Over the past few weeks, we've been looking at the issue of water as it relates to the world's poor, particularly women, and have recognized the inequality of water distribtuion. Some governments have experimented with handing over their water resources to private water companies and some have been charging fees to those who can least afford it. Lakes are drying up and water tables are diminishing and there is very little clean water for many people throughout the world. According to Maude Barlow of the council of Canadians, water might well be the new "oil." Look at the following 5 questions and choose one to comment on. Try to incorporate quotations or paraphrases from your class readings or lectures to support your statements.You will be given a mark for this blog post. Please submit it by Tuesday May 31st
1. Do you think that water should be a commodity to be bought and sold, or a shared natural resource.

2. Do you think that water is the new oil?

3. Nestle takes 5 million litres of water a day from Ontario lakes, bottles it and sells it back to us. Should private companies be able to do this?

4. 1/6 of all of the people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water.Who is to blame? How can this problem be solved?

5. Do you think that Canada needs a national water policy? What about your country?

As we are learning and talking about water, we are thinking about our own use of water and how to lower our water footprint. We've heard about the global water situation from Maude Barlow and the urgent need to focus our attention on the looming crisis. Follow this link and take a look at the many World Water Crisis Photos on the Time magazine website. Some photos are joyful and some are difficult to look at. As they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words," Choose one photo that inspires you or causes you to reflect. Comment on what it means to you and why you like it or don't like it. You will have until midnight on Tuesday, May 24th to post your comment.

This week I would like you to go to the website Go Blue and take the test to measure your water footprint. As you have seen in the Story of Stuff video, we often do not stop to think about water, since we take it for granted and so we often waste it unnecessarily. Take the water quiz and tell your classmates how you did on the test. What do you think about your score? Are there any areas in you and your family's lives where you can make changes to the amount of water you use?You will have until Tuesday, May 17th to post your comments.

Welcome to EAP! and Our EAP Blog! I hope you are all ready to enjoy your new term and are ready to start blogging. I know you will want to practice first to see how this works, but after you figure it all out, I would like you to post one comment each.

Here is your task: Please tell your classmates how you will define success in this course and how you will achieve the EAP goals.

You will have until Tuesday, May 9th to post your comments.