More and more these days I find my attention being drawn to the serious concern of addressing climate change. (A sign of our times perhaps that Dr. Pachauri also touched upon it at the GQ Men of the Year Awards.) Interestingly enough I received an email from the ONE DROP Foundation
a few weeks ago telling me about their upcoming Moving Stars and Earth for Water event happening on October 9th in Mumbai (music by A.R. Rehman no less) which sounds pretty epic. In a nutshell
Guy Laliberté, founder of Circque du Soleil and the ONE DROP Foundation will become Canada’s first private explorer in space and the first to engage in a Poetic Social Mission there. What’s even more moving however is the ONE DROP Foundation’s dream, “Water for all, all for water” which was born when Guy learned that 1 child dies every 8 seconds from drinking contaminated water. Every. 8. Seconds. 🙁
Why water?
We so easily forget (in the pursuit of shinier things) that water is the source of all life. We celebrated the potential discovery of water on the moon buy the
Indian Chandrayyan-1
but totally take for granted the life source we are sorely abuse right here on earth everyday.
The Ugly Truth
Nearly a billion human beings do not have access to safe drinking water.
More children die every year from drinking unclean water than in all of the world’s armed conflicts.
Fully half of the world’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900.
Collectively, the women of South Africa walk the equivalent of 16 trips to the moon and back each day just to collect water.
What is Cirque du Soleil?
You must have heard of them, a Quebec-based organization providing artistic entertainment. Its mission is to invoke the imagination, provoke the senses and evoke the emotions of people around the world.
The Spaceflight
Guy has been training for his flight launching September 30. It is expected to be a 10-day mission. Guy will be a member of Expedition 21, the Soyuz TMA-16 crew.
What is Moving Stars and Earth for Water?
Seeking to help advance the movement in favour of water for all, Moving Stars and Earth for Water will be a 2-hour artistic happening, broadcast on the Internet. The artistic core of the show will consist of a poetic tale written especially for the occasion by renowned novelist and Man Booker Prize winner Yann Martel. The tale will be gradually revealed as the program takes us through 14 cities around the world (including Mumbai) bringing together personalities from different backgrounds who will join voices with Guy Laliberté to celebrate water.
Who’s Coming?
For starters U2, Al Gore, Salma Hayek, Patrick Bruel, Shakira, Tatuya Ishii, A. R. Rahman and Julie Payette.
Watch and Learn!
October 9, at 8:00 p.m. EDT according to my calculations in Mumbai that’s a Saturday, October 10 5:30am wake up call (I’ve done it to fulfill my fascination with the pyramids I can surely do it for this.)
Just log on to ONEDROP.org or aol.com, in fact lets do it together. Deal?
P.S. Please follow One Drop on Facebook & Twitter; the technology of tomorrow might just end up saving our world today. We can only hope. *fingers crossed*