We luxuriate in bubble baths, enjoy hot showers, swim in our pools, wash our cars, water our house plants, clean our dishes and clothes, drench our lawns, gulp our 8 glasses all without much thought. Water is probably the resource that is most taken for granted because it seems so abundant but it’s really not.
We can’t live without it yet there are currently about 844 million people on this planet who do not have access to safe, clean water in their home.
World Water Day is about bringing awareness to this global crisis and supporting those suffering every single day deprived of clean water and adequate sanitation.
A child dies every 20 seconds from a water-related illness.
90% of the nearly 2 million deaths caused by diarrheal diseases each year from lack of proper sanitation are in children under the age of 5. Truly heartbreaking.
It’s a problem even here in the United States, 8% of us do not have access to clean drinking water. The issue needs awareness but like all serious issues, we need to take action and do our part to alleviate the problem today and every day.
“The crisis of our diminishing water resources is just as severe (if less obviously immediate) as any wartime crisis we have ever faced. Our survival is just as much at stake as it was at the time of Pearl Harbor, or the Argonne, or Gettysburg, or Saratoga.”
~Jim Wright, U.S. Representative, The Coming Water Famine, 1966
Jim Wright made that statement 56 years ago and here we are 5 decades later and it’s still a dire situation. Where I live, here in California, we are currently in the middle of a severe drought so saving water is at the top of mind for many of us Californians but there are things we all can do that will make a difference when it comes to the water shortage.
As is the case with most environmental issues, it starts with us. It starts in our homes. What are you doing in your home to make this planet a healthier, safer, cleaner place?
- Experts agree that the best way to help is to simply use less water. Conserve and realize that it’s not an infinite source. Be respectful of that fact; take it into consideration each time you use water for any of your daily activities. Don’t allow the water to run needlessly. Little things like turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth and taking shorter showers help. Even just a quick five minute shower uses 10 to 25 gallons of water. Can’t stand washing dishes like me? Good news if you have an energy star dishwasher, it uses 4 gallons per cycle while water running in your sink uses 4 gallons every two minutes.
- Do not clean small loads of clothes. About 41 gallons of water is used per load in most washing machines. Fill ‘er up.
- Make sure none of the faucets in your home have leaks. If they do, get them fixed!
- No one loves a hot shower more than me. I’m not a bath girl but the feeling of the warm water cascading all over my body is relaxing and heavenly but taking shorter showers is important. Even just a quick 5 minute shower uses 10 to 25 gallons of water. Get clean and get out. And, dry bathe whenever possible.
- On a daily basis, children and women around the world spend roughly 258 million hours each day collecting water. In developing countries they walk up to 6 hours EVERY day just to get water. Can you even imaging doing that each day Your donation to WaterDay.org will help empower them with safe water and sanitation. Another way to help is buy Stella Artois beer. Each limited edition chalice sold equals 5 years of clean water.
“I really think we focus too much on ‘scarcity.’ Water is, and always has been, scarce. The truth is, we really need to go back to grade school Earth Science class and remember that water on the planet exists in an interconnected cycle.” ~ Alexandra Cousteau
