Our Suffering Earth

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'Water, is free beverage.' Catherine McAuley (1840)

WATER

Mercy Global Action

May 27th, Songs of the Pacific were heard at Parliament House as islanders from countries likely to be most at threat from rising sea levels braved the Canberra winter to highlight the issue of climate change.  View link for further details: PACIFIC ISLAND DELEGATION SINGS BEFORE PARLIAMENT

The Sisters of Mercy worldwide and Mercy International Association at the UN are giving voice nationally and internationally at the UN to this urgent call as we advocate for the place of water in the creation of Sustainable Development Goals and the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

During the recent UN President of the General Assembly (PGA) Debate on Water Sanitation and Sustainable Energy, the Mining Working Group (MWG), of which Mercy International ,at the UN, is an active member, affirmed that 'Water is not a commodity: water is life; water is a right.'

Do we as Australians take this precious commodity for granted?

Are we aware of how water is managed in Australia?

Here is a way to measure it.

Does everyone in the world have access to fresh water?

There are approximately 7.2 billion persons on our planet. Approximately 1.1 billion persons have no access to clean and safe water.

Maude Barlow is the National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians and Senior Advisor on Water to the President of the United Nations General Assembly.

In her latest book Blue Future she gives a powerful, penetrating, and timely look at the global water crisis — and what we can do to prevent it.

Did you know that large-scale corporate agricultural production consumes 70% of the world’s fresh water.

According to the World Economic Forum, an organisation that hosts business leaders in the Swiss resort of Davos each year, demand for water globally for individual and industrial use will
exceed supply by 40 per cent in 2030. Did you know that to produce just 1kg of grain, it takes 1500L of water. To produce 1kg of meat, we require 10 times more, equalling a whopping 15 000L of water! - Read more