One in six persons in the world do not have access to clean drinking water [1]
Two in six persons in the world do not have access to adequate sanitation [2]
3900 children die daily as a result of water-borne and water-related illness.[1]
Our aquifers and marshlands, from which we get most of our water, are being over-exploited and depleted. [3]
Our lakes and rivers are being polluted. [4]
Some of our most pristine water in springs and aquifers is being depleted to supply bottled water (in some cases of questionable quality) that costs 240 to over 10,000 times more per gallon the cost of tap water. [5]
Surprisingly, it takes about three times the amount of water to manufacture a 1 liter bo ttle than it contains, not to mention the oil and energy used in the process [6]
In this website, we look at some of the problems – and a few solutions – that surround the subject of water.
- Water Wars. Is water the new oil? Are we willing to kill for water?
- Dirty Water. What about water that kills – contaminated and polluted water takes lives.
- Water supply. What is happening to the wetlands, the marshlands, among the most productive ecosystems in the world?
- Water supply. What is happening to the aquifers, the largest single supply of freshwater available to us?
- Macro Solutions. We look at desalination projects that convert huge quantities of salt water into fresh water.
- Micro Solutions. We look at small-scale efforts to provide clean water at low cost
- The Future. We look at mega-solutions – one currently in the works and others that take on the look of science fiction.
We’ve by no means exhausted the subject, but in addition to our own research we’ve added links to some other websites that deal with the world water crisis.
Sources
[1] http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/index.php?id=25
[2] http://www.who.int/entity/water_sanitation_health/monitoring/sanitation.pdf
[3] http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2012/finalwebsite/problem/groundwater.shtml
[4] http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/cwa/305b/upload/2009_01_22_305b_2004report_2004_305Breport.pdf
[5] http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/exesum.asp
[6] http://www.pacinst.org/topics/water_and_sustainability/bottled_water/bottled_water_and_energy.html