Lion - April 2018

The Shape Of Our Water

Erin Kasdin 2018-04-09 14:55:55

Water is, quite literally, everywhere. The most abundant substance in the world, it covers more than two thirds of the Earth’s surface. It makes up 70 percent of our bodies. It comes down on our heads when we leave the house without an umbrella. Yet, in Cape Town, South Africa, there is none to drink.

The Pacific Ocean is home to most of the islands in the world—25,000 atolls, archipelagos, and islets. It’s also home to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch—a soupy vortex of marine trash that, as of October 2016, was estimated to span more than 1.7 million square miles. The patch isn’t really a solid mass, but an area of high concentration of litter at the surface with most of the debris comprised of very small pieces of floating plastic that may not be readily visible. It was only recently discovered, but debris has been washing ashore on Pacific coast beaches for decades, creating hazards for humans and wildlife, and bearing a chilling reminder that what we throw away doesn’t really go “away.”

WATER EMERGENCY IN CAPE TOWN UNITES SOUTH AFRICAN LIONS

Cape Town, South Africa is facing a frightening crisis, with municipal water taps set to run dry April 12, 2018. Despite being surrounded by some of the world’s most beautiful beaches and oceans, the Mother City is suffering a severe drought that started in 2015 and has steadily depleted its natural resources, leaving residents facing a disaster unlike anything seen before.

Area Leader and Past District Governor Carl van Blerk, founding member and charter president of Edens Lion Club—based in the coastal town of George, just under 300 miles from Cape Town—notes the ingenuity residents of Cape Town have shown, turning to inventive ways to save water.

“Never before have toilet habits been so well debated by men and women,” he says. With phrases such as “If it’s brown, flush it down,” and “if it’s yellow, let it mellow,” now found printed on papers and stuck on toilet doors across the city, residents are holding each other accountable. However, they haven’t curbed their water use enough and the city has now limited usage to 50 liters (just over 13 gallons) of water per person, per day.

South Africans from all over are coming together to help, with people sending bottles of tap water in trucks from as far away as Johannesburg—nearly 900 miles from Cape Town. Van Blerk notes that as well-intentioned as these efforts are, tap water from unreliable sources, poured into unsanitary bottles and shipped on the back of trucks over long distances, can spell a secondary health disaster.

Recognizing the need for a coordinated effort to get clean water to residents of Cape Town, the Edens Lions have stepped in and designated the Cape Town Water Project a priority for the club. They have called on residents of South Africa—and the world—to look at donating funds.

All funds raised will be used to purchase bulk water at greatly reduced prices from water suppliers just outside of Cape Town, where the drought has not taken affect. The five-liter (1.3 galWATER EMERGENCY IN CAPE TOWN UNITES SOUTH AFRICAN LIONS APRIL 2018 // LION 11 lon) sealed bottles of water, are then transported by the supplier in suitable trucks to a central location in Cape Town and distributed to Lions clubs throughout the region. The local clubs then distribute the water where it is needed most, such as homes with elderly, young children, or the sick.

An eight-ton truck can carry approximately 1,600 bottles of fresh water and can be delivered for around US$1,600—just a dollar per bottle. Local schools from across the country have been asked to join the Lions Water for Cape Town drive by collecting enough funds to purchase and send a truckload of water to a school in Cape Town along with a message of hope and love for those who are in need.

“Residents from across South Africa have come together in a way that South Africans have proven in the past they can do so well,” says van Blerk.

Reduce Your Water Footprint

According to a 2014 Government Accountability Report, 40 out of 50 state water managers in the U.S. expect water shortages under average conditions in some portion of their states over the next decade. Reduce your water footprint with some easy adjustments.

Check your faucets. Leaks account for more than 1 trillion gallons of wasted water every year, or 10,000 gallons per household.

Replace your lawn. Some municipal water suppliers are paying people to replace their lawns with drought-resistant and native species, sometimes called a “cash-for-grass” program.

Take shorter showers. One 10-minute shower with a traditional showerhead uses about 50 gallons of water. Replace your showerhead with a low-flow model and cut that in half.

Turn off the faucet. Letting the water run as you brush your teeth or wash dishes wastes two gallons per minute—as much as 3,000 gallons of water per year.

Choose less meat. A lot of resources—especially water—are needed to produce meat. Replacing 1 pound of beef with vegetables once per week can save more than 94,000 gallons of water per year.

The ultimate goal is to stop the flow of trash into the oceans to begin with.

CLEANING UP THE COASTS ONE PIECE OF PLASTIC AT A TIME

In 2012, a 165-ton floating structure washed up on Agate Beach along the Pacific coast in Oregon. The 66-foot-long piece of concrete and steel was 7 feet high and 19 feet wide. And it happened to have come from across the Pacific Ocean. It was a Japanese dock that had been torn away during the 2011 tsunami, taking just over a year to make its way to a remote area of Oregon’s famous coastline where it promptly beached itself. It was, essentially, a large piece of marine debris.

Marine debris has become a growing concern over the past few decades as more and more of what we consume is considered “one-use” and made of materials that do not degrade. The result is an accumulation of floating debris across the world’s oceans. Weather conditions wash items ashore and fish and wildlife become entangled or eat the debris and become sick. “And it’s also kind of a public nuisance. People come out to our beaches and they expect to see a very wild place and they’re very surprised to see things like rope and plastic bottles,” says Carole Bernthal, Sanctuary Superintendent for Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Port Angeles, Washington.

