Water, Water: Blog Action Day 2010!

 Photo by yours truly. Coast to coast, we can't afford to take our water for granted.

It's time to talk about water. I hope if you're reading this and are an avid blogger, you'll consider joining me for Blog Action Day 2010 (note the header that's been chillin' at the top of my homepage for awhile now! It's for a great cause, people!)

Anyway, water is important. You know this if you are a Bikram yogi or not: water is a life source. Sustaining, startlingly alive, and incredibly purifying, water helps us maintain a clean and healthy body, a renewed mind, a refreshed spirit.

Not only is it a physical necessity, but water holds its own spiritual significance. Often a symbol of purification, birth, simplicity, even eternal life, water is a sacred resource in our world today. A political, social and philosophically resonant entity, we should consider water a hot topic in societies around the globe, both those that have it abundantly and those who need it. 

Swimming? For the win. Thanks, water!

Thanks to Blog Action Day 2010, I'd like to share a few insightful facts and figures on the current state of water in the world. I would love your feedback, and feel free to share these freely with those you know!

Water as a Human Right: In July, the United Nations declared access to clean water and sanitation a human right over objection from the United States. Today, nearly one billion people lack basic access to safe drinking water. 

Uninhabitable Rivers: Today, 40% of America’s rivers and 46% of America’s lakes are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life. That’s not surprising considering the fact that 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, storm water, and industrial waste are discharged into US waters annually. 

Food Footprint: Do you know the water footprint of your food? For example, 75 liters of water are required to make a glass of beer and 15,500 liters to make a kilogram of beef. 

Technology Footprint: On an average day, 500 billion liters of water travel through US power plants to power all the technology that we use every day. For example, that shiny new iPhone in your pocket requires half a liter of water to charge. That may not seem like much, but with approximately 6.4 million active iPhones in the US, that’s 3.2 million liters to charge those alone. 

Bottled Water: Even though people in the US have access to clean water from their taps, they drink an average of 200 bottles of water per person each year. Over 17 million barrels of oil are needed to manufacture those water bottles, 86 percent of which will never be recycled. 

You can make a difference.

If we all started small, the world could change in a flash.

I encourage you to take a few easy steps to ensure that you're leaving a light footprint:

• Drink tap water from a reusable bottle (made with safe plastic, of course!). Encourage yogis at your studio to do the same. Boycott the bottled water for sale!
• Use common sense at home: turn off faucets, do light laundry loads, use less while washing dishes. These little moments add up to a great source of water each and every day. Also adjust your sprinklers so they only water your lawn, not the sidewalk!
• Replace the shower head with a more water-efficient one, especially if you're like me and spend more than 10 minutes in there. Ask your yoga studio to do the same!

Hey, that's a pretty fountain. Fill your water bottle instead of buying plastic!

• Take action. Think about joining a group like End Water Poverty, who is lobbying national leaders and taking international action through campaigns like its new The World Walks for Water events (6km walks around the world where participants will demand that global leaders ensure real change toward clean water and sanitation for all). You can also check out their Facebook page, follow them on Twitter, or sign the pledge. Every little bit helps!
• Tell a friend, and have that friend tell a friend. Share this important message with those you know and love -- and those you don't know! Strike up a conversation at lunch with your coworkers today.
• Read some blog posts today. Blog Action Day 2010 is off and running! Check out more awesome posts here.