Water Conservation: The Little Things Count

I've posted a video below where celebrities Jessica Biel and Pete Wentz talk about water conservation at a Live Earth press conference. They are participating in Live Earth's Run for Water, which is a series of 6km runs/walks (the average distance many women and children walk every day to secure water). Jessica Biel talks about how she never really thought about where water comes from -- that you turn on the faucet or get in the shower and don't think that this is a precious resource or that many people around the world don't have access to safe drinking water. Pete Wentz also emphasizes that every day 5,000 kids die because their drinking water is unsafe. I think it's great that there is an event like this to draw awareness to water conservation and the lack of clean drinking water in many areas of the world. As Jessica Biel talks about, the little things really add up in water conservation such as not running your water when you brush your teeth or taking shorter showers.



My only comment on this project is that they are ignoring an important piece of the puzzle. Not only should we highlight the lack of clean drinking water, but the lack of adequate sanitation in many areas around the world. 2.6 billion people lack adequate sanitation and this problem goes hand in hand with the lack of clean drinking water. Adequate sanitation can drastically cut down on disease and save lives just like, if not more so than access to clean water. When you think about clean water also think about where that water goes after you make it dirty, or where our waste goes after we flush it down the toilet. Many areas in the world not only need clean drinking water, but also access to a sanitation system: two things we can take for granted.