Water Crisis

Water Crisis. Another horrible issue that is effecting the lives of many people. 1 billion people don't have access to safe drinking water. That's about 1/6 of the world's population! Now here's the main question. "Should governments adopt better water conservation policies?" I think they should, because everyone deserves to live with clean water, clothing and shelter. But, do you?


5 million people die each year from poor drinking water illnesses and other infections. Now all of you that are reading this post right now don't really know what it is like to not have water at all. You may not even know how much water we consume! Did you know that it take 639 gallons of water to produce on hamburger? Think about it for a minute and realize this! That's a lot of water. And for a pair of blue jeans it take 2,900 gallons of water! I know that we cannot save this water, because we are not the ones taking care of the cattle that produces the hamburger or the amount of water that we use to water the cotton. And why can't we do that? Well obviously, because these are things from mother nature and they will eventually die if we don't give them the proper amount of nutrients and minerals that they need.


Some other terrifying facts are that 40 billion hours are spent each year collecting water in sub- Saharan Africa. That's equal to 19-million full-time employees!  Also, 443 million school days are lost annually because of water related illnesses.


There are some very little things that can make a big difference such as, a small drip from a faucet can waste about 1 gallon of water a day. That may not seem like much, but, when you are gone for maybe 3-4 days on vacation and you leave your faucet dripping just a little bit, your wasting over 3 gallons of water. Wouldn't it be better to use that water instead of wasting it? To me it would.


But what can you do to save water? These are very basic things, but once I tell you what the outcome is, you will really want to start doing these things. Here we go:

1.  When your brushing your teeth, don't let the water run from the faucet. Turn it off. By doing this you, will save 2 gallons of water!
2. Don't use your toilet as a trashcan! Never ever try to flush a cotton swab, a Kleenex, or any other item that you may regularly throw away in the toilet thinking that it is more convenient. By doing this you will save 5-7 gallons of water!
   
3.  Don't just start your dishwasher when it's not fully loaded, fill it up and then turn it on. By doing that you will save about 8 gallons of water!
4.  Instead of taking a bath all the time, just take a simple shower. You will save time and water. And exactly how much water? 106 gallons a week! So think about it and try to do that at least once or twice a month. It won't hurt, but it will actually help!

 You see. We can make a difference. Please remember that this is very important  and one person can do a lot! Water is important and without it we will die. Do you think that governments should adopt better water conservation policies or should it be up to each individual? Please leave your questions and comments! Thank you!

Anuja