Water is the new oil. Tell me that a half an hour ago, I would have said you are mad. Water isn't nearly as big as an issue as oil.

But it is.

Every Tuesday at 9 PM, the Sundance Channel airs a show called Big Ideas for A Small Planet, with each episode highlighting a different issue involving the world — power, food, recycling, and so on. This week, it was water. Now my first concern was this show was going to be one piece of liberal propaganda. And I'm not a liberal. This could have posed an issue. But, not once did I feel that the show was propaganda. It was simply stating the facts. There was absolutely no "BUSH IS KILLING THE ENVIRONMENT" or "Elect a liberal, so we don't have to worry about the water crisis." The video never forced me to believe in something. It was refreshing. So, for this reason, I think that everyone should check out the topic of water this Tuesday.

I really didn't think water was a big deal. All I knew was the Arrowhead man delivered water to my house every three weeks or so. I didn't really have time to think about how much water is being used a day. A bath uses 70 gallons. A 10-minute shower uses 20-50 gallons. Now, put that together with how many people there are, and we have a huge problem. Especially since we can only use 3% of the water on earth. There are millions of people right now that don't have access to fresh water. Experts believe that, in the long term, countries will be fighting over water.

So, we have a problem. The question is how to fix it. Well, while some of us were busy worrying about petty boy problems or our Spanish grades, some people have started brainstorming how to fix, or at least ease, the effects. Big Ideas for a Small Planet offered three solutions: desalination (taking the salt out of sea water, thus making it drinkable), river clean-ups (which I found the most interesting), and rain catchers.

The first thing that amazed me about this show is how riveting it is. The environment is not my main focus, my true issue. I don't spend my time at Anti-Bush/Plant the Trees rallies or signing petitions to get more money for forests or planting trees. I simply don't care enough. (Which is true for most people. They just don't admit it.) I would much likelier picture myself watching Moonlight or Big Brother, not a documentary on the environment. But they don't put on really boring people on that put people to sleep. This is what they should put on in science class, not whatever movie that makes me talk to my friend or my twin sister. Trust me, there are some bad documentaries. This one is actually good, informative, and educational. And I'm watching it in my spare time.

The apocalypse must be coming.

Really, take it from the 16-year-old with no attention span, this is one documentary not to miss.