I was just thinking (this could be dangerous) about fresh clean water and how we take it for granted.
According to the World Bank, as many as two billion people lack adequate sanitation facilities to protect them from water-borne disease, while a billion lack access to clean water altogether. According to the United Nations, which has declared 2005-2015 the “Water for Life” decade, 95 percent of the world’s cities still dump raw sewage into their water supplies. So it should come as no surprise to know that 80 percent of all the health maladies in developing countries can be traced back to unsanitary water.
The leading cause of child death in the world is diarrhea. Each year, children under age 5 suffer 1.5 billion episodes of diarrhea, 4 million of which are fatal. Even for the children who survive, this chronic diarrhea prevents them from thriving as they should.
I’m asking for two hours on April 30 to help us clean just one of Chicago’s beaches. A swimmer in clean water is safe from illnesses and disease produced by contaminated and toxic water. And for those of you who swear by bottled water, each plastic drinking water bottle takes hundreds of years to biodegrade in a landfill. One major way we can prevent contaminants from seeping into our water is by simply keeping our beaches clean. In addition, we must also consider the needs of fish, water fowl and other species that live in our water.
One morning – April 30, 63rd Street Beach
Two hours – 9:00-11:00 a.m.
Three reasons – reuse, reduce, and rejuvenate.
Fresh water is more precious than oil – ask anyone from Katrina, Haiti, Japan, the Sudan, Somalia, etc.
Peace.
JoAnn
