Welcome to October 15h- the 2010 Blog Action Day focusing on the importance and scarcity of Water. I somehow missed last year, but I participated in 2007 ( Environment) and 2008 (Poverty). It a yearly event where thousands of bloggers all turn their focus to a critical issue facing our world.
Water is so amazingly simple that we rarely contemplate it, even though nearly 80% of our body is water. Even though technology has been changing so fast recently, water has been with us always- almost the first thing God spoke into existence. However, the way we consume water has changed drastically in the last 100 years. No longer do we use lakes & rivers for recreation and transportation, but we constantly over-fish our wildlife species & excessively pollute numerous bodies of water. Although I’m glad we have indoor plumbing, baths, showers, sewers and fresh water in developed countries, the ease of attainment has made water all the less valuable to us, instead of more precious.
One of my favorite ministries is The Water Project, which seeks to build safe & clean water wells to people while also teaching them about the living water that is Christ. I believe that The Church has a responsibility to provide both physical and spiritually to those around the world in poverty. The other side of that coin is that, as Christians, I believe we have been entrusted with God’s creation- to take care of it, keep it clean, to share & preserve it. As part of my involvement in the Blog Action Day, I’m going to take real action & commit to donating $20 per month to The Water Project. I’ll get assigned to a project & can’t wait to follow along in the progress. I challenge at least 5 readers to skip starbucks twice a month & donate at least $10 per month. Did you know….
Every 10 dollars donated provides 1 person with clean water for 10 years!
I also thought I’d repost these facts about water just to keep things in perspective & as a little reminder..
1. Unsafe drinking water and lack of sanitation kills more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Unclean drinking water can incubate some pretty scary diseases, like E. coli, salmonella, cholera and hepatitis A. Given that bouquet of bacteria, it’s no surprise that water, or rather lack thereof, causes 42,000 deaths each week.
2. More people have access to a cell phone than to a toilet. Today, 2.5 billion people lack access to toilets. This means that sewage spills into rivers and streams, contaminating drinking water and causing disease.
3. Every day, women and children in Africa walk a combined total of 109 million hours to get water. They do this while carrying cisterns weighing around 40 pounds when filled in order to gather water that, in many cases, is still polluted. Aside from putting a great deal of strain on their bodies, walking such long distances keeps children out of school and women away from other endeavors that can help improve the quality of life in their communities.
4. It takes 6.3 gallons of water to produce just one hamburger. That 6.3 gallons covers everything from watering the wheat for the bun and providing water for the cow to cooking the patty and baking the bun. And that’s just one meal! It would take over 1.8 billion gallons of water to make just one hamburger for every person in the United States.
5. The average American uses 159 gallons of water every day – more than 15 times the average person in the developing world. From showering and washing our hands to watering our lawns and washing our cars, Americans use a lot of water. To put things into perspective, the average five-minute shower will use about 10 gallons of water. Now imagine using just 10 gallons to bathe, wash your clothes, cook your meals and quench your thirst.
GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Although it’s legal today, Mark & Pam will be taking their vows as Mr. & Mrs. next weekend in Mexico- can’t wait!
