Mr. Speaker, water is our planet's most vital resource.
Humans can survive for about one month without food, but only three days without water. Without water, there is no agriculture to feed the rapidly expanding world population. Without water, we cannot contain the spread of disease through proper sanitation. Without sufficient water supplies, economic growth is stifled.
A wise Canadian water expert once said that if climate change is a shark, the shark's teeth are climate change's impact on water.
The reason we must do more to combat and adapt to climate change is that disequilibrium of the hydrologic cycle owing to climate change means that the earth cannot fully support our human, ecosystem and economic needs. Water science is one of the keys to overcoming future water challenges, whether from climate change, pollution or overconsumption.
In 2007 the House adopted my motion calling on the government to create a true national water strategy, complete with a vigorous water science component. World Water Day is an ideal starting point for launching a real effort to bring about such a strategy.