I was elated to hear we would be blogging about water for Blog Action Day. The abuse and misuse and lack of clean water globally and the 900 million people who lack clean water in the world get my heart. People can live for days without food, but they cannot live without water.
Living in America we forget that most of the world cannot turn on their tap for clean water. We forget that millions of children die each year from diseases due to lack of clean water. We forget that some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.
We Americans continually waste water, we ask for water in a restaurant and don’t drink it, we let our faucet run, we water at the wrong time of day, we don’t check our sprinklers to watch the water overruns. We waste and waste and waste and complain about water rationing. All those iPods- it takes 1/2 a liter of water to charge. We Americans are spoiled.
Why Clean Water Will Effect Every Single One of Us:
Even if you don’t care, it will effect your taxpaying wallet. When poor countries have no access to clean water, they get diseases, those diseases come to our back yard, we taxpayers send billions of dollars every year to help out other countries. Where does that money come from- taxpayer.
When there is no water, you cannot farm, you cannot feed animals and thus the poverty level rises globally. Millions of people everyday spend most of the day, getting water and carrying it 15 miles or more.
You may say so what but even the water the Americans drink is effected. 40% of all of the American Rivers and 46% of American Lakes are polluted. Some 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, storm water, and industrial waste are discharged into US waters annually
In 2008, an AP investigation found that at least 46 million Americans are drinking water contaminated with trace amounts of pharmaceuticals. The EPA and FDA have failed to establish any proper guidelines for drug contamination in water, most people have no idea that their water contains a dangerous cocktail of prescription medications.
So what can you do? First sign the petition, second, look at your water usage, conserve, don’t throw prescription drug down the drain or toilet, clean up litter and trash around your house and storm drains, buy organic and non toxic cleaning agents and other supplies, Boycott companies like Target that illegal dump toxic waste into your backyard.
Read this article 50 Ways To Save Water and spread the word.
Water is a global crisis and a global concern.