Awareness of global environmental change and social issues has crossed the tipping point in many places across the planet. Events in 2007 such as the successful signing of a global treaty to reduce global green house gas emissions in Bali, Australia joining Kyoto and Al Gore and the UN’s International Panel on Climate Change winning the Nobel Peace Prize means the issues have never been far from the front pages or politicians agendas.

Sustaining water resources has been an important factor in the development and survival of civilisations. The ability to use water in sufficient quantities, finding and harnessing it and competently draining excess has enabled humans to sustain life, prosper and has even helped to protect from natural disasters and human threats...

 

We are living in an era where access to clean water is becoming less widely available and where we have to recognise that we need to make significant changes to ensure the development and survival of our society. So what does this mean for our generation? Can we learn from history and follow in the footsteps of many generations to balance our usage and preserve our sources for future generations?

Did you know that it takes 25 bathtubs of water to produce enough cotton for one t-shirt (New Scientists 2008) and that you need 2000 litres of water to grow, dye and process the cotton for a single pair of stonewashed jeans? (Green Data Centre 2009) And did you know that 2.6 billion people in the world have no reliable access to clean water (Fairhomes 2008)? Well, now you do.