A holiday for H२O
Sunday is World Water Day, a United Nations
initiative to celebrate clean water and bring
attention to those who don’t have enough of it. A
new report released ahead of World Water Day
warns about a looming shortage, and centers on
this year’s theme:
water and sustainable development.
Here are five ways to celebrate World Water Day.
1:Learn about poop water
First charcoal juice becomes a thing , and now
poop water? Hey, Bill Gates drinks it— thanks to a
new machine called the Omniprocessor that
literally transforms waste into water through a
steam engine. On his blog, Gates writes about
drinking a “delicious” fresh glass of it and
marvels at the possibilities to improve sanitation
in low-income countries. “The processor
wouldn’t just keep human waste out of the
drinking water; it would turn waste into a
commodity with real value in the marketplace,”
Gates writes.
2:Take a break from meat
Showering and hydration are hardly your main
uses of water—but food is. The average
American uses 7,500 liters of water each day,
according to the U.N. If you’re eating meat, your
water usage shoots way up; a steak dinner for
two requires 15,000 liters of water for the meat
alone. Eating more meat and dairy has been the
single greatest factor for water consumption in
the past 30 years, says the group—so going
vegetarian, even temporarily, can make a
difference.
3:Wash your hands the right way
Only 5% of Americans do , according to a study
of men using public restrooms. (If you need a
refresher on proper technique, you should use
soap and water and wash for at least 15
seconds.) Sounds gross—and it is a public health
hazard, according to UNICEF, organizers of Global
Handwashing Day , another water-related holiday
worth celebrating. “Handwashing with soap
prevents disease in a more straightforward and
cost-effective way than any single vaccine,”
supporter UNICEF writes.
4:Support a future female farmer
Most of the world’s hungry are women, says the
U.N.’s new report, and most don’t own land—or
even have time to make an income, since 25% of
their day is spent collecting drinking water. “With
equal access to resources and knowledge,
female farmers, who account for the majority of
all subsistence farmers, could produce enough
additional food to reduce the number of the
world’s hungry by 150 million,” the report says.
Investing in water and sanitation actually helps
improve equality, which helps stimulate the
economy—every dollar invested yields between
$5-28, the UN estimates.
5:Give better water to the world
A new report from WaterAid America found that
one in five babies born in the developing world
dies during its first month of life
because of a lack of clean water. And 35% of
facilities in middle- and lower-income countries
didn’t have water and soap for hand-washing,
another report from the World Health Organization
found.
