It’s no secret that the planet’s population has exploded, while the amount of freshwater has remained essentially the same over time. What’s more, water is life— and only 1 percent of the planet’s freshwater is easily accessible. The remaining freshwater supply is increasingly being polluted by environmental disasters. More and more extreme weather events are causing greater exposure of our water supply to biological contamination and water-borne diseases. Many of the synthetic chemicals that are used in our everyday products are accumulating in our bodies and in our water supply. And our water treatment and distribution systems in our most heavily populated areas are aging and deteriorating faster that we can repair and upgrade them.
Lack of access to clean drinking water supplies has been at crisis levels for a long time in some regions of the world, and the crisis is spreading. To deny that we are not all connected by this shared reliance on planetary fresh water supplies is to deny the fundamental science of the water cycle.
Wars are already being fought in some places in the world over access to water for drinking, bathing, cooking, cleaning, industrial uses, manufacturing of goods, food production, and the list goes on.
There are many great resources online and offline with information, statistics, tips, guidance, resources and tools for all of us to get educated on the nature and seriousness of the global water crisis. It’s imperative that we take educated individual and collective action towards water efficient living for the good of all.
And make no mistake—this isn’t about future generations. This mother of all crises threatens our survival within our own lifetimes. Water is life— make an effort and get started NOW. Failure is NOt an option.
