It's World Water Day today, an international day that was initiated by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in 1991. Each year has a different theme, and this year's is "Coping with water scarcity".
To mark the day, here are a few relevant numbers. Taken from UNWater, UNStats and the World Conservation Union.
Up to 50 litres of water are flushed down the toilet every day in industrialised, urban households.
Nearly 70% of freshwater drawn by humans is used to produce food.
70% of water used for agricultural production is wasted.
15,000 litres of water are needed to produce 1 kg of grain-fed beef.
1500 litres are needed to produce 1 kg of wheat.
More than 1 in 6 worldwide (1.1 billion) don't have access to the minimum amount of water recommended by the UN to meet daily needs (that minimum amount is between 20 and 50 litres).
3800 children die every day from diseases associated with lack of drinking water and sanitation.
96% of North American households, but only 18% of African households, are connected to piped water supplies.
100% of North American households are connected to sewers; in Africa, that number drops to 43%.
If anyone want to get involved in this or future World Water days contact WaterAid.
1 comment:
I wish I would have found out about this earlier, so I could have announced it to the Ocean’s Management class. However, it should be a bit better organized, to take the name of World water day, so everyone could get involved!
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