What is the big deal about water? I always find myself making trips to the water fountain after a long 90 minutes at gym class, running to the cafeteria to purchase a $2.00 bottle of water, and just sipping on water throughout the day to prepare myself for a big tennis game. What’s the big deal? I’m entitled to drinking water aren’t I? Why of course I am! One issue that I find myself in is that I’m not thinking about water on a global perspective.
My teacher in class told me that we could optionally blog about water. Today is blog action day; bloggers worldwide are posting their thoughts on water. So I figured I would write about water, list a few facts, share my opinion, and be done with it. That was my plan, but everything changed after I watched a video my teacher had posted on her blog. This is the video; I hope you find it as interesting, informative, and moving as I did.
I think that Michael Pritchard’s invention that is able to take filthy water and make it drinkable is brilliant! When I watched the video and saw the short clip where the children were taking cups and filling them with water that looked like dirt, clay, mud and a little bit of water absolutely crushed me. I was surprised that I actually felt guilty and upset. There are many more people that have to drink water as filthy or FILTHIER then that in his picture. It breaks my heart to see young children forced to drink that water. His filter is a great idea. I don’t know how much each filter costs but I think that since it is reusable for a few thousand liters of water, it is worth it. Many children die each year because of diarrhea. It isn’t fair that people are dying because they don’t have access to something each and every one of us needs. No one should be water deprived.
What can I do to help?
A few years ago, I was asked a question. My mom and dad approached me asking, “It’s time to donate out tzedakah, what do you want to do with it?” Tzedakah is a Hebrew word meaning “justice or charity”. Saved coins are placed into a tzedakah box, and once a year the savings are emptied and donated.. That particular year, we counted our money up, researched a few charities, and finally decided to WaterAid. This charity donates money all over the world and goes into countries to give them easy access to water. You can select from a drop down list of 26 countries to see the work WaterAid has done.
You don’t have to donate to be a help! Little things can make a BIG difference, such as, turning off the faucet when you brush you’re teeth, using less toilet water, or turning the shower off when shampooing your hair.
Here are some random water facts and tips you may enjoy.
- A leaky faucet can waste 100 gallons a day.
- An average bath requires 37 gallons of water.
- Never put water down the drain when there may be another use for it such as watering a plant or garden, or cleaning.
- You use about 5 gallons of water if you leave the water running while brushing your teeth.
- 88% of deaths from diarrhea are caused by drinking unsafe water.
Source : http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/green-water/green-water-statistics.html
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