You may take your running dishwasher, or toilet, or showers for granted, but on World Water Day (WWD) you should take a moment to appreciate the fact that you have fresh running water at all.
During June 3 – 14, 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) sponsored the Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro. It was during this conference that the United nations General Assembly declared March 22nd of every year to be observed as World Water Day, and the first WWD was to be observed on March 22nd 1993.
Each year had a different theme based around water and water conservation.
1993: the very first World Water Day
1994’s theme: Caring for our Water Resources is Everyone’s Business
1995’s theme: Women and Water
1996’s theme: Water for Thirsty Cities
1997’s theme: The World’s Water, Is there enough?
1998’s theme was Groundwater, The Invisible Resource
1999’s theme: Everyone Lives Downstream
2000’s theme: Water for the 21st Century
2001’s theme: Water and Health
2002’s theme: Water for Development
2003’s theme: Water for the Future
2004’s theme: Water and Disasters
2005’s theme: Water for Life
2006’s theme: Cultural Traditions using Water
2007’s theme: Coping with Water Scarcity
2008’s theme: Sanitation
2009’s theme: Trans-boundary Waters
You ay be thinking what are these people talking about? There is more water on earth than there is land! While that may be true, there isn’t enough fresh drinking water, and as population continues to increase, there will be less and less water to share amongst ourselves if we continue to waste it. Too many of us are using water like it’s an unlimited resource. It is actually one of the more limited resources on the planet. All life on earth relies on water to live and if we continue to waste it, animals and plants will not be able to survive. As plants died due to lack of water, the animals that eat plants will die due to lack of food. The animals that eat other animals (that includes us) will not have any food to survive. Also as plants die, our supply of oxygen will start to drop since plants convert carbon dioxide that we exhale into air for us to inhale.
In a way, you could say that water is the most precious resource on earth and we should do all w can to conserve it.
World Water Day has been and will continue to be a critical observance for us in order to survive.
Think about this day the next time you have a twenty minute shower, or send your kids to play in the sprinkler. It is up to us.
