Hidden Crisis?
We have all heard at some point that there is a very real, impending crisis that is headed our way in the form of a water scarcity. If you look in your local paper, you will most likely not read about it. If you watch your local or national news, chances are you will not hear about it. If you engage in water-cooler talk, odds are you won’t be complaining about a lack of clean drinking water. What is it about this specific crisis that is so different than a tsunami, earthquake, or hurricane? According to the World Health Organization, “Water-associated infectious diseases claim up to 3.2 million lives each year, approximately 6% of all deaths globally.” It would seem to follow that a global problem of this magnitude should be headline news every week, right? The fact is, you do not hear about access to clean water for a number of different reasons, the biggest is your distance from the problem.
Proximity Water problems seem so third world don’t they? For the most part, yes, but that way of thinking is changing daily. It is true that much of the developing world has it worse than people in first world countries, which makes the problem distant. When was the last time you had to walk five miles to pick up a few gallons of water, and when you got there you had to pay a man half of your weekly income for that water? Most likely never. Which is why we are not concerned about access to clean water; proximity. We are not near the problem, it does not involve our families, friends, communities, etc. It is something you read about in National Geographic or watch on the Discovery Channel that involves people thousands of miles away from our warm, safe, well-plumbed homes.
We are accustomed to living comfortably, using resources (water specifically) at our leisure. We water lawns, play in sprinklers, water our crops, use water to manufacture, drink it from the tap, drink it from the bottle, and sometimes just let it run for no reason. If the water stopped flowing from your sink or if your toilet did not flush, you would have a major problem. Then access to water would be on your mind. For now, though, we are in an over-consuming mode that shows small signs of slowing because we are becoming more aware of what is happening locally and worldwide. |
Awareness is something that we can take pride in, but we need more than awareness to address the issue. Learning about the problem is a drop in the bucket when it comes to creating real change in people’s lives. Maybe we all assume someone else is doing something out there in the world. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation invests countless resources into this very problem. Knowing this, we may not invest our dollars to join the cause because someone else is fixing the problem. Consider this, if one million people think that very same thought and do not donate a dollar: that is one million dollars that goes un-donated. The Gates pockets are deep, but not deep enough to solve one of the world’s most far reaching and serious problems. Please join their foundation to find out how you can make an impact.
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Kittess, B. (Photographer). (2004, March 5). The Three Monkey [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.thethreemonkeys.comP
Langova, A. (Photographer). Girl In Pool [Web Photo]. Retrieved from: http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=4093&picture=girl-in-pool
Langova, A. (Photographer). Children Playing [Web Photo]. Retrieved from: http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=9871&picture=children-playing
Langova, A. (Photographer). Girl In Pool [Web Photo]. Retrieved from: http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=4093&picture=girl-in-pool
Langova, A. (Photographer). Children Playing [Web Photo]. Retrieved from: http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=9871&picture=children-playing