Run for water, live earth 18 April 2010

18 April 2010
6km Run/Walk
100 countries around the world
The Dow Live Earth Run for Water will consist of a series of 6 km run/walks (the average distance many women and children walk every day to secure water) taking place over the course of 24 hours in over 100 countries around the world, featuring concerts and water education activities aimed at igniting a tipping point to help solve the water crisis.

Water scarcity affects one in three people on every continent of the globe. The situation is getting worse as needs for water rise along with population growth, urbanization and increases in household and industrial uses.
•Almost one fifth of the world’s population (about 1.2 billion people) live in areas where the water is physically scarce. One quarter of the global population also live in developing countries that face water shortages due to a lack of infrastructure to fetch water from rivers and aquifers.
•At any one time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from water-borne diseases.
•Over one-third of the world’s population has no access to sanitation facilities.
•In developing countries, about 80% of illnesses are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions.
•1 out of every 4 deaths under the age of 5 worldwide is due to a water-related disease.
•In developing countries, it is common for water collectors, usually women and girls, to have to walk several kilometers every day to fetch water. Once filled, pots and jerry cans weigh as much as 20kg (44lbs).
•Why we need to act
•Only 1% of the total water resources on earth are available for human use. While 70% of the world’s surface is covered by water, 97.5% of that is salt water. Of the remaining 2.5% that is freshwater, almost 68.7% is frozen in ice caps and glaciers.
•Canada controls about 20% of the earth’s fresh water.
•Up to 30% of fresh water supplies are lost due to leakage in developed countries, and in some major cities, losses can run as high as 40% to 70%.
•About 90% of sewage and 70% of industrial wastes in developing countries are discharged into water courses without treatment, often polluting the usable water supply.
•A person living in Sub-Saharan Africa uses about 10-20 (2.6-5.26 gallons) litresof water a day; on average, a Canadian uses 326 litres(86 gallons) a day.

We take it for granted. We waste it. It is the foundation of life, a basic human need.

Full details of the event and its beneficiaries can be found at www.liveearth.org.