38,000 Children Will Die This Week

Did you know that 90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are to children under five years old. Yeah… that is disturbing. But what’s more disturbing is that right now there are almost a billion people on this planet without access to safe drinking water. Let me repeat that: a billion f**king people don’t have access to safe drinking water.

The good news is you can do something about it…. you can start conserving, help fundraise, donate money and raise awareness to the global water crisis. Organizations like Charity: Water (check out the video below) are doing just that and helping bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing countries.

Funny (sad?) how all of us in the developed countries take something so basic for granted every day.  But hopefully you’ll think of this post next time you take a shower, brush your teeth or flush the toilet. If you want to make a change right now (as in right this second), you can start by signing this petition to help support UN’s efforts.

If you want conservation tips and calculate how much water you use, check out the following links (via Mashable):

• National Geographic: Water Footprint Calculator

  The good people at National Geographic created a fun calculator populated with some water-friendly cartoon ducks. The light-hearted approach can help you measure your usage across a variety of fields and make a pledge to lower your consumption.

• Water Buddy Water Usage Tracker

  This app keeps a history of your water meter readings and compares it to suggested usage limits in your region. You can tell the app, compatible with all iOS 4 devices, how many people are using water in your house to re-adjust your suggested limits.

• H2O Calculator

  H2O Conserve, a subdivision of sustainability non-profit GRACE, brings you the H2O calculator. This app will measure how many gallons of water you consume per day and match it against a national average. Don’t worry, it’s not a guilt trip. Once you get your results, the calculator provides some helpful tips on how to cut down.

• Nature’s Voice: Our Choice

  This campaign is building a digital river with all the water you pledge to conserve. The best part: Each donor receives a conservation kit for their home.

• Virtual Water

  This European organization created a cool iPhone app to show how much freshwater is used to produce selected products. The Virtual Water Project app has been featured for it’s minimalist design but there’s some good info in there as well, who knew 500 grams of barley requires 650 liters of water to grow?

In support of Blog Action Day 2010.