This post is in relation to World Blog Action Day 2010, i.e., today! The topic for this year is clean water. Check out BeyondTheElements to sign petition requesting UN to make provisions for equitable access to clean water, especially in underprivileged nations.
Haveyou ever fasted from food and water for a day? How did it feel like,not drinking water at all for an entire day? Try it... and you willpersonally realize why water is precious. In the Bhagavad Gita, 7.8, Lord Krsna says: "raso'ham apsu kaunteya",or "I am the taste of water". Isn't it easy to see why water iscritical to life as we know it on our planet? Our planet is mostlywater; not only are the oceans brimming with it, but lakes, rivers,ponds and puddles, and nearly every single living organism has water init to some extent. The extent to which water is inequitably distributedis a reflection of the social compartmentalization that is rampant inour world today. Today, the average person in the US throws away anempty Aqua Fina bottle [hopefully into a recycling container], while onthe other side of the world, in AIDS-stricken Africa, village women walkmiles with heavy pots balanced on their heads to collect water that ishardly palatable. This is the unpalatable truth we live in - andconvince ourselves to live with. With this, let me leave you with somemore things to think about, and to act upon... By the way, if you havealready acted upon the petition on the right sidebar on this blog, Thank You! If not, Thank You! in advance.. Please do it!
Haveyou ever fasted from food and water for a day? How did it feel like,not drinking water at all for an entire day? Try it... and you willpersonally realize why water is precious. In the Bhagavad Gita, 7.8, Lord Krsna says: "raso'ham apsu kaunteya",or "I am the taste of water". Isn't it easy to see why water iscritical to life as we know it on our planet? Our planet is mostlywater; not only are the oceans brimming with it, but lakes, rivers,ponds and puddles, and nearly every single living organism has water init to some extent. The extent to which water is inequitably distributedis a reflection of the social compartmentalization that is rampant inour world today. Today, the average person in the US throws away anempty Aqua Fina bottle [hopefully into a recycling container], while onthe other side of the world, in AIDS-stricken Africa, village women walkmiles with heavy pots balanced on their heads to collect water that ishardly palatable. This is the unpalatable truth we live in - andconvince ourselves to live with. With this, let me leave you with somemore things to think about, and to act upon... By the way, if you havealready acted upon the petition on the right sidebar on this blog, Thank You! If not, Thank You! in advance.. Please do it!
The problem of scarce clean water:
Nearly 1 billion people lack access to clean water, which causes a litany of struggles, diseases and even death.
40Billion Hours: African women walk over 40 billion hours each yearcarrying cisterns weighing up to 18 kilograms to gather water, which isusually still not safe to drink. More Info »
38,000Children a Week: Every week, nearly 38,000 children under the age of 5die from unsafe drinking water and unhygienic living conditions. More Info »
WarsOver Water: Many scholars attribute the conflict in Darfur at least inpart to lack of access to water. A report commissioned by the UN foundthat in the 21st century, water scarcity will become one of the leadingcauses of conflict in Africa. More Info »
AHuman Right: In July, to address the water crisis, the United Nationsdeclared access to clean water and sanitation a human right over. But weare far from implementing solutions to secure basic access to safedrinking water. More Info »
Water over-consumption in industrialized countries:
While the developing world faces a water crisis, those in industrialized countries consume far more than their fair share.
FoodFootprint: It takes 24 liters of water to produce one hamburger. Thatmeans it would take over 19.9 billion liters of water to make just onehamburger for every person in Europe. More Info »
TechnologyFootprint: The shiny new iPhone in your pocket requires half a liter ofwater to charge. That may not seem like much, but with over 80 millionactive iPhones in the world, that's 40 million liters to charge thosealone. More Info »
FashionFootprint: That cotton t-shirt you're wearing right now took 1,514liters of water to produce, and your jeans required an extra 6,813liters. More Info »
BottledWater Footprint: The US, Mexico and China lead the world in bottledwater consumption, with people in the US drinking an average of 200bottles of water per person each year. Over 17 million barrels of oilare needed to manufacture those water bottles, 86 percent of which willnever be recycled. More Info »
Water and the environment:
The disregard for water resources in industrialized countries impacts more than humans – it causes environmental devastation.
WasteOverflow: Every day, 2 million tons of human waste are disposed of inwater sources. This not only negatively impacts the environment but alsoharms the health of surrounding communities. More Info »
Polluted Oceans: Death and disease caused by polluted coastal waters costs the global economy $12.8 billion a year. More Info »
UninhabitableRivers: Today, 40% of America's rivers and 46% of America's lakes aretoo polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life. More Info »
Water solutions:
Thegood news is that there are great organizations working on solutionsand new tools that empower people to do their part to address the watercrisis.
BuildingWells: Organizations like Water.org and charity: water are leading thecharge in bringing fresh water to communities in the developing world.
Technology for Good: Do you want to measure how much water it took to make your favorite foods? There's an app for that. More Info »
ConservationStarts at Home: The average person uses 465 liters of water per day.Find out how much you use and challenge your readers to do that same. More Info »
KeepingRivers Clean: We can all take small steps to help keep pollution out ofour rivers and streams, like correctly disposing of household wastes. More Info »
Drop the Bottle: Communities around the world are taking steps to reduce water bottle waste by eliminating bottled water.More Info »
Comments
1. REDUCE [stop, if willing] eating meat - producing meat uses a LOT more water than producing vegetables, grains, and fruits.
2. Do not consume alcohol - fermentation [production] and processing of alcohol uses precious drinking water - even in villages where people are dying from lack of water!
3. Education: While modern education should help us understand the value of water, ancient wisdom of our country already forbids the excessive use of alcohol and meat. Naturally, this reduces the environmental destruction caused by a society. Real education should enable us to reconnect the heritage of India with rational science.
Our country has already given us the knowledge needed to sustain a civilization as robust as the royal kingdoms of preceding centuries, whose vestiges remain forgotten. If we are to sustain our country, we should reforge the broken legacy of Indian culture, and revive ourselves.