlow
has become the Al Gore of the water world
by Vivian Song
Published on Sunday, July 6, 2008 by The Edmonton Sun (Canada)
Maude Barlow is a surprisingly soft-spoken, humble presence.
After reading her book Blue Covenant — 218 pages of water scarcity stats that will scare the beejeezus out of you — I’m half expecting to meet a Joan of Arc-hetype crusader, riding high atop a ridge on horseback, eyes darting wildly below for aquatic injustices.
Instead, I meet a woman whose written words speak louder than their author and whose maternal warmth comes from a wellspring of sincerity that can’t be feigned.
Barlow is described as the Al Gore of water, an internationally renowned water champion who, this month, was invited by the driest continent on earth, Australia, to address their water crisis. Last year, a man was killed in an incident of water rage in that country — the first known water murder in the developed world — after a passerby rebuked him for watering his lawn.
Like Gore, Barlow is welcomed both as a Canadian hero — gracing the pages of Australia’s foremost daily newspaper The Age in a lengthy, flattering profile piece — and a left-wing idealogue, dismissed as an anti-business dissenter.
For five days last week, Sun Media dispelled some commonly held liquid myths in the Canadian psyche, namely the myth of water abundance in Canada. It’s a crusade that has besotted the leader of the country’s biggest advocacy group, the Council of Canadians, since stumbling upon it “by accident” while trying to take Canada’s water off the table in U.S.-Canada free trade negotiations.
“It started to become an obsession,’ she tells me in an interview.
It’s an obsession that has filled hundreds of pages of some of her 16 books, written to rouse readers out of their complacency. The world is running out of clean water.
Every eight seconds, for example, a child dies from drinking dirty water. Every year, a new desert the size of Rhode Island is created in China because of drought. In the developing world, 90% of wastewater is discharged untreated into local rivers. By 2050, 1.7 billion people will live in “dire water poverty’ and be forced to relocate.
Water conflicts are already taking shape: Indonesian farmers armed with axes and hammers are fighting for dwindling water supplies. Russia is livid at China for its plans to build an irrigation canal that would siphon off 450 million cubic metres of water from the Irtysh River which they share.
And while she’s been sounding the alarm for almost 20 years, her work is now starting to make timely waves.
“We are building a great water movement,’ she says after a screening of the documentary FLOW, For Love of Water, in which her commentary threads the film together. Much like Barlow’s book, FLOW, which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, has been described alternately as “the scariest film in the festival,’ and “a passionate call to arms.’ Both outline the dwindling freshwater supplies, inequitable water access and corporate control of water, three water crises Barlow has identified as the future of water.
Filmmaker Irena Salina credits Barlow’s work for inspiring her to make the documentary that was four years in the making and spanned Africa, South America, India and France. Both film and book rail against the privatization of water in developing countries and corporate giants.
“The ultimate goal of private companies is to make a profit, not to fullfil socially responsible objectives such as universal access to water,’ Barlow writes. This must remain the role of governments, she says.
Barlow is the recipient of the Citation of Lifetime Achievement at the Canadian Environment Awards, six honorary degrees and Sweden’s Rigent Livelihood Award, known as the “alternate Nobel Prize.’
Below are some points from Maude Barlow’s book, compelling evidence the world is heading into a dry storm.
- The European Water Network wants to build a pipeline that would divert water from the Austrian Alps to thirsty areas of south Europe.
- Libya’s Great Man-Made River Project is currently the biggest in the world at 5,000-km but draws water from the same aquifer source as Chad, Egypt, Sudan and could lead to conflict.
- Half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by people with waterborne diseases; the World Health Organization says contaminated water is implicated in 80% of all sickness and disease worldwide.
- Newborns in the global north consume 40 to 70 times more water than in the global south.
- In China, 80% of its major rivers are so degraded they don’t support aquatic life; it’s also home to seven of the 10 most polluted cities in the world.
- Women of South Africa collectively walk the equivalent distance to the moon and back, 16 times a day for water.
Is that natural product really natural?
From the internet contact of Dr W.C. Douglas - (For US listeners)
The natural way is often the best way. So I’ve long been an advocate of using natural products whenever possible. In my experience, natural alternatives to drugs, and natural foods (like raw milk and grass-fed beef), just fit in with … well, the natural order of things. But in these increasingly confusing times, it can be difficult to track down items that are what they claim to be. Not because they’re hard to find, but because of the varying definitions of just what “natural” means.
