Blog Action Day is an annual event held on October 15, that unites bloggers from around the world in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking a global discussing and driving collective action. This is the third year that I have been been participating in this movement.]
...the rich don't pay for running water, while the poor spend a fifth of their income buying water from tankers....
...lakes run dry every summer, even as the city gets waterlogged after the slightest rainfall....
...sewer lines often burst near water lines, and the poshest localities get 'drinking' water unfit even for washing cars...
...practically every house has a built in storage tank, but few invest in rainwater harvesting facilities...
...rainwater is allowed to drain into the sea, while pipes bring water from hundreds of miles away.
If there is a solution, it eludes me.
__________
A drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.
Lack of access to hygienic water takes lives- through wars fought over water, and through water-borne diseases. Make a difference- blog about it, sign a petition, and consider making a donation- even $10 can save a life.
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| Water leaking from tankers transporting water to drought prone localities |
Lack of access to hygienic water takes lives- through wars fought over water, and through water-borne diseases. Make a difference- blog about it, sign a petition, and consider making a donation- even $10 can save a life.
21 comments:
It's like that here in Mexico. Except the rich, as far as I know, still have to pay for water. Water does come into the house...sometimes and houses are equipped with storage though most don't use it...
sad, sad, world.
CD
I think we sometimes forget just how precious water is. We as a world need to use it more wisely.
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
@ Clarissa- even here, the rich pay, but thanks to the antiquated laws, they pay less for water in an entire month than they do for a packet of chips (yes, actually). The poor do not have legal connections, so don't get any of the subsidised water.
Sad, isn't it?
@ Mason- absolutely. And what really gets my goat is how even richer households that buy expensive water waste it.
Rayna - You've put so starkly the differences between those who have and those who do not. You also outline so clearly and so passionately how water is (mis)used in Bombay. What a lesson! I don't know what the solution is, either...
Amazing that something that falls from the sky and fills underground water tables is so scarce. Governments could easily fix the problem if they wanted to.
Stephen Tremp
@ Margot- I do not see an end to the problem unless people decide to work together. Which is such a pity :-(
@ Stephen- it should fill the water table, but the tragedy is that most of it is allowed to drain off into the sea.
Will, that is what is lacking.
Oh my! How tragic! Where I live, we get water from underground wells. Water that has been there centuries. Someday it will run out I fear! Though they say not for a long, long time. But we always use more than we need!!
Seems to me that collecting rain water would be a must in your country? Here would be somewhat fruitless...only get 15 inches a year!
Hugs
SueAnn
I've never heard of the Blog Action Day - thank you for sharing that information. And Wow... stunning and depressing information about water in Bombay. It makes me so sad.
In New Orleans we get so much rain our streets flood at a drop of the hat. I wish I could collect it all and ship it to where it needs to go. Mother Nature has the answer, we just need to ask the right questions..
Thanks for helping to paint this picture. It's so different in the suburbs in the United States, it is easy for us to take water for granted. We hear our neighbors complain about having to limit the days they can water their lawns. It's quite humbling.
The waste is everywhere. Long showers and baths, watering the grass, washing the car, hosing the sidewalks, The list goes on. Everyone wastes water everyday but we each say for us it is necessary to do these things.
Sounds like a little commen sense is needed!
This really is so tragic.
How sad it is that human beings do not treat this natural resource with more respect and wisdom. Since time began, people have fought over water--withheld, polluted and wasted it. Thank you for an eye-opening look at Bombay.
Hi, Rayna, how interesting to have a day where everyone blogs about the same subject. I can see how water would be a powerful subject to write about. Glad I happened back at your blog today. I am beginning to come back after my husband's passing on three months ago. It is good to be back in the "flow of life" going on around the world. Ruby
Well said! Water is something many of us take for granted. We are the lucky ones. So many people don't have access to clean water. This is a fixable problem. We need to get on it!
Water is so abundant where I am and I never worry about it not being safe. It's too bad this type of water availability and infrastructure is not available everywhere.
Lee
Tossing It Out
The water is soooo sad.
Wars will be fought over water one of these days. India is not the only place where drinking water is an issue. Americans are naive about the issue and incredibly silly. Thank you for blogging on this issue! For a start we should all stop buying bottled water!
The disparity between rich and poor in India amazes me... this is such a huge issue, I wish there was more we could do to help. But I suppose every little donation adds up over time. The water crisis is just awful, so senseless.
@ SueAnn - we allow so much of our rainwater to drain away, the easiest thing would be for us to connect the storm water drains to the water table, or something similar. But who really cares? In a few years, desalination techonolgy would make getting drinking water from sea water feasible!
@ Aleta- this is the third year in a row that I have done it. The great thing about Blog Action Day is that for one day, everyone is talking about the same topic, which should raise awareness, if nothing else.
@ Bryan- the tragedy is that in India, people waste water, while others are dying for lack of it. Very sad.
@ Mary- we all do consume more than we absolutely need to, don't we?
@ Alex- even the teeniest bit would be enough.
@ Holly- extremely.
@ Tricia- it is so sad, and we are so short sighted.
@ Grammy- thanks for dropping by, Ruby. I have been around at your blog too, only not commenting much. Life must be so difficult for you now- the bit about adjusting to an absence.
@ Jemi- we are the lucky ones, but most of us choose not to see that, which to me is the real tragedy.
@ Arlee- Bombay for one runs out of water every summer.
@ She Writes- it is, isn't it?
@ Danette- battles are already being fought in India over water- for a couple of years, two states were sitting on gunpowder over the issue. And yes, even small things that we can do would make a difference.
@ Faith- my husband and I keep saying that given the disparity between rich and poor, it is amazing how little crime there is in India. If I were the poor, I might be tempted to take a gun and mow down the rich.
@ SueAnn - we allow so much of our rainwater to drain away, the easiest thing would be for us to connect the storm water drains to the water table, or something similar. But who really cares? In a few years, desalination techonolgy would make getting drinking water from sea water feasible!
@ Aleta- this is the third year in a row that I have done it. The great thing about Blog Action Day is that for one day, everyone is talking about the same topic, which should raise awareness, if nothing else.
@ Bryan- the tragedy is that in India, people waste water, while others are dying for lack of it. Very sad.
@ Mary- we all do consume more than we absolutely need to, don't we?
@ Alex- even the teeniest bit would be enough.
@ Holly- extremely.
@ Tricia- it is so sad, and we are so short sighted.
@ Grammy- thanks for dropping by, Ruby. I have been around at your blog too, only not commenting much. Life must be so difficult for you now- the bit about adjusting to an absence.
@ Jemi- we are the lucky ones, but most of us choose not to see that, which to me is the real tragedy.
@ Arlee- Bombay for one runs out of water every summer.
@ She Writes- it is, isn't it?
@ Danette- battles are already being fought in India over water- for a couple of years, two states were sitting on gunpowder over the issue. And yes, even small things that we can do would make a difference.
@ Faith- my husband and I keep saying that given the disparity between rich and poor, it is amazing how little crime there is in India. If I were the poor, I might be tempted to take a gun and mow down the rich.
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