About 60% of the human body is made up of water. Equally as important is that water covers 70% of the Earth's surface, and is vital for all known forms of life. Oceans hold 97% of surface water, glaciers and polar ice caps 2.4%, and other land surface water such as rivers, lakes and ponds 0.6%. Therefore, less than 1% of water on our planet is fresh water that is available for human consumption, irrigation and industrial application.
Clean water is essential to life and although access to safe drinking water has improved steadily and substantially, there is a global water shortage due to increased demand, over-usage, and misuse of fresh water reserves. Over 1 billion people, 20% of the total population of the world, that is 1/5 of our global fellow citizens, mostly in developing countries, currently live without clean drinking water. Some observers estimate that by 2025 more than half of the world population will be facing water shortages and a recent report suggests that by 2030, in some developing regions of the world, water demand will exceed supply by 50%. In western United States, seven states, including Colorado, California, Arizona, and New Mexico are negotiating about how to best share the water among those states that depend on the Colorado River for supply. There are also technological innovations that desalinate salt water and many countries have already or are turning to such methods to supplement their clean water needs. Countries like Israel, Singapore, China, India, Australia, the United States and many others are building facilities to desalinate water. This process is very energy intensive and costly, however, is increasingly becoming a way to conserve water and to deal with the water shortage problem. Therefore the cost is continuing to fall and it is estimated that the worldwide desalinated water supply will triple by 2020.
According to a 2006 report by the United Nations, there is plenty of fresh water to go around even though it is a finite amount that is available to us. The problem seems to be that so much of this water is misused, and remains polluted and unsanitary. Approximately 70% of freshwater is consumed by agriculture for irrigation, 20% of withdrawals are for industry and only 10% goes to household use. According to the same United Nations report, there is a clear correlation between the loss of GDP per capita and poor water and sanitation conditions. In India for instance, it is estimated that the national cost of women fetching water is 150 million workdays per year, equivalent to a national loss of income of approximately $208 million. A sanitation dollar invested in clean water supply and sanitation can provide economic return of up to 34 times, depending on the region. More than 2 million people in developing countries, most of them children under the age of 5, die each year from diseases associated with unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. Over half of the hospital beds in the developing world are occupied by people suffering from preventable diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation.
Just imagine if all these kids could be given the opportunity to grow up and become productive adults in their society and a living son or daughter to their parents. Imagine if all people suffering from unsafe water could be healthy focusing on jobs, family and their future. If so, as a consequence, the GDP and the development of human social welfare would be significantly progressive and enriched.
Our individual and personal challenge is that you and I, living in the western hemisphere and in a rich country can contribute to help people in developing countries in need of clean water and good sanitation by donating to organizations, like the UN, committed to this cause. For example, a $50 donation is enough to drill a well for an entire village in Africa.
We can also help ourselves and save our fresh water sources by not wasting so much of our supply. We can create policies that mandate more effective and less wasteful irrigation methods worldwide. We can reduce our daily domestic water usage with simple things like showering instead of taking baths. We can take advantage of innovative home installations like double flush toilets and water efficient laundering, for example. There are many ways for us all to do our share and save water.
I believe we should. I believe we owe it to ourselves as well as those less fortunate than us!
Think progressively!
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