FunnySpoon: Sassy Cooking Shortcuts: Blog Action Day 2010: Water

Today is Blog Action Day and this year's topic is water. We're participating in this event by sharing just a few shocking facts about the world's water usage and supply:

Unsafe drinking water and lack of sanitation kills more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Unclean drinking water can incubate some pretty scary diseases, like E. coli, salmonella, cholera and hepatitis A. Given that bouquet of bacteria, it's no surprise that water, or rather lack thereof, causes 42,000 deaths each week.

Every day, women and children in Africa walk a combined total of 109 million hours to get water. They do this while carrying cisterns weighing around 40 pounds when filled in order to gather water that, in many cases, is still polluted. Aside from putting a great deal of strain on their bodies, walking such long distances keeps children out of school and women away from other endeavors that can help improve the quality of life in their communities.

The average American uses 159 gallons of water every day – more than 15 times the average person in the developing world. From showering and washing our hands to watering our lawns and washing our cars, Americans use a lot of water. To put things into perspective, the average five-minute shower will use about 10 gallons of water. Now imagine using that same amount to bathe, wash your clothes, cook your meals and quench your thirst.

Want to help? Get on board with one or more of these easy solutions:

Be more aware of how much water you use. Turn it off when you can, use less where you can. You don't need to put a bucket in your shower to capture reusable water or stop shaving - we're not trying to turn the world into hippies. But maybe take a shorter shower or water your lawn a little less often.