Today, on the UN World Water Day, I am challenging myself to recognize what role water plays in my life and in the world. Living in the US (New York City) makes it very easy to take water for granted. I am constantly interacting with water in my everyday life by drinking tap water, taking showers, flushing the toilet, washing my hands and more. Ultimately: water is life and so much more. It is intrinsic and absolutely necessary to life and I feel that it has another personal role in my life, having spent a lifetime in a pool practicing.
However, universal clean drinking water is not the standard yet and the focus this year is Waste Water. What’s that? Checkout the following that was provided by the UN.
This year, we focus on wastewater and ways to reduce and reuse as over 80% of all the wastewater from our homes, cities, industry and agriculture flows back to nature polluting the environment and losing valuable nutrients and other recoverable materials.
We need to improve the collection and treatment of wastewater and safely reuse it. At the same time, we need to reduce the quantity and pollution load of wastewater we produce, to help protect the environment and our water resources.
Sustainable Development Goal 6 – ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030 – includes a target to halve the proportion of untreated wastewater and increase water recycling and safe reuse.
- Globally, over 80% of the wastewater generated by society flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused. (Sato et al, 2013)
- 1.8 billion people use a source of drinking water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio. Unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene cause around 842,000 deaths each year. (WHO/UNICEF 2014/WHO 2014)
- The opportunities from exploiting wastewater as a resource are enormous. Safely managed wastewater is an affordable and sustainable source of water, energy, nutrients and other recoverable materials.[/learn_more]
Later today, I’m attending Making Waves and Bringing Hope, a discussion on Our Role in Charting the Future of the Ocean–a talk that I’m fairly pumped about and will probably write about.
Again, I’m challenging you to consider:
- What role water plays in your life.
- How you contribute to wastewater
- What you can do to prevent the creation of waste water
- How you can more positively use water
- How you can more positively affect the ocean
- How you can skip the straw and disposable water bottles (!!)
- The future of the ocean
Some scary water related news with a focus on the ocean:
- Lead-Laced Water In Flint: A Step-By-Step Look At The Makings Of A Crisis
- How to save water with your fashion choices
- The Little Thing You Can Do To Help Save The Ocean
- 9 Ways To Use Less Plastic (So It Doesn’t Wind Up In The Ocean)
- Scientists predict there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050
- Have 5 Minutes? Here’s What You Can Do For The Ocean
- Whales and Plastics in the Bahamas
- There Are At Least 5.25 Trillion Pieces of Plastic in the Ocean
- Adidas Shoes Made From Ocean Plastic Are Finally Here
- Large Sections of Australia’s Great Reef Are Now Dead, Scientists Find
- Disappearing Seagrass Protects Against Pathogens, Even Climate Change, Scientists Find
- Beached Whale Found With 30 Plastic Bags Crammed In Its Belly