It is important to realize that these figures immediately relate to all of us and have already infiltrated our own backyards:
- Almost 70% of that 2.5% is frozen. Otherwise known as glacial ice.
- In addition, almost 30% of that 2.5% is in the ground.
- Thus leaving us LESS THAN 1% of clean drinkable water for our survival.
- Some calculations actually present .007% of clean water to drink.
Have you spilled just one drop of oil in your backyard? Some gasoline or lighter fluid?
One drop of oil, just like most pollution we create, will contaminate and render over 6 gallons of clean drinking water, undrinkable. Okay, but so far we still have clean drinking water. Pause for one minute and think about the issues for our neighbors along the gulf and all they have gone (still going) through because of the oil spill. Think about municipalities closing wells because of fertilizer and that one drop of spilled oil that went through the ground and into your drinkable water (water table) under the ground. Think of all the litter along the curb and washing into our waterways via street sewers. Yet, there is so much more to know, comprehend, evaluate and conclude...
97.5% is salt water.
2.5% is fresh water!
Almost 70% of that 2.5% is frozen.
Almost 30% of that 2.5% is in the ground.
Less than 1% of clean drinkable water for our survival.*
Calculations actually present .007% of clean water to drink.
* Survival without drinkable water is difficult within 3 days. A human will die in approximately 5 days without water.
We use clean drinkable water to flush our waste away! Are you not sure if we have any other way of dealing with this issue? Use this LINK to visit my GTG Blog posted on May 2, 2013 called Recycling and Gray Water for the another way.
Now please read these numbers... Of our .007% clean drinkable water we use:
70% for agriculture (To have 2 pounds of beef, over 4,200 gallons of water is needed)
22% for industry (To make one microchip, almost 9 gallons of water is used)
8% is for domestic use
So how much clean water do people use each day?
Americans use about 150 gallons** (over 30 times more than a person without easy access to clean water).
Europeans use about 65 gallons (over 13 times more than a person without easy access to clean water).
1.1 Billion people use less than 5 gallons of water per day and DO NOT have easy access to clean drinkable water.
** Yes, 150 gallons because of all the water used in the production of the items we consume each day.
Do you buy bottle water? There is a better way.
"From preventable, water related diseases, we lose about 6 Thousand children each day"
- One can take the extreme side that despite these numbers, a perfectly fine future is our inheritance.
- Others may take the opposite extreme side that these numbers are prophesying doom for the human race.
Evaluation of the data above shows a clean drinking water crisis is already on our planet and has already encroached upon our own backyards. Will we be leaders and implement solutions intelligently, so we can pour a clean glass of water for our grandchildren and know that other grandparents half way around the world are doing the same?
Bill Lauto, GTG