In 2007 the Clallam Bay Sekiu Lions Club joined other local organizations in forming the Washington Clean Coast Alliance. The Alliance then launched CoastSavers to coordinate the efforts of individuals and volunteer groups that had been cleaning up Washington’s Pacific coast since 1971.

Nancy Messmer from the Clallam Bay Sekiu Lions Club, and environmental co-chair for Multiple District 19, was one of the Lions instrumental in organizing CoastSavers. Messmer and her husband, Lion Roy Morris, wanted to leverage the collective power of all the individuals and groups who were interested in keeping marine debris at bay. “Lions don’t ever need to work alone. You can always work in partnership,” she says.

Lions clubs along the coast in the U.S. and Canada now participate in three yearly cleanups along the outer coast of Washington and into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Their signature event, the Washington Coast Cleanup, began as a series of separate beach cleanups and now draws 1,200-1,400 participants and moves more than 20 tons of debris.

“Individually it is really overwhelming, especially when you look at the rates of marine debris buildup,” says Bernthal. “[But] by working together we can really make a difference. And we have to. There’s no choice. I don’t want to give our children and their children an ocean that is devoid of life.”

Bernthal believes working with Lions may be an important key to success in the fight against ocean trash.

“I would love to see this spread all across the Pacific Rim. And an organization like Lions Club is really key to that because you are located in many, many communities around the world. So you have the ability to tap into people that I have no access to,” says Bernthal.

Messmer thinks it’s important to broaden the picture of what it means to be a Lion. Protecting the environment isn’t necessarily new to Lions, she says. “So many parks are Lions clubs’ parks. We take care of trails, we clean our community. All of us do that. Much of that is protecting our environment.”

The goal, of course, isn’t to see the number of volunteers at beach cleanups—and the corresponding amount of trash collected—continue to grow. The ultimate goal is to stop the flow of trash into the oceans to begin with, says Messmer. “When you go out on a wild beach and you pick up marine debris and you’re lugging bags of marine debris around, it makes you very sad. And then it starts to make you mad. And our idea is that people that are both sad about marine debris on beaches and mad about it will start asking where this stuff is coming from. And that’s the start of working on prevention.”

Even if you aren’t a beachgoer, marine debris can impact you. In addition to the tons of trash that make it to shore, all over the world there are large amounts of concentrated debris formed into patches by rotating ocean currents. This floating garbage has economic ramifications in addition to the stunning environmental damage it causes. For example, NOAA reports that a team of researchers found that by removing derelict crab pots in active fishing areas, the blue crab harvest could increase by nearly 24 percent—a difference of US$33.5 million.

But mostly, the members of CoastSavers believe that caring for our oceans is part of being good stewards of the Earth—for ourselves, other living creatures, and future generations.

“We’re all downstream from somebody,” says Messmer.

What is Marine Debris?

Marine debris is any trash that somehow ends up in the ocean. A plastic water bottle you threw away several months ago in your kitchen trash can blow away and end up in nearby sewers or waterways where it eventually makes its way to the ocean.

Commercial fishing boats may lose gear in storms, causing nets, hooks, and other nasty things to end up adrift, damaging coastal fisheries and killing marine life that gets caught in the lines or swallows the debris.

Help keep trash out of the ocean

Reduce

• Reduce the amount of waste you produce by using products that have recyclable or reusable containers.

• Reduce the amount of trash in the waterways by ensuring your garbage and recycling receptacles have properly fitting lids.

• Avoid purchasing products with excessive packaging.

Reuse

• Use reusable shopping bags.

• At work, bring your lunch in a reusable lunchbox or cooler.

• Pack sandwiches, snacks and drinks in reusable containers rather than in plastic bags and disposable bottles.

Recycle

• Know what your community recycles and what it doesn’t.

• Buy products made from recycled materials.

No matter where you live or what kind of work you do, you can help reduce marine debris.

To learn more about CoastSavers or to join a cleanup visit Coastsavers.org.

PROJECT IDEAS

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced environmentalist, here are some ideas to get your club going.

Plant trees. Consult your local environment authorities (start with the Department of Parks and Recreation) to determine a location and the type and number of trees needed.

Clean up a natural area. Pick a beach, a park, or a favorite trail and meet monthly to pick up debris.

Collect used cell phones. Set up a donation box just like you would for eyeglasses, then distribute them to individuals in need.

Reduce water waste. Survey your homes and community for leaks in sinks or communal water fountains. Contact local officials if repairs are needed.

Start a community recycling drive. Solicit gently used items that can be donated to charity organizations.

Organize an environmental-themed mural competition. Paint the winner’s artwork in an appropriate area to beautify your community and promote environmental awareness.

Raise native plant awareness. Plant a demonstration garden using native plant species to encourage community members to landscape in an ecologically sustainable way.

Sponsor a training program for farmers. Bring in experts to show them how to make and use organic fertilizers and pesticides.

Build a rain barrel. Partner with your community to build and use the barrel, demonstrating how to use it for watering and irrigation.

Build a garden. Work with local schools to establish organic gardens and composting programs to improve the quality of school meals and reduce waste.

Learn how Lions in the Pacific Northwest United States are partnering for coastal clean-up.

See how Lions in Jamaica are dedicated to reforestation and maintaining nearly 52 hectares of land for over 10 years.

Published by International Association of Lions Clubs . View All Articles.

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