What does it mean to you to have clean water?
To me, it means so many things. It means life and beauty and health. It means beautiful rivers and lakes and oceans to photograph and swim in. Unfortunately, there are many people on this earth that do not have access to clean water...890 million people, actually.
African women walk over 40 billion hours each year carrying cisterns weighing up to 18 kilograms to gather water, which is usually still not safe to drink. More than 3.5 million people die each year from water-related disease; 84 percent are children. Nearly all deaths, 98 percent, occur in the developing world. Clean water is a necessity for life and we should help all people have access to it.
Fortunately, there are ways we can help with the water crisis. Water.org is a Kansas City based nonprofit organization that raises money to build wells and provide sanitation education to people in developing countries. Their vision: A day when every person can have safe water. You can donate to water.org, and support artists and businesses that donate a portion of their proceeds to water. org.
While the developing world faces a water crisis, we in industrialized countries use more than our fair share of water. Educate yourself on water conservation and keeping our rivers clean. What is one thing you can do to help keep our own water clean?
Blog Action Day 2010: Water from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.
