In continuation of this week’s theme, did you know that dirty water is one of the leading causes of death of children worldwide? If you’ve never looked at your faucet as a possession of luxury, let today be the day. The majority of people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water. In other words — if you took a shower this morning, drank water from the tap or watered your lawn, you are among the elite few who have clean, readily accessible water. We are extremely lucky to have access to filtered water, something a large proportion of the planet does not have. For product information on filtration devices, check out Water Filter Way.
What can we do to make sure more folk have clean water?
Locally:
Arizona is predominantly desert. If it weren’t for Hayden’s canal system, SRP and the Hohokam Indians who once figured out how to reroute water toward Phoenix, our dusty city would still be tumbleweed. We are heavily dependent on water from afar. We should treat water in Phoenix as a precious commodity. A few simple ideas anyone can do regardless of their location:
1. Take quick showers. Minimize the amount of water you are wasting. Plus, if you’ve got houseplants or a garden you regularly water, consider sticking a bucket in the shower to gather what would otherwise be going down the drain.
2. Plant native species. If you live in Phoenix, consider swapping your water-chugging lawn for a natural beauty, like a saguaro.
3. Wash your car with a bucket, old school style. Don’t take your car through a water gobbling car wash. Just kidding. After several email from great readers, I find out this is the WRONG thing to do. Instead, I’m letting good old Indy go dirty. Car washes may do a better job of using less water than we can in our driveways.
4. Buy a great water bottle and use it. Refuse to buy bottled water. Bottled water sucks. The plastic we waste in bottled water is ridiculous and horrible for the earth. Reuse cups at your coffee shop and vow to never buy bottled water.
Nationally:
Support green legislation and activism. Get behind those in Congress who want to change how companies nationally use water and therefore how they are able to pollute our waterways.
Globally:
Give, even if it is a little bit, to global groups that are digging wells in the developing world and providing clean drinking water to those truly in need. I’ve been fortunate to help bring wells to rural villages in Central America and Africa. Thankfully, this not only improves the immediate health of the community members, but also the long-term health too. Suddenly those girls who were responsible for lugging the water too and from can enroll in school. By providing clean water, we can help plant the seeds of long-term change in the developing world.
In Cameroon, I got my water from a well. It took three days to do a load of laundry, by hand. I bathed rarely, standing in a bucket and pouring the cups over my head. I felt stupidly blessed when I returned home and took my first hot shower. Whilst this may sound crazy to most of you, I will never take hot water for granted again. We are so lucky to have access to such luxuries because there are many around the world who don’t. To be able to contact a company like Summers Plumbing Heating & Cooling (https://summersphc.com/columbus/services/plumbing/tankless-water-heater/) and have them install a tankless water heater, giving us access to unlimited hot water, is something that only a handful of people will be able to experience. And I’m so grateful to be able to say that I am one of these people. So, you can imagine that when I took my first hot shower upon returning, it was almost the best moment of my life.
The water poured over me and then I put on fresh, clean laundry that I hadn’t worked a bit to launder. I haven’t since taken water for granted. It is simple to me that we should be collectively working to provide clean drinking water to everyone in the world — not just the affluent. If solving the world’s woes is too daunting, do your part and make changes to conserve water in your own home.
~K