Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
water.org
Matt Damon: ‘Real Opportunity’ to Save People through Clean Water
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Mar 23, 2014 9:26am
ABC News
ABC News’ Haley Muse reports:
An estimated 2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitation, and 780 million lack access to clean water. It was staggering figures like these that prompted Damon to co-found the non-profit water.org in 2009.
“It’s just so huge,” Damon said. “There’s a real opportunity to save a lot of people.”
Since its inception, water.org has provided safe drinking water and sanitation across three continents by building wells and toilets through donations and microloan programs.
“It’s really hard for us to relate to it in the West,” Damon said. “A clean glass of water is as far as the faucet and we all have toilets.”
Damon is using his fame, and some bathroom humor, to bring the issue to light.
In a viral YouTube video, “Matt Damon Goes on Strike,” Damon declared, “Until everybody has access to clean water, I will not go to the bathroom.” He also enlisted some celebrity friends to take the fictitious pledge, including A-Listers Jessica Biel and Bono.
All jokes aside, the Oscar-winning actor wants people in the West to understand the severity of this global issue.
“Every 20 seconds, a child dies because they lack access to clean water and sanitation — not here,” Damon said. “Our kids aren’t going to die from diarrhea. That’s just an inconvenience to us in the West. But it is a stark, terrifying reality to billions of people on the planet.”
Through a hands-on, community driven approach, Water.org works with the local communities through the entire building process, starting with a loan, or what they refer to as “WaterCredit.”
“Instead of just drilling a well and giving it to somebody for free, what we’re looking at is how do we help them get access to a small loan, so that they can get a water connection at their home from the local utility and become a customer,” Water.org co-founder Gary White said.
Their approach is working. Damon said that of the roughly 250,000 loans Water.org has provided, 98 percent have been paid back in full. As loans are repaid, funds can be redistributed to others in need, reducing the need for subsidies, and allowing parents to work and children to go to school instead of spend their days fetching water. Those who are affected most, Damon said, are girls.
“Girls are the ones who do the water collections,” he said. “Girls are the ones who are leaving school and not going to school because their job is to fetch water for the family. If you can get them access to water then the outlook for that girl completely changes. Suddenly, she can have hope for a bright future rather than a future that basically exists around trying to scavenge for water to survive to the next day.”
While Water.org has made a significant impact, Damon said this is still a timely issue that needs more attention.
“People’s lives are at stake,” he said. “These deaths are unnecessary, yet children are still dying by the millions.”
Visit water.org to learn more.
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Sunday, February 16, 2014
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
nother reason to get a filter
Must-read firsthand account from a pissed of West Virginian:http://huff.to/L6xCcc
Thanks to The Sierra Club
Thanks to The Sierra Club
Saturday, January 11, 2014
reason #357 to get a water filter
4 Hospitalized, Dozens Seek Treatment AFter West Virginia Chemical Spill
Roughly 300,000 residents struggle without tap water
Four people have been admitted to a Charleston hospital after a chemical leaked into a West Virginia’s public water treatment system Thursday, state authorities said Saturday.
The conditions of the hospitalized West Virginia residents’ are not yet known, reports the Associated Press, but approximately 32 people have sought treatment at area hospitals for nausea and vomiting.
Up to 5,000 gallons of the chemical 4-methylcyclohexane methanol was leaked from the Freedom Industries plant into Elk River, forcing businesses, restaurants and schools to close. The water system needs to be flushed until the concentration of tainted water is low enough before it can be treated, which could take days, officials said.
Until then, roughly 300,000 people in nine counties are without tap water for drinking, bathing, or washing. Some area stores had run out of bottled water, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other companies were replenishing the bottled water supply Saturday.
[AP]
Read more: 4 Hospitalized, Dozens Seek Treatment AFter West Virginia Chemical Spill | TIME.com http://nation.time.com/2014/01/11/4-hospitalized-dozens-seek-treatment-after-west-virginia-chemical-spill/#ixzz2q6vdDhdP
IN THE NEWS:
W.Va. residents still waiting for tap water
A company president apologized to West Virginia residents for a chemical leak that got into a public water treatment system, and a state agency ordered Freedom Industries to remove its remaining chemicals from the site.
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