by Anne Moore Odell

SocialFunds.com -- Water--so important for life that you don't think about it until its not there. Yet for many parts of the world, securing clean drinking water is a serious problem. Population growth and water usage are already straining current water supplies. The United Nations estimates that in the near future two-thirds of all countries will be "water stressed" with 1.8 billion people suffering from "absolute water scarcity." In developing countries, the lack of clean water and inadequate sanitation is the leading cause of child mortality, reports the UN.

Only around three percent of the water on earth is fresh water. However, fresh water supplies are being destroyed at an alarming rate as surface water supplies are polluted and groundwater supplies, which make up 99% of available freshwater, are mined beyond their natural rate of replenishment. Global climate change further exacerbates the supply issue as climatic changes disrupt weather patterns causing drought and desertification.

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Posted by boyang at August 4, 2008 10:52 PM