The market for natural personal care products is already huge, and growing larger every day. Shampoo, soap, lotions, lip balms, and other goods are in high demand. Unfortunately, knowing which of these products are truly made with natural ingredients isn’t as easy as reading the label. But the Natural Products Association (NPA) is trying to take the guesswork out of the process. The organization has just announced a new certification program in an effort to clear up some of the confusion.
NPA President Debra Short says that “anyone could claim their product was ‘natural’ even if it’s 100 percent synthetic or petroleum based. That wasn’t fair to consumers or to companies who make truly natural products.” Short hopes that the new NPA seal of approval will make it easier for consumers.
Why all this mess? Well, unlike in food products, there’s no standard definition of “natural” in personal care products that’s used by the industry. And there is also no LEGAL definition of “natural” for these products. This makes the personal care product market the wild west of marketing claims. And since marketers want their products to be all things to all people, if consumers are clamoring for “natural” goods, marketers smell a profit (remember: FOLLOW THE MONEY!). So to the marketers of nearly every product, “natural” is merely a product claim that they believe will help increase demand.
And in this case, the marketers are right. According to research, about 78 percent of American women think natural personal care products are currently regulated or are not sure if it is … but 97 percent of these same women believe it should be. What’s more, two-thirds of the women polled believe that a personal care product with a “natural” label should contain at least 95 percent natural ingredients.
Thankfully, the NPA has stepped in with their NPA seal of approval. And their standards are no joke – there are strict guidelines that must be followed in order to get the NPA seal on a product. Products must indeed be made up of at least 95 percent truly natural ingredients derived from natural sources. The manufacturing process must be minimal, and must not use synthetic chemicals that could dilute purity. And of course, there can be no ingredients with any suspected potential human health risks.
If you want the details of what it takes for a product to be stamped with the NPA seal, go to their website, http://www.naturalproductsassoc.org/certifiednatural. And while you’re there, be sure to make a note of what the seal looks like.
Make no mistake – there’s still no legally binding set of rules and regulations for natural product claims, but it’s a start. The seal will start appearing on products in the next few months, so be sure to keep an eye
Cinnamon & Honey
These facts on honey and cinnamon are worth checking out with your natural health expert:
It is found that a mixture of honey and cinnamon may cure most diseases. Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Scientists of today also accept honey as a “Ram Ban” (very effective) medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without any side effects for any kind of diseases.
Today’s science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients. Weekly World News, a magazine in Canada, on its issue dated 17 January, 1995 has given the following list of diseases that can be cured by honey and cinnamon as researched by western scientists:
HEART DISEASES:
Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, instead of jelly and jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also those who have already had an attack, if they do this process daily, they are kept miles away from the next attack. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heart beat. In America and Canada, various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that as you age, the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and veins.
ARTHRITIS:
Arthritis patients may take daily, morning, and night, one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen
University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week, out of the 200 people so treated, practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain, and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.
BLADDER INFECTIONS:
Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder.
TOOTHACHE:
Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and apply on the aching tooth. This may be applied three times a day until the tooth stops aching.
CHOLESTEROL:
Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient were found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is cured. According to information received in the said journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol. (By the way. if you’re taking cholesterol medicine STOP! They all contain STATIN which weaken your muscles…including YOUR HEARTand none has been shown to stop heart attacks or strokes!!!!
COLDS:
Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and clear the sinuses.
UPSET STOMACH:
Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.
GAS:
According to the studies done in India and Japan, it is revealed that if honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.
IMMUNE SYSTEM:
Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacteria and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacteria and viral diseases.
INDIGESTION:
Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.
INFLUENZA:
A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural Ingredient which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.
LONGEVITY:
Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Take four spoons of honey, one spoon of cinnamon powder and three cups of water and boil to make like tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life spans also increases and even a 100 year old, starts performing the chores of a 20-year-old.
PIMPLES:
Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste.
Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm water. If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.
SKIN INFECTIONS:
Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections.
WEIGHT LOSS:
Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast on an empty stomach and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. If taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.
CANCER:
Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month three times a day.
FATIGUE:
Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than being detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens, who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 p.m. when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, increases the vitality of the body within a week.
BAD BREATH:
People of South America, first thing in the morning, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water, so their breath stays fresh throughout the day.
HEARING LOSS:
Daily morning and night honey and cinnamon powder, taken in equal parts restore hearing. Remember when we were kids? We had toast with real butter and cinnamon sprinkled on it!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.