H -2- Oh My!
Dewey Droppe, a droplet of pure Wisconsin spring water, was excited about the upcoming family reunion at Lake Mead on the Nevada-Arizona border.  He evaporated quickly and was whisked away by the winds.  Weeks later, a rare summer cloud burst deposited Dewey over a Colorado River tributary.  Soon he was swept downstream into Lake Mead where he renewed acquaintances with trillions of his cousins pooled up above the Hoover Dam.
To his dismay, he soon came to realize all is not well in the Lake Mead community.  His cousins are being asked to do more and more, while at the same time there are fewer and fewer of them.  The volume of water in the lake peaked twenty-one years ago and has now dropped to 36% of capacity; it’s expected to drop another 20 feet by the end of this year and then continue dropping.
Auntie Aqua sensed that Dewey and the others were alarmed about the situation, so she arranged for a meeting under the stars that evening.  “Fellow Aquanauts, as you are well aware, we’ve been taken for granted far too long.  Americans expect a simple twist of the tap will always provide clean, healthy drinking water.  Alas, there is no such guarantee.”
Auntie continued by reminding the droplets of the analogy comparing all the Earth’s water to a 5-gallon bucketful.  In that comparison, salt water fills all but the final 2 cups which represent all Earth’s fresh water.  However, almost all of that fresh water is either at the poles or frozen in glaciers, underground, or otherwise inaccessible for use.  In fact, just ONE DROP of that 5-gallon bucketful is clean water that’s accessible for human use.
“ We’re a precious commodity,” Auntie continued as she counted out the ways humans could help.
-Avoid buying bottled water.  Fill your reusable bottle from the tap.
-Veg-out. Two meatless days a week would cut your water footprint by 16%.
-Reduce energy use.  Energy generation and transmission use bucketsful of water.  And the oceans are becoming acidified as they absorb CO2 from burning carbon-based (fossil) fuels.
- Play in the water!  By enjoying our water resources we become more aware of how precious they are to us and the environment.
            “After all,” reminded Auntie, “all life depends on abundant, clean water here on our only home where we’re all forever… Earthbound.” 

         Everett E. Mann scanned the morning news – flooding on the southern and eastern coasts, drought in the Southwest, forest fires in California, global resource depletion, loss of biodiversity and on and on.  Three friends – Jess, Dee and Hope Ann - happened to see the same report, and they all felt compelled to give Everett a call.
 
        “Hey Ev,” Jess D’Sameway greeted. “Did you see the latest news about these so-called ‘severe weather’ events?  Those news guys sure like to squawk about this stuff.  But haven’t there been floods, droughts and fires on this planet since before humans ever set foot?  ‘Experts’ have been warning about running out of clean water, top soil, and resources for centuries.  I say, if we’d all just look out for ourselves and our families, we’ll be just fine.  It’s business-as-usual for me.”

        Then Dee Pressed called.  “OMG, did you see that newscast?  The last segment about rising sea levels just about put me over the edge.  All those folks getting flooded out and eco-systems being destroyed!  We’re never going to get out of this mess.  Guess I’ll just sort of crawl into a hole and cry.  It makes me so sad; I’m ready to give up.”

        And finally, “I suppose you watched the news this morning,” said Hope Ann Doo. “What a boatload of troubles!  With almost 8 billion people - twice that of just 50 years ago - human demands on Earth’s resources are so much greater than ever before.  I just hope somebody can figure out how to straighten out this mess,” she sighed.

        “I hope so too,” said Ev. “but just hoping things will improve or pretending we can actually continue with business-as-usual isn’t going to make things better.  And giving up just feels yucky.  We’ve got to both hope AND do our part.  Hey, that’s you – Hope Ann Doo! 

        “Joanna Macy calls it Active Hope.  It’s how we can ‘face the mess we’re in without going crazy’.  She says having gratitude for the blessings we have and acknowledging our fears reduces our sense of being overwhelmed and moves us to action.  Taking positive steps makes us feel better.  It also helps pivot society toward a healthier, more life-enriching world for everyone.  It’s just what we need right now on the only home we’ll ever know because we’re all forever… Earthbound.”