Don’t worry so much over war or hunger, the thing that’s killing more people than anything else is lack of water and basic sanitation.
Of course, we need to act on many issues, including poverty and diseases without cures, but it’s water that should be tugging at your heart. Perhaps you live in the U.S. or another country where lack of water isn’t a concern. If that’s the case, you probably rarely ever hear of or think about the 42,000 deaths that occur each week from lack of safe drinking water and unhygienic living conditions.
Of those 42,000 deaths, 90% are children whose bodies aren’t yet strong enough to fight off diarrhea or dysentery and other illnesses.
About one in eight people on this planet aren’t as blessed as you. They don’t have safe drinking water.
To change that, help spread the word about this issue at the dinner table and anywhere you roam online like Twitter or Facebook.
Lots of us have safe tap water, but choose bottled instead. Bottled water is not only expensive, but it wastes valuable resources like 17 million barrels of oil a year for the production of disposable bottles, only 14% of which ever get recycled. Read more on this issue of our Bottled Water Addiction at Change.org, and consider investing in a water filter if you don’t like the tap taste.
The UN has declared water is a human right. Do you agree? If so, why aren’t we doing more to ensure this rights for the vulnerable?
Yeah, we did just have Blog Action Day on climate change, but 2009 is an important year for climate action. 350.org has organized October 24 as an International Day of Climate Action to encourage everyone to show their support for fighting climate change.
350 is the safe upper limit for parts per million (ppm) carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. To get our ppm number of carbon down from 387, we all need to work together.
The UN will complete a global climate treaty in December of 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, but many doubt the current plans of the treaty are strong enough. Click on the banner below or follow the link at the end of this post to see how you can get involved this weekend.
Complacency essentially means “self-satisfaction.” If you’re complacent in your green life, you think you’re doing all you can to help the environment.
The truth is that none of us should be complacent. There’s always room for improvement. There’s always something more we can do. I’ve made a lot of changes in my life since starting this blog in 2007, but I shouldn’t be complacent.
I’m thankful for Blog Action Day because it’s a reminder that I need to be doing more. Recycling, buying organic, looking for products with less packaging — all of that is good, but we need to speak out as well.
One way you can help defeat your green complacency is by moving beyond the world of your own home and everyday life. Think even bigger by letting your senators know how you feel about climate change. Tell your senator to vote yes for climate legislation.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) encourages you to speak out with their “Act For Our Future” campaign. Visit WWF to see how very quick and easy it is to make your voice heard.
After that, commit to conquering whatever green demons have been haunting you, so you can move past green complacency and start doing more, whatever that may be for you.
It’s happening on October 15, and the topic is climate change. Sign up and blog on the topic that day, even if your blog is normally about cooking or fashion.
Poverty may be defined in many ways. Improper access to medical care because of conflict or other violence exists in many countries. Lack of clean drinking water is also another factor in many illnesses around the world. And thousands face malnutrition due to poverty.
• In Iraq, lots of doctors have fled the country or been killed. There’s a shortage of medical supplies and even electricity in some cases.
• In Myanmar, only a small fraction of the estimated 360,000 people living with HIV/AIDS have access to treatment.
• In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, many people are severely threatened by cholera outbreaks. These outbreaks exist primarily due to the lack of clean drinking water.
Many people in several other countries are affected by poverty and are unable to receive proper medical care. One group is working to change this, but they depend on your help.
Today is Blog Action Day. That means that millions (I hope) of bloggers will be writing about the environment today. Will you?
Instead of just writing about the environment and trying to set a positive example by my actions, I’m also trying to bring up interesting environmental facts in everyday conversation. This doesn’t mean that I preach or ask people if they recycle.
I was eating with someone who asked for a to-go box yesterday. Since it fit in the conversation, I said, “Did you know that styrofoam to-go boxes have been banned in at least 100 cities?” I then named a few cities and talked about how styrofoam doesn’t biodegrade.
Challenge yourself to not only blog (if you are a blogger) about the environment today, but also tell someone about it! There are so many things you can talk about, such as reusable shopping bags or how you found a great eco-friendly product at your local store. Talk about eating fresh produce from the Farmer’s Market. Discuss compact fluorescent light bulbs or buying a hybrid car. Whatever suits your fancy!
