"Water, Water Everywhere, Nor any Drop to Drink!"

Were you thirsty on Saturday? Not even a teensy bit I’ll bet! You probably had too much on your mind to give water much of a thought on Saturday, unless of course your shower was too hot or too cold. You didn’t give it a thought even though it was, after all, “World Water Day.” Actually, IF you lived here in the USofA, you probably weren’t even aware that there was such an event as World Water Day. Despite your ignorance, (I didn’t say stupidity, I said ignorance) take the time right now to count yourself lucky that you live here, and give thanks. More than 1 billion people (20% of our entire planet’s human population) were very thirsty on Saturday. In fact, they were dangerously thirsty, dehydrated and down-right sick on Saturday because the water they drank was contaminated or polluted, or because they had virtually no water at all. Your kids were even luckier, but about 4500 children didn’t have it so good. They died on Saturday. They didn’t have a handy bottle of Evian or Poland Springs so they just, well, died. And oh, by the way, another 4500 of them died today as well --- FYI about one a minute. And just one more thing: 90% of them were under 5 years of age.

Every third or fourth person on our little ‘water planet’ lives in what health officials describe as “water stressed” countries. No one is certain of the exact numbers because the extensive of lack of water systems and the necessary infrastructure, plus pervasive inadequate sanitation throughout the world makes it difficult to be precise. It’s often true that even where there is adequate water, it’s polluted or contaminated in some way. That particular issue is actually beginning to haunt us here as well. Did you notice the stories that surfaced in the last couple of weeks from the Associated Press? Researchers have discovered a veritable cornucopia of pharmaceuticals, from uppers and downers, to birth control hormones to Viagra, in the drinking water of many of our major cities, right here in the good olde USofA. Whoopie! Dial a drug.

Actually, though the officially sanctioned “World Water Day” has passed under the bridge of time (sorry about that), it’s better to think of every day as “world water day”, because it is. Take the time to educate yourself about water, about watersheds, about the hydrological cycle, etc. Take the time to figure out how much water you are using both as an individual and as a family; then try to be more observant about ways you can cut down on your water use. Don’t even think about watering your lawn or washing your car. You may try to convince yourself that it doesn’t make any real difference what you do as an individual. Your personal lifestyle couldn’t have that much of an impact on things, could it? You already know the answer to that.

I'm not sure if by just drinking beer and wine I can avoid the unwanted drug residues in the drinking water, but I think I'll go that route anyway just to be on the safer side.