UN CHIEF WARNS OF GROWING WATER SCARCITY
USA Today:
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that by 2030, nearly half the world’s population could be facing a scarcity of water, with demand outstripping supply by 40%.
One in three people already live in a country with moderate to high water stress, Ban told a U.N. event marking the opening of the International Year of Water Cooperation 2013. It also marked the 20th anniversary of the proclamation of World Water Day.
“Competition is growing among farmers and herders; industry and agriculture; town and country; upstream and downstream; and across borders,” the secretary-general said.
Ban said international cooperation is essential “to protect and manage this fragile, finite resource,” especially as the world population grows and the climate changes.
And with more people moving to urban areas, water use is projected to increase by 50% by 2025, said Ambassador Thomas Mayr-Harting, head of the European Union delegation to the United Nations.
By that time, he said, roughly 5.5 billion people — two-thirds of the projected global population — “will live in areas facing moderate to severe water stress.”
AFRICA WATER CRISIS
-International Red Cross Campaign
“There’s enough water in here to last an entire village for a whole year.”
People living in water-stressed regions spend hours of their day simply gathering water for their family to survive. The journey to a water source could take several hours to and from. This takes precious time away from them, time that they could be in school, learning a trade, spending time with their loved ones.
The PackH2O water backpack is designed to help them save time, relieve pressure from their bodies and give them a safer way to transport water home. The backpacks lining is removable and can be sanitized by leaving it in the sun. A much safer and cleaner alternative to jerry cans and buckets that once held harsh chemicals.
Our mission is to get the word out, to help as many families as we can so that they can use our safe packs to transport their water until they have a regular clean source of water and no longer need to carry their water for several miles. We are currently working on a project documenting the process of getting the packs to those who need them and we could use your help! We have a goal of $20,500 and 16 days left to meet it. Your contribution of as little as $1 will bring us one step closer to this goal and ending the water crisis for good.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/75913692/documentary-on-the-kenya-water-project
April 22, 1970: Earth Day is Created
On this day in 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson accomplished his goal of creating Earth Day, a day dedicated to increasing awareness of environmental issues.
During the first Earth Day, Senator Nelson spoke to the Denver public and said:
“Our goal is not just an environment of clean air and water and scenic beauty. The objective is an environment of decency, quality and mutual respect for all other human being and all living creatures.”
Today, the American public will perform an array of actions to help our environment, whether it’s through cleaning up local neighborhoods or promoting environmental protection.
Celebrate Earth Day with this exclusive PBS’ Our Planet collection!
Image: Cleanup Along Bank of Chattahoochee River, 1972 (National Archives).
This scene looks awfully familiar! Another great find from DOCUMERICA!
(currently on exhibit at the National Archives: “Searching for the Seventies: The DOCUMERICA Photography Project”)
Women and the Bucket
Women in Kenya, Haiti & Guatemala all have something in common. They rely heavily on old buckets and jerrycans to transport water daily back home to their family. The containers often once held hazardous chemicals and are not sanitary.
These women travel several miles each way to their water source to gather water in these containers. Once they are full, the struggle begins to carry these containers home. The journey home carrying these heavy cans and buckets often result in daily injury and pain.
The water backpack not only makes their job easier, it also makes it sanitary. The pack has a clear removable lining that can be sanitized by leaving it out in the sun. This pack holds 5 gallons of water and evenly distributes the weight onto a woman’s back, instead of her head like is often used carrying the buckets causing spinal and back injury.
You can help by donating a PackH2O water backpack. Your donation of one pack can potentially save 5 lives!
Help PackH2O, Partners for Care & Manifesto TV in our latest adventure to Kenya. Join our cause and help back our partners goal in proving how effective our packs can be on communities!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/75913692/documentary-on-the-kenya-water-project
Celebrate World Water Day with PackH2O! Donate a pack, save lives! www.packh2o.com
World Water Day is tomorrow! Join us as we Live Stream from Kenya. Spread the word about the water crisis. You can make a difference with only $10, give a pack today and save lives! www.PackH2o.com
You can help save 5 lives. Give a pack today. Only $10 makes a difference.
The water in your toilet is cleaner than nearly a billion people have to drink.
90% of the 30,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are children under five years old.
Replacing a bucket like this can help prevent waterborne diseases.
Remembering a great man in history today #MLK
hmm..
At 6am in the morning, you’ll already see students getting a head start on their daily water chores so that they can make their first class.
Learn more at http://thewatercollective.org
