Friday, March 29, 2013

Just Turn on the Sink and Drink

I've been thinking about water a lot lately. Its not necessarily something new for me as I'm known for always carrying a water bottle and for being strongly against the consumption of plastic bottled water (for information why check out this video:
http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-bottled-water/ ). Interestingly enough, it became a cultural taboo to be seen with a plastic water bottle around Stonehill's campus. When I studied abroad in AndalucĂ­a, Spain I learned first hand what it was like to live in a city with a constant water shortage. We had to be careful with how long our showers were, but could easily turn on the tap and drink from it without becoming ill.

I cannot do that here.

If I did not drink bottled water here, I would become very sick. Clean water from the tap had never seemed like such a luxury to me as it did when a Peruvian asked, "If you want water, do you just turn on the sink and drink from it? Wow!" This was such a foreign concept to her that she could barely understand it. Two of the main health problems for people here are dehydration and dysentery (from drinking the water).

Water is absolutely necessary for human survival. For a number of Americans, the fact that water would not be completely and easily accessible is ridiculous and unfathomable, but for the rest of the world this is reality.

In the midst of all these thoughts on water, my older brother has decided to run a 5k race to raise money for clean water. If you're interested in donating to this cause go to his website:
http://grouprev.com/petemichaelson?saved=1

In the meantime, please be conscious about your water consumption. If you are lucky enough to have clean tap water do not abuse the environment (and your wallet for that matter) by buying plastic bottled water.

Peace, love, and water for all!

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