In 1993 National Geographic wrote;
All the water that will ever be is, right now.
Which, when you think about the fact that;
- 71% of earth is covered in water.
- One in six people do not have access to a clean/safe water source.
- The world’s population grew by 77 million people in 2009.
That means that 12.3 million more people are without water today than this time last year. Very scary.
So why all the doom-and-gloom about water you ask?
Well I was trying to figure out a way to convey to my kids, once again, how important it is not to waste water. I thought if I could quantify it for them (big numbers seem to hit home with J), it might be the thing that finally gets them to turn the tap off while they brush their teeth or wash their face. But I then I thought these numbers might be a bit much for them.
So I asked them to tell me something they thought didn’t need water (either to stay alive or be produced). They eliminated the obvious; plants, food, people, animals, fish, trees ... But then came the more abstract; Paper? Cars? Plastic? When I explained to them that EVERYTHING relies on water at some point, it started to sink in I think. Then E brought up that people in Haiti didn’t have any water; did that mean they were going to die? I was honest; said yes, some would die partially because of a lack of water. That made both of them quiet. Had I gone too far? Were we in for an evening of nightmares?
Nope.
What happened next was J telling E that she didn’t need to fill a cup with water for brushing her teeth, she could share his.
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