Tuesday, March 22 - World Water Day 2016
Theme: Better Water, Better Jobs
World Water Day is celebrated each year on March 22 coincides with the Autumn Equinox - the day our sun moves north to bathe the northern hemisphere with more sunlight than we get here in NSW and Australia. We now get less sun in the south hemisphere for the next 6 months..
World Water Day focuses on the importance of fresh water and supports sustainable management of freshwater resources.
The day was declared at the United Nations in 1992 and 24 years later it's still as relevant as it was back then. Each year the day focuses on a different water issue.
World Water Day highlights the need to improve access to WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene) facilities in deveolping countries.
Now for the not so good news:
1. 1.8 billion people around the world lack access to safe water.
2. Globally, a third of all schools lack access to safe water and adequate sanitation.
3. The World Economic Forum in 2015 said water crisis as the No. 1 global risk.
4. The incidence of children suffering from stunting and chronic malnutrition — at least 160 million — is linked to water and sanitation.
5. More than 840,000 people die from a water-related disease each year.
6. 82% of people who don’t have access to “improved” water live in rural areas.
7. More than one-third of people worldwide lack access to a toilet, more than the number of people who have a mobile phone.
8. Women and children spend 125 million hours collecting fresh water every day. Individual women and children spend as many as six hours collecting fresh water daily.
9. Every 90 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease.
10. Universal access to safe water and sanitation would result in $18.5 billion in economic benefits each year from deaths avoided alone, a return of $4 for every dollar spent on safe water access.
Courtesy of Water.org
Theme: Better Water, Better Jobs
World Water Day is celebrated each year on March 22 coincides with the Autumn Equinox - the day our sun moves north to bathe the northern hemisphere with more sunlight than we get here in NSW and Australia. We now get less sun in the south hemisphere for the next 6 months..
World Water Day focuses on the importance of fresh water and supports sustainable management of freshwater resources.
The day was declared at the United Nations in 1992 and 24 years later it's still as relevant as it was back then. Each year the day focuses on a different water issue.
World Water Day highlights the need to improve access to WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene) facilities in deveolping countries.
Now for the not so good news:
1. 1.8 billion people around the world lack access to safe water.
2. Globally, a third of all schools lack access to safe water and adequate sanitation.
3. The World Economic Forum in 2015 said water crisis as the No. 1 global risk.
4. The incidence of children suffering from stunting and chronic malnutrition — at least 160 million — is linked to water and sanitation.
5. More than 840,000 people die from a water-related disease each year.
6. 82% of people who don’t have access to “improved” water live in rural areas.
7. More than one-third of people worldwide lack access to a toilet, more than the number of people who have a mobile phone.
8. Women and children spend 125 million hours collecting fresh water every day. Individual women and children spend as many as six hours collecting fresh water daily.
9. Every 90 seconds a child dies from a water-related disease.
10. Universal access to safe water and sanitation would result in $18.5 billion in economic benefits each year from deaths avoided alone, a return of $4 for every dollar spent on safe water access.
Courtesy of Water.org
Drinkable book image courtesy of Snapzu Now for Some Good News!
1. New technology to filter poor quality water is being developed at a fast pace and is being used in parts of Africa, South America and Asia. Examples are:
These are helping more people than ever before. The task is still big and is complicated by internal conflict in some countries but lots of progress is being made and that's good news!
1. New technology to filter poor quality water is being developed at a fast pace and is being used in parts of Africa, South America and Asia. Examples are:
- nanotechnology
- paper books to read then use the pages as filters (see our previous blog post)
- more efficient delivery of water
- mobile phone expansion to better communicate
These are helping more people than ever before. The task is still big and is complicated by internal conflict in some countries but lots of progress is being made and that's good news!
Your bedtime water drink - why does the taste change?
You may have noticed that if you drink water left by your bedside overnight, it can taste different by the morning.
Is it you or the water?
You might think it's because you've just woken up or you might think the strange taste is all in your head.
But the truth is that water actually does change its taste overnight (and no, it’s not dangerous).
While you sleep, the water absorbs some carbon dioxide, and some of the water becomes carbonic acid.
‘Some carbonic acid then forms bicarbonate respectively.’ This makes the water a bit acidic, changing the taste.
Is it safe to drink? Yes
The only risk posed to humans by a glass of water is if it is left out for a much longer period of time and is exposed to bacteria as a result.
Look out for our next post on all things energy and water!
You may have noticed that if you drink water left by your bedside overnight, it can taste different by the morning.
Is it you or the water?
You might think it's because you've just woken up or you might think the strange taste is all in your head.
But the truth is that water actually does change its taste overnight (and no, it’s not dangerous).
While you sleep, the water absorbs some carbon dioxide, and some of the water becomes carbonic acid.
‘Some carbonic acid then forms bicarbonate respectively.’ This makes the water a bit acidic, changing the taste.
Is it safe to drink? Yes
The only risk posed to humans by a glass of water is if it is left out for a much longer period of time and is exposed to bacteria as a result.
Look out for our next post on all things energy and water!