Water is life.

“Water is life. It’s the briny broth of our origins, the pounding circulatory system of the world. We stake our civilizations on the coasts and mighty rivers. Our deepest dread is the threat of having too little-or too much.” -Barbara Kingsolver

There is not a doubt that the Blue Planet needs more of its blue. However, we are not running out of water, like what the majority of our world assumes. The amount of freshwater on Earth has not changed. It is the very same water the dinosaurs drank millions of years ago. But is there enough for a more crowded world? Possibly. Americans use almost 100 gallons of water at home every day. Millions of our world’s poorest people survive on less than 5 gallons per day. Most women in the parched regions of Africa must walk an average of 3.7 miles to get water for their families. Will we ever come to a happy medium? Most likely not. The reason why most areas of Africa and India are so thirsty is because there is so little of it naturally…and the majority of their citizens cannot afford private water spouts. It is a war of the haves, vs. have-nots in their cases. One woman, named Barbara Kingsolver explored the sub-Saharan areas of Africa to find the some of the driest sands she says she’s “ever gotten in [her] shoes”. In one village that she visited, the housewives must walk a total of 8 hours a day to fetch water. Their husbands work on a nearby well that is currently as dry as the sands that surround them. Day after day, they shovel up loads of dry, hopeless sands. According to Kingsolver, the pile of sand next to the black hole they call a well, is mountainous. Still, five years later, a dozen hopeful men bring up dry sands, loosing faith with every shovelful. As I wrote this, I could not help but to ask the question: “Why won’t they just move?” But the answer is clear: there is nowhere else. 40% of the people in that region of Africa are more than a half hour from their closest water supply. And that distance is constantly growing. We need to conserve! Without a doubt, there is no other option. Almost 70% of our planet’s fresh water is trapped in ice. The majority of the rest is underground in aquifers, which we’re unfortunately draining faster than its recharge rate. Two-thirds of the remaining water is used to grow food, so with an average of 83 million more people on Earth every year, the demand for water will keep going up…unless we change how we use it. You may think that you use water sparingly, but do you really? You probably enjoy a wonderful 30 minute shower nightly, and you most likely keep the faucet running as you