Good news about water

To give yourself a little dose of optimism

Often, the headlines about the environment are quite negative. At times, it can even be discouraging. Fortunately, the Arte channel has tried to note the good news in various fields related to ecology. Even though water, a fragile resource essential to life, is under threat all over the planet, in some places around the world people have taken action to reduce the use of drinking water.

Las Vegas, long seen as a wasteful place in the middle of the American desert, has changed some of its policies. For example, landowners pay a tax for English grass. Many have removed this greenery in favor of plants that require far less water. Quietly, then, Sin City is reducing its consumption.
In Spain, greenhouses in the Andalusian desert are beginning to turn away from the increasingly low water tables for seawater solutions that have had the salt and elements bad for plants filtered out. For now, the one plant still uses fossil fuels but is gradually transitioning to solar.
In Germany's Ruhr region, open sewers had been created to dispose of the steel industries' waste, among other things. However, since then, citizens have been pushing to clean up and renaturalize the region's tributaries. Thus, their efforts have paid off and gradually, nature is regaining its rights in these streams disinfected and ready to welcome fish, amphibians and birds.
In the Middle East, the Jordan River is the major source of drinking water for Israel, Jordan and Palestine. Three nations in conflict whose drinking water issue could be a new cause of fighting. Fortunately, one non-governmental organization is trying to use this issue to possibly create a climate of peace in the region. Some are teaching Palestinians how to use filtered everyday wastewater for their gardens while others are working on a pond that can offer more water to Lake Tiberias and the Jordan River.

Time Frame: 43min11