the next great war

i've heard more than a few times that the next waves of war will not take place over oil, but over water. at first glance, it's an astounding thing to think about. war over water. there's water everywhere. water is a renewable resource. no water? wait till it rains (just tell rhode island there isn't enough water). the world's surface is 72% water. how, then, are we running out?

the issue, as it seems, is there isn't potable water everywhere. while the world's surface is 72% water, only 3% of that is fresh water. according to the un institute for water, environment, and health, each person on earth needs 25-50 liters of safe drinking water each day to ensure their basic needs (cooking, cleaning, consumption), yet one in six people worldwide (894 million) don't have access to this amount. according to a un report:

"globally, diarrhea is the leading cause of illness and death, and 88 per cent of diarrhea-related deaths are due to a lack of access to sanitation facilities, together with inadequate availability of water for hygiene and unsafe drinking water. today 2.5 billion people, including almost one billion children, live without even basic sanitation. every 20 seconds, a child dies as a result of poor sanitation. that's 1.5 million preventable deaths each year."

statistically, water is disproportionately used and consumed. generally speaking, "first world," developed countries use the most, while "third world," developing countries use the least. in the united states, for example,  the average american uses between 80 and 100 gallons of water a day; compare that to one of it's closest neighbors, haiti, where the average person uses less than 15. 

where do we use all that water? for one, toilets. it can take between 1.6-4 gallons of water, for a single flush. flush three times and you've used as much water as a haitian for the day. how about showers? a five-minute shower can use between 8-20 gallons of water. what about a bottle of water? according to the international bottled water association, the united states in 2005 consumed 17.4% of the world's bottled water, yet only holds 4.54% of the world's population.  it starts to add up quickly, right?


i guess my entire point is this: water is almost a right for us. but for most of the world, it's a luxury. i meant to post this video a few weeks ago, but i was out of the country. water is an issue that many, myself included, take for granted. spending a year in ecuador greatly opened my eyes to the need and plight facing many around the world without access to clean, potable water. when you have three minutes to spare, watch the following video put together by the national geographic society.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pXuAw1bSQo&playnext_from=TL&videos=r6utTtVw9FA