HomeHomeAugust 2007
Water--A Precious Resource
On a typical hot summer day in America, one can see sprinklers irrigating neighborhood lawns and gardens, children and adults splashing in local community swimming pools, and joggers and bikers drinking bottled water as they pass by.
Clean water is essential to life, but it's the one resource taken most for granted by those who have easy access, and it is the most precious resource for those who have limited access or no access at all.
Many consumers in the West with ready access don't think twice about the water used in cooking, cleaning or bathing, yet is a matter of life or death to at least a billion human beings on this planet. According to their 2005 piece printed in the Washington Post, entitled "Dying for a Drink of Clean Water," Jan Eliasson and Susan Blumenthal write that:
At least 2 million people, most of them children, die annually from water-borne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, guinea worm and hepatitis as well as such illnesses as malaria and West Nile virus carried by mosquitoes that breed in stagnant water.
Many of the 10 million child deaths that occurred last year were linked to unsafe water and lack of sanitation.
Over half of the hospital beds in the developing world are occupied by people suffering from preventable diseases caused by unsafe water and inadequate sanitation.
Jan Eliasson, former Swedish Ambassador to the U.S. and current United Nations Secretary General Special Envoy to Darfur, and retired Rear Admiral and international health expert Blumenthal know what they are talking about. As these two distinguished experts remind us, water is a women's issue in developing countries because women are responsible for gathering the household water. In fact, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations states that, "Some 30 percent of women in Egypt walk over an hour a day to meet water needs. In some parts of Africa, women and children spend eight hours a day collecting water."
These are sobering statistics, indeed. With a problem so overwhelming that over one-sixth of the planet's population is in dire straits, what can the average person do? Awareness, education, and serious efforts at water conservation are the beginning steps. With an increasing global population, time is of the utmost importance. We don't have a moment--or a single drop of water--to waste.
Teresa
tcallies@Hotmail.com
News, resources and other interesting tidbits:
"World Water Week" takes place August 12 - 18, 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden, and the theme is ""Progress and Prospects on Water: Striving for Sustainability in a Changing World"
Women for Water Partnership is organizing the first Women for Water Working Conference for Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia Region. Their regional working conference will be held from November 3 - 7, 2007 in Kiev
The year 2003 was the "International Year of Fresh Water." Although the year is long past, here is more about women and water.
Here are some additional "tips for making a difference."
The "Water Use it Wisely" site offers 100 ways to conserve for people in the U. S.
The waterconserve.org site offers water news updates and a water conservation blog.
According to their web site, globalwater.org "is an international, non-profit humanitarian organization focused on creating safe water supplies, sanitation facilities and related health programs for rural villagers in developing countries."
Lights Out Down Under
Australians are keenly aware of the importance of conserving their precious resources. In fact, Sydneysiders took environmental action earlier this year with "Earth Hour," when city residents collectively shut off the lights for one hour. Did this one simple action make any difference? You can read about their results here.
Privatizing Aussie Water?
The Melbourne Age reports that banks are backing government plans to "privatize" water."
It's an issue worth watching.
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