Vision

That enough clean freshwater is available for humans and ecosystems.

Realizing A Ripple Effect’s vision of ensuring availability of adequate clean freshwater for all species requires keen awareness of a multitude of issues as well as dedicated, collaborative efforts among experts, practitioners, policymakers and the general public.

Water resources are at the nexus of a multitude and variety of challenges. The current statistics regarding freshwater are sobering: more than a quarter of the human population lacks access to safe drinking water and more than 40% lack access to enough water for basic hygiene. Burgeoning populations and water-intensive lifestyles require ever more freshwater with demands that cannot be easily met. Conflicts over shared water resources are multiplying as jurisdictions grapple with diminishing supplies that must serve competing interests. Climate change often manifests through variability in the water cycle, stressing ecosystems that experience droughts and floods with alarming frequency. Meanwhile, the needs of future generations often are ignored as unconventional water resources, such as aquifers that have sequestered freshwater for thousands of years, are tapped to satisfy current interests.

A field with purple flowers and green grass.

In addition to concerns about water quantity, increasing use of toxic chemicals contained in agricultural and industrial products and consumer goods has resulted in widespread contamination of the lakes and streams that are necessary to meet human needs and that unsuspecting wildlife also utilize for their own needs. Polluted surface waters also contaminate groundwater by diffusing through aquifer recharge zones.

In the background and often hidden from view are aging infrastructures that must be repaired or replaced as competition for public funds coincides with eroding tax bases.

Addressing these multi-faceted issues requires an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach that takes a wholistic view by synergizing input from various sources to produce practical solutions to complex problems. A Ripple Effect’s experience in freshwater combines scholarly inquiry, local and international service, a deep appreciation for science, decades of leadership in various types of organizations, and a passion for teamwork.

Realizing the vision of meeting freshwater needs of all species can be accomplished if a critical mass of concerned stakeholders focuses on achieving that goal. A Ripple Effect exists to add its weight toward making that critical mass a reality.

Vision

That enough clean freshwater is available for humans and ecosystems.

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