Today, 1,000 Kids Will Die from Drinking Unsafe Water
March 22, 2009 by Chris Baskind
World Water Day is an opportunity to think about a commodity many of us take
for granted. But access to safe drinking water is still the world’s top
health issue.
Today — Sunday, March 22nd — is World Water Day. You may be reading this
article after the fact. It doesn’t matter, because the state of affairs today
will be largely the same as each day since the event was created in 1993: Every
24 hours, one thousand children will die from drinking unsafe water.
They’ll die from diarrhea, the result of drinking water so filthy most of us
would be shocked to see it even in our toilets. They’ll die in remote villages
and crowded urban slums. They’ll die in areas too poor to afford the
inexpensive medicines which might save their lives, or the $200 it takes to dig
a safe and modern water well. Mostly, they’ll die in the Southern Hemisphere.
And these are just the children. Here, at the brink of the 21st century,
humanity’s most pressing health need remains access to sanitary fresh water. It
sounds like such a simple thing. But without clean water, economies crumble.
Livestock dies, and it becomes impossible to grow even basic staples. The lack
of safe water is the mother of famine, disease, poverty, and warfare. Some 2.6
billion people live in squalid conditions, without access to even
basic sanitation.
It can happen to you, too
While water issues are particularly acute in the developing world, shifting
climate patterns and soaring demand are creating significant shortages across
the planet. In 2007, the city of Atlanta was nearly brought to a standstill
when Lake Lanier, the area’s primary water supply, dropped to its lowest levels
in a century.
In the U.S., Southwestern states are contending with a multi-year drought that
threatens the region’s growth. Depletion of groundwater resources in Mexico
City has gotten to the stage that geological faulting has damaged portions of
the city’s historic center. And hundreds of Australians died this summer when
lack of rainfall created the conditions for devastating wildfires.
What you can do
World Water Day is an opportunity to step back for a moment and consider a
commodity many people take for granted. It’s as easy to forget water’s value
when have it as it is to never forget your thirst when you don’t.
Want to help set things right? Consider some of these actions:
Respect your water. If the water that comes out of your tap is clean and
affordable, be thankful. Be thankful when you drink it. Be thankful when you
wash with it. Be thankful when you cook with it. Every time you open a faucet,
remember that you’re doing something beyond the reach of almost 3
billion people.
Conserve. An ample water supply today is no guarantee that it will be there
tomorrow. Groundwater aquifers take hundreds of years to replenish. Do your
part — you’ll be saving money, anyway. Install water-saving showerheads. Plant
drought-resistant gardens, and irrigate them — if at all possible — with
harvested rainwater. Find leaks in your home and repair them. Take shorter
showers. Replace old washing machines and dishwashers with water-saving, ENERGY
STAR rated appliances. Never send anything to a landfill you wouldn’t want in
your drinking water ten years from now. There are plenty of water conservation
resources on the web. Here at Lighter Footstep, we’d like to recommend our own
Five Cheap Ways to Save a Thousand Gallons of Water.
Support organizations which bring fresh water to people who don’t have any.
Groups such as Water for People, the Blue Planet Run Foundation, and H2O Africa
are all working to make every day World Water Day. Find an organization whose
efforts excite you, and help provide what they need.
Share this article (or one like it) with others. Involve friends and family.
There are a thousand reasons for you to take action today. And tomorrow —
another thousand.
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