Water

"Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war." -Blog Action Day 2010

"Today, 40% of America’s rivers and 46% of America’s lakes are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life." -Blog Action Day 2010

Today is Blog Auction Day 2010, a day when bloggers and blogs all over the world join together to post about one important topic each year in unison. This year's focus is on clean water... something that hits very close to home. Water.

The numbers presented are staggering and sobering. 38,000 children dying every week because of poor sanitation and a lack of clean drinking water and while the focus zooms their, one has to wonder about all of the children that do not die but instead spend their lives with adverse health conditions and the need for daily medication. 46% of American lakes are too polluted. Have you seen evidence of people pouring toxic chemicals and used oil into protected waterways? I sadly have. Even worse you can feel powerless when the response you get from local government is, "who cares" or, "that's been going on for years".

This is something happening in Africa, right here in the US... it is global and there is so much all of us can do, little by little. Check out Charity : water. See the recent collaborating they did with TOMS shoes. Park systems will often have volunteer clean up days, call your local one and find out. Use reusable water bottles. Read about 9 ways you can conserve water. For more, be sure to see all of the blog posts here.

Image: MAM for Gave That