15 October, 2010

Blog Action Day 2010: Water

Today is October 15th, Blog Action Day. Each year on this date, bloggers come together to blog about one global issue, and this year, it's water.

Water is necessary for life. Earth is the way it is due to water, and all animals, including humans, cannot live without this highly valuable liquid--it could become a scarce resource in the 21st century.

Here are some facts about water and its consequences:

The average American uses 159 gallons of water per day, which is 15 times more than the average person in the developing world.

Around one in eight people do not have access to safe water supplies.

3.575 million people die each year from water-related diseases; a child dies of a disease every 20 seconds.

Only 62% of the world's population has access to adequate sanitation.

In Africa, women and children walk a total of 109 million hours to get water, over 40 billion in a year.

It takes half a liter of water to charge an iPhone--and there are over 80 million of those devices worldwide.

It takes 1,514 liters of water to make a cotton t-shirt.

2.5 billion people do not have access to toilets.

80% of the discharged material in developing countries is untreated, and pollutes water resources.

2 million tons of human waste are deposited in water sources every day.

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I live in the USA--compared to a lot of people, I'm extremely fortunate to have running water within reach almost all the time.

Think about water. We wouldn't be here without it.

{Images found online--I do not own/claim anything}

-----The Golden Eagle
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Hannah Kincade said...

Thank you for the useful information on water! Your post was so thorough, great job! :)

Elliot Grace said...

...this happens to be one of my wife's most driven causes. The water shortage in Africa has literally kept her up at night. She co-sponsors several activist groups raising awareness, campaigning to generate the necessary funds needed to dig wells in 3rd world nations. People over there are dying from a lack of water...which is right under their feet...sad.

Clarissa Draper said...

I had no idea it was blog information day! Thanks for all the research that went into your post. I hope people will stop and think about all the waste.


Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Didn't realize it required so much water just to charge an iPhone.

The Words Crafter said...

I didn't know it was blog action day, either. I'm going to run "home" and do a quick post. Thanks!

Connie Arnold said...

We tend to take water for granted but it is such a major problem for so many people not having the clean water they need. Thank you for sharing the information and helping raise awareness of this.

Kiki said...

I also read that the UN estimates that 1.8 billion people will be without enough water by 2025. We can't take water for granted and waste it so much.

Theresa Milstein said...

Such incredible statistics. I signed the petition and shared it on Facebook. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Tyrean Martinson said...

Thanks for your wonderful post! I had no idea it was blog action day. I put up a post about water on my blog a few weeks ago, partly because my water was turned off for the plumber to re-plumb the whole house. It had me thinking about how often I use water, and how often I take it for granted. I looked up some of the same information you posted, and posted several links to organizations that work to provide clean water to those who don't have it.
I have a bottle on my dining room table now . . . slowly filling with change to donate to a clean water fund. I think it's important to remember how precious water is.
Again, thanks for the post!

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

Awesome post! I had no idea about the blog movement today. Your post was fantastic!

I lived in a small village in rural England in the late 60's early 70's. We had running water in the kitchen, but that was it...For people who don't know what it is like to have to live without a toilet of a bath or a shower, I expect they can't fully enjoy the flush of a toilet or hot bath the same way that I can...

Misha1989 said...

Thanks for all the information! Its incredibly disturbing to think of how much we waste.

The Golden Eagle said...

Hannah: Thank you!

Elliot: That is sad; with the right technology, they could have enough water to fill their needs.

Clarissa: Me, too.

Alex: Yup.

The Words Crafter: Spread the word!

Connie: It's definitely something we have to pay attention to.

Kiki: Nope, we can't continue wasting it the way we do right now--it's unsustainable.

Theresa: Thank you for letting more people know!

Tyrean: You're welcome.

Sharon: That must have been such a different lifestyle, only having running water in one place. I know I've had water for all of my life; the more I hear about it, the more I'm grateful for it.

Misha1989: Definitely disturbing.

Quinn said...

I'm still trying to figure out how it takes half a liter of water to charge an iphone. I read a few other posts on other blogs, but yours seems ... more powerful to me.

The Golden Eagle said...

I'm wondering that too, but it might have something to do with the electricity needed--maybe water-steam which powers turbines? IDK.