Water Is A Human Right

It's hard for people who live in a country with a public water supply to imagine a world in which water isn't at our fingertips. We are so used to having water for our showers, our dishes, of clothes, cooking and drinks, that we rarely take the time to appreciate it.

But what if you turned on your tap tomorrow and no water came out of it? What if the water supply was shut off indefinitely or the water that came out of it made you sick? What would you do?

There would be an outcry! There would be protests and rallies. It would be front page news; the main topic of conversations.

Everyday, all over the world there are millions of people who are in this exact situation yet there is no public outcry of injustice.

While civil and political rights- right to free speech, right to vote, right to bear arms, etc.- feature prominently in human rights discussion, social / economic rights often take a backseat. But rights to food, housing, water, education, and healthcare need to be internationally recognized. They need to be fought for.

Luckily, some small steps have been made in this direction. On July 28th, 2010 the United Nations finally declared access to clean water and sanitation a human right! However, there is a long way to go. Declaring water as a human right doesn't change the reality that millions of people don't have it. Words are important but actions are better.

As my first action, I'm starting this conversation... and I hope you continue it. Bring up this topic with your mom or friend or coworker. Let's get people talking. I want to make some noise.  

Diseased Water Supplies

One of the sad results of lack of access to clean water: cholera outbreak in Haiti.

Haven't these people been through enough?!

So Much Water, So Little Access

More than 70% of the Earth's surface is covered with water, yet 884 million people (1 in 8) lack access to a clean, sustainable source. So where is it all going?

97.5% of the Earth's water is saltwater.
Of the 2.5% of freshwater, only 1% is easily accessible. The rest is trapped in icecaps or deep underground aquifers.
Therefore, only .007% of water is available for use by its billions of inhabitants.

That doesn't seem like enough.

However, it's important to remember that this is, more or less, the same amount of water that has always been available to humans since the beginning of time. The hydrologic cycle continues to recycle this same water to satisfy the planet's needs century after century. But now we are in trouble. Why?

A combination of immense population growth, water pollution, climate change, wasteful consumption, water intensive agricultural practices, overconsumption by industry, and water pollution make this precious resource even harder to get. Demand is up and supply is down- we are actually running out of clean water.

Limited access to a life-essential element is a problem. It's more than a problem - it's a crisis! We need solutions and we need them now. Perhaps this means better distribution of the available water. Perhaps it means investing in cheaper desalinization techniques. Perhaps it means learning more and using less.

I don't know the answer, but I would like to be part of the solution.