Get Wise for World Water Week

Skim through the news, and the message about the future of water seems pretty grim: climate change, a growing population, and a thirst for foods, fuels and other products and services that require an increasing amount of water mean major shortages worldwide. In fact, the United Nations recently released a report that warned that by 2030, nearly half the world’s population “will be living in areas of acute water shortage.” There are already more than a billion people worldwide who don’t have access to clean water.

This week is World Water Week, and March 22 is World Water Day, a campaign sponsored by the United Nations to bring attention to the importance of clean, fresh water for all, and for the need of sustainable management of freshwater resources. Organizations around the world have planned activities throughout the week to bring attention to water issues.

This focus on water is a great opportunity to explore water issues with others. Here are a few ideas:

• Brainstorm a list of what needs water to survive (people, animals, plants).
• Have kids/students list everything they can think of that contains or uses water (soda, nuclear power plants, agriculture, canned food, etc.). Which of these uses are vital to our sustainability and survival and which are not?
• Have kids/students list all the ways they use water every day, calculating how much water they use each day, and then comparing their use with how much water people in other countries use.
• Have kids/students carry around a gallon jug full of water and see how long it takes them to use it all up (drinking, hand washing, teeth brushing, etc.). Then repeat the exercise, seeing if they can reduce the amount they use (while still maintaining proper hygiene).
• Brainstorm all the ways that people can conserve water.
• Use resources such as The Story of Bottled Water and A Skwril's View - Bottle vs. Tap to help spark discussion about bottled water use.
  
• Learn about people taking positive action to help those who need clean water, such as Ryan Hreljac, who learned about the water crisis and, at age seven, raised money so that a well could be build in a Ugandan village. Now Ryan’s Well Foundation works in 16 countries around the world.

You can also challenge yourself (and your friends, family and co-workers) to conserve and protect water. Start by noticing when and how much water you use: when you wash your hands, bathe, brush your teeth, do dishes and laundry, wash the car, water your lawn or plants, prepare food, and so on. And then, work to get by with less. There are really simple changes you can make, such as not running the water when you brush your teeth and taking shorter showers -- and there are more significant changes, such as installing a greywater system and using rain barrels.

And, there are plenty of ways to get involved in your community, from learning more about where your water comes from, to helping set policy about the use of bottled water, to ensuring that everyone in your community has access to clean, safe water, to supporting clean water projects worldwide.

Here are just a couple websites focused on water issues. Water for the Ages also lists suggested books and movies, so be sure to check out those resources, too.

• Charity: Water
• SourceWatch Water Portal
  
• UNICEF Tap Project
• Water Aid (UK)
• Water for the Ages

And, if you’re a classroom teacher, peruse the lesson plans about water from Water Partners International. They have both short lessons and complete curriculums for grades 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12.

~ Marsha

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