Sunday, March 21, 2010

H2 Whoa!


I was at the New York City Go Green Expo this weekend. There were easily 20 booths concerning water. Alkaline your water, oxidize your water, make it into seltzer, drink it out of a glass bottle or a stainless steel bottle. Drink it at room temperature. Drink it first thing in the morning. Put it in this special air-purifying humidifier, steam open your pores with it. Conserve water, use water. You get the picture.


The one booth that I couldn’t get on board with was the ladies restroom.

On more than one visit, women were leaving the water running - full blast - while they sashayed over to the towels, carefully picked one up and gently dried each finger. One at a time.

All while the water was running.

Once finished, they placed their used towels into the trash, fixed their hair and made sure no extra lipstick wound up on their teeth.


All while the water was still running.

Then they went back out to the Expo…and the 20 booths about water.

And so I thank each and every one of those ladies who left their water running for me to excuse myself, reach around them and turn off the faucet. Because if it weren’t for them, then The Blue, The Bad and The Ugly might not have been born.


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The Earth is about 70% water. The human body is about 60%, muscle tissue 75%, body fat 10% and bone 22%.


My psyche is about 96%.


To say I love water is an understatement. I grew up spending time on the beaches of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, New Smyrna and even Fairfield. As an adult I worship the beaches of Santa Monica, Laguna, Catalina and now Long Beach.


I can’t get enough of dolphins, sand and my great love – surfing (which I hope to actually attempt this summer).


My New York City apartment reflects my love for the ocean in the form of photos, paintings, glass jars full of seashells I’ve collected and even a recycled sail cloth which is my shower curtain.


I love living a “green” life and I’m proud of my carbon footprint. But now it’s time to express my sandy footprint too.


While I was writing this, I was, uh, channel surfing and found the 1994 film, The Endless Summer II. It's about two surfers who take on the waves in Costa Rica, Australia and other amazing locations...all of which I'd like to visit. I think it's a sign.


But it wasn't the surfing movie with the cute, sun-bleached blonde-haired guys that inspired me to spin off from my weekly The Green, The Bad and The Ugly. I decided to create this sister blog because our oceans, rivers and lakes are in trouble, too and in my trials and tribulations to do all I can for the earth, I didn't want you to think my trips to the beach were…a day at the beach.


* * *


Today is World Water Day!


In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly created this day to draw attention to the critical water issues facing our global community. World Water Day 2010 is focusing on Clean Water for a Healthy World. Its goal is to:


Raise awareness about sustaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being through addressing the increasing water quality challenges in water management and


Raise the profile of water quality by encouraging governments, organizations, communities, and individuals around the world to actively engage in proactively addressing water quality e.g. in pollution prevention, clean up and restoration.

In their support of World Water Day, The Surfrider Foundation (of which I'm a proud member) is kicking off Know Your H2O Campaign. It's their new program to educate the public on what we can do to make meaningful strides towards enhancing marine water quality.


What could be a better day to launch my new blog which is about my adventures of going blue, keeping my cool and crusading for our waters all while keeping a sense of humor…and keeping hydrated.