There’s one essential ingredient that makes all my 5:00 Fridays posts possible. Vodka? Lime? Ginger ale? Garnish. Well, yes, to garnish, but that’s not what I mean. 5:00 Fridays wouldn’t exist without it. Indeed, none of us would exist without it.
Water.
Think about it. Water is what sloshes around in the highball glass, regardless what fermented form it takes. And wow do we take water for granted in this country. I think the main thing that separates those who live in abject poverty in America with those who live in similar hells around the world is simply access to water. While we worry about a lush green lawn and spotless car there are people dying of thirst. The next world war won’t be about oil. Water is about to trump oil as the world’s most powerful currency.
H2O.
In America you can always find a water fountain (or bubbler if you’re from Wisconsin) and a tap that works in a public bathroom. Indoor plumbing is de rigueur in our fine country. It ain’t so in the rest of the world. Hell, water is even free in restaurants here, and most people leave it sitting there forming a ring on the table and choose a sugary or sacchariney soda (or pop if you’re from Minnesota) instead.
Whether you’re an endurance athlete, sweaty ball player, glistening bride, or dirt flecked gardener, you have water to cool you down, quench your thirst, spritz your glisteny bits, and clean yourself. We leave the water running while we brush our teeth. We rinse our dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. We launder a half load just for convenience sake. We OCD peeps wash our hands after touching just about anything. I mean “we” proverbially cuz that doesn’t happen in the house of Dirt & Noise! We don’t even realize that water has a hand in charging our phones, sewing our jeans, frying our burgers. In typical American fashion, we over indulge and over consume and don’t even realize it half the time. Guilty as charged on this end for sure.
Bird and Deal used to have a Baby Einstein bath time book called Water, Water, Everywhere. Based on the state of the bathroom floor after bath time, this book was aptly named. But in the grand scheme of things, water isn’t everywhere. At least potable water isn’t everywhere.
I’m not posting a 5:00 Fridays cocktail today. Instead, I ask you to raise of glass of clean water and promise not to waste it, take it for granted, or mix it with a bouillon cube.
And consider these snippets I learned from the organizers of Blog Action Day. It’ll blow your mind more than a Cement Mixer would.
Nearly 1 billion people lack access to clean water, which causes a litany of struggles, diseases and even death.
- 40 Billion Hours: African women walk over 40 billion hours each year carrying cisterns weighing up to 18 kilograms to gather water, which is usually still not safe to drink. Makes not wanting to get off my butt to add ice to my drink pretty lame, huh?
- 38,000 Children a Week: Every week, nearly 38,000 children under the age of 5 die from unsafe drinking water and unhygienic living conditions. Children. Babies.
- Wars Over Water: Many scholars attribute the conflict in Darfur at least in part to lack of access to water. A report commissioned by the UN found that in the 21st century, water scarcity will become one of the leading causes of conflict in Africa. Water gun fight is about to take on a whole new meaning.
- A Human Right: In July, to address the water crisis, the United Nations declared access to clean water and sanitation a human right. But we are far from implementing solutions to secure basic access to safe drinking water. Water is critical for life. Period.
The good news is that there are solutions.
There are great organizations working on solutions and new tools that empower people to do their part to address the water crisis.
- Building Wells: Organizations like Water.org and charity: water are leading the charge in bringing fresh water to communities in the developing world.
- Technology for Good: Do you want to measure how much water it took to make your favorite foods? There’s an app for that.
- Conservation Starts at Home: The average person uses 465 liters of water per day. I’m going to find out how much I use and I encourage you to do the same.
- Keeping Rivers Clean: We can all take small steps to help keep pollution out of our rivers and streams, like correctly disposing of household wastes. Dog poop too.
- Drop the Bottle: Communities around the world are taking steps to reduce water bottle waste by eliminating bottled water. Seriously people, who needs to buy plastic water bottles these days?! Tap water is perfectly safe in most places in the U.S. If you need a reusable water bottle, see me. I’ll hook you up.