Today is Blog Action Day! If you don't know, the idea is very simple. A theme is selected and bloggers join in to right about this topic. By talking, writing and thinking about one topic for one day, hopefully more awareness will be created around this theme, hopefully leading to change. Even the White House is joining in this year. Let's prove Malcolm Gladwell is wrong! ;-) This year's theme is 'WATER'.
Coming from a country that, if it weren't for dikes, would mostly be under water, I understand the importance and the danger of water. In the previous years we've seen all kinds of disasters relating to water. Just think back to hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. Or the floods in Pakistan. And now the dike that broke in Hungary.
But we can also relate to the way water is being and has been polluted. Just relate to the BT oil platform that pumped huge amount of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. We can't even imagine the damage that as done to the sea (ecology) there.
These examples are of water abundance. But there are many people in the world that would love to have some water. For themselves, their kids and crops. The Blog Action Day website has lots of facts about how many people are effected by draught, for instance.
Coming from a Western country, I tend to take water for granted. Every morning I wake up and may assume there's water when I flush the toilet, open a faucet or take a shower. It's there in huge amounts for a relatively small price. This Action Day sets me on my feet and makes me thankful for those simple facts. It also helps me focus on not using too much water and reusing water if possible (e.g. for gardening). Maybe we should combine this Blog Action Day with a no-water-using day?
Every year we get a bill mentioning the amount of water use per year. It would be great if we'd have an interactive monitor in our house to show the weekly or monthly water usage. Just to make you aware.
I hope this little blogpost will make a difference, just like all the other one's. And I hope we keep each other focused and actionable on themes like 'water'!
Oh, and don't forget to sign the petition!
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