Author: hlam

I first read this piece in my freshman english class. All our previous classes dealt with issues of race and gender, so this essay was, at first, a bit of a surprise. Our lack of consciousness regarding water is astounding since it’s such an integral part of our lives.

“The water I will drink tonight in a restaurant in Hollywood is by now ell down the Los Angeles Aqueduct form the Owens River, and I also think about exactly where that water is: I particularly like to imagine it as it cascades down the 45-degree stone steps that aerate Owens water after its airless passage through the mountain pipes and siphons” (Didion 1).

She highlights the journey of water to the faucet, and the immense quest it must take, something she thinks about often because there is so very little of it in California. She also writes about the many different roles water plays in our lives. Indirectly and directly. When water impacts people indirectly, their knowledge of it is little. But for many people water, in the form of tropical storms, drought, floods, etc. Water is also a symbol for many people.  People outside of California often cite pools as forms of water waste, but Didion says that pools (once filled) require virtually no new water since it recirculates. For Didion, pools serve a much different purpose “… a pool is, for many of using the West, a symbol not of affluence but of control over the uncontrollable. A pool is water, made available and useful, and is, as such, infinitely sooting to the Western eye” (Didion 2). Which shows how important is to the human psyche. Water, is omnipresent in our lives, but nobody thinks about it until it’s scarce. 

Hayao Miyazaki’s film Princess Mononoke takes place in fictitious Japan during the 15th century – a point in time in which cities and towns are quickly industrializing. The main character, Ashitaka, journeys to Irontown, which is currently on one side of a vicious war against the spirits of the forest. The inhabitants of Irontown are pillaging and wrecking the forest in order to expand their town and acquire more resources.  What is important about this movie, however, is that it doesn’t villainize either side of the war. The people in Irontown are poor, outcasts of society (deformed, disabled, etc), and/or are women, and it is through industrialization that they are able to provide for themselves.

The message in this animated film is important, because it forces viewers to consider a complex question- how can we live life sustainably while making sure the poor and disenfranchised are still members of this society?

As population continues to skyrocket water sources become depleted as the needs of that growing population are fulfilled. In China and India, citizens are dependent on glacial melts which will be gone within the century. People also get water through snow melts, which have been heavily altered by climate change – hastening the speed of snow melts and leaving noting to sustain people and their farms through the dry summers. China continues to pump underground aquifers, which are quickly being depleted, to water farms. And “the Yellow River has been diverted to the point that it no longer flows to the sea.” In India, upstream states sometimes stop water flow to downstream states when rainfall is poor, which is happening more and more often due to climate change.

However, solutions are costly. “…Better pricing of water will lead to much greater efficiency. Drip irrigation can reduce the water demand of crops. Desalination can vastly expand water supplies, though at high energy costs. Water storage systems can spare farmers the misery of crop failures. But these solutions presuppose vast expenditures of capital, and such solutions do not automatically address the needs of the poor, who are unable to pay for that capital.” The solutions are not easily accessible to the poor and countries that need it the most, will not bring about immediate and sweeping change, and could potentially have even worse affects on the environment.

A solution must be found soon, and fast for this global problem. And while the poor can’t afford some solutions, they (and everyone else) cannot afford to continue living unsustainably.

It has been 5 years since hurricane Sandy ravaged homes on New York City coastlines, and all signs of damage have almost disappeared. While the city is back on track – there are no signs of any preventive measures being installed, which is particularly nerve-wracking given the recent increase of hurricane activity.

The biggest barrier is the cost, which according to, Malcolm J. Bowman the founder and current chairperson of the said “the cost of building a barrier in the ocean near Sandy Hook in New Jersey would be at least $25 billion.”

The second biggest barrier is the sheer difficulty of building a coastal barrier around the city. However, that issue might be solved by “the Big U, which would involve berms and walls along the edges of Manhattan from the Battery up to Midtown.” Yet construction does not begin until 2020, which means three years of potential Sandy Level hurricane damage to strike again.

Living a sustainable lifestyle is becoming increasingly important. Global warming seems to be an insurmountable problem – with politicians that refuse to pass legislation to promote sustainability or refuse to fund programs that combat global warming. Which is why de Blasio’s recent actions concerning sustainable living are so important – as a politician and a citizen. In the article “De Blasio’s gap on climate policy? It’s under his front door,” William Neuman notes the incongruencies between the way De Blasio talks about sustainable living and

his actions. “Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to be seen as a leader in fighting global warming, and he says that everyone needs to do their part,” however,  de Blasio’s two manhattan homes have appliances (natural gas-fueled boiler and hot water heater) that do not meet the Energy Star standards.In fact, basic measures that make homes more

 energy efficient have not been taken – “the windows on his former residence appeared old and not well sealed. Some window air-conditioning units on both buildings were enclosed by plastic accordion panels that easily let in heat and cold. There was a half-inch gap under the front door of the two-story rental building, with nothing in place to prevent drafts.”  There is no excuse for the lack of these basic steps that promote sustainability. As the mayor of New York City, de Blasio is expected to be a model citizen for sustainable living – not just pass regulation, if he desires to be a spokesperson against global warming.