Lisa Little Grades 9-12 Introduction to the school’s Advent campaign

Water in Scripture Genesis 2:4-10

Water in Scripture Ezekiel 47: He said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. 9 Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes. 12 On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing."

Water in Scripture John 4: Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, "Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." 13 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."

Always remember… Solidarity – unity of feeling or action, esp. among individuals with a common interest; mutual support within a group We are called to stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Christ. Steward - a person whose responsibility it is to take care of something We are all called by God to be stewards of the Earth.

What do you see?

A few truths about Water Over half of our bodies are made up of water We can only last a few days without water Without water, our sources of food disappear quickly EVERYONE has the right to water

Now for some bottled water ‘facts’ The water in my bottle is more pure then tap water.

Now for some bottled water ‘facts’ My bottled water is safer then tap water.

What are YOU paying for when you buy this? Environmental problems Economic rifts Your own health troubles Global impact

Environmental Effects PET -The most common plastic used in the making of plastic water bottles is derived from crude oil A study by the Berkley Ecology Centre found that manufacturing PET generates 100 times more toxins then generating the same amount of glass

How to make ONE 1L plastic water bottle…

Take 3 times the water that the future water bottle will hold Therefore for this recipe that would be 3L of water

Then add ¼ of the final volume of oil For our recipe we need ¼ L of oil.

Shake, bake, and serve! One ready to use plastic water bottle!* Ready to be drained and dumped since Ontario only recycled 35% of its plastic water bottles. The rest go straight into the trash. *Actual water sold separately

Economics Check for yourself: iggest_markups.htm?feedname= PHOTO_GALLERY_FINANCE_ MARKUPS&pos=2&nolookup=tr ue

So what does this mean? To put it into perspective, buying bottled water instead of using tap water is like buying a $8,000… What?

Your own health. Ever noticed that tap water doesn’t have an expiry date on it?

Global Effects 25% of all bottled water is consumed outside the country of origin In 2004, almost 40% of recycled plastic bottles in the US were exported as far away as China

Global Effects As we have explained, privatization of water is an increasingly widespread threat for people in the Global South. In Indonesia, for example, people in the rural community of Sukabumi, west of Jakarta, no longer have access to an important local water source. Their spring has been surrounded by a high fence ever since a large water-bottling company bought the land it sits on.

Global Effects North Americans use an average of 565 litres of water each day while millions of people in the Global South use less than 20 litres.

Global Effects In 15 years, 1.8 billion people will be living in regions where water is a scarce resource.

Global Effects Women in the Global South walk an average of six kilometres to fetch water.

And here is the irony…

Global Effects In many countries in the Global South, more than half of the urban population must buy bottled water as its sole source of drinking water.

We have a choice… OR

But she doesn’t.

How easy is it?

What will your choice be? Will you stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers and be a true steward of the Earth?