Need I say more? No, but you know I will anyway. Just a little. While here in the U.S. our biggest dilemma is generally "bottled or tap?," there are countries where clean, drinkable water is a scarce commodity. WHO and the UN estimate there to be 1.1 billion people in the world without access to safe drinking water.
Each year, 1.62 million children under 5 die from diarrhea caused by unsafe water*; 1.17 million children under 5 die from malaria. 2/3 of these children are in Asia.
And just how many children in the U.S. die from diarrhea? Googled it, since no one really seems to know-- because it's practically unheard of. Let me put it this way: I found the stats on some random medical website; they were "Not Applicable." The most recent one they had for the U.S. was 3,100 people in 1985**. And WHOSIS (WHO Statistical Information System) doesn't even have an option for it in the U.S.
Help contribute to sustainable water projects! Support WaterPartnersInternational and World Water Day 2010! Also, WHOSIS is interesting to mess around with. Take a look for yourself.
P.S. - Tap water in America is generally better than bottled water- it must pass higher standards. Buy a filter and a reusable bottle. It's considerably cheaper in the long run.
* WHO Facts and Figures Updated November 2004 - These figures above were figured out by me! (It's basic math. 90% of total. Just letting you know.)
** Wrong Diagnosis. Best I could find - and that's really saying something... There were a few journal articles, but they stop at 1987.
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