Water, water not everywhere?

That's a drop of water above and it seems to be all the rage in the news as of late, water I mean, not so much the one drop. I watch the Today Show on NBC and they are spotlighting the theme of water as they travel to different parts of the Earth this week.

I don't know about you but I believe in this global warming stuff. Places where there have been snow and glaciers for hundreds of years are disappearing and dwindling. They're losing snow from the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro for crying out loud. Tall mountains are supposed to have snow due to the elevation and temperature and precipitation. That's something that I teach when it comes along in the curriculum.

In CA, a shout out to JM and WW, where they have been in a drought for three years. Three years! Can you imagine that? I suspect you can, if you live in an area like that. My friend JM just wrote me today that she missed the snow here (but only for a little while because where I live we get a lot of snow, an average of at least 120 inches a year). JM says there's no grass or plants where they are in CA, just brown stuff that can burst into flames if you look at it hard enough (her words, not mine). She lives near one of the wild fires and she says the air quality is horrid and they can hardly be outside due to the smoke. Now that stinks!

Ann Curry (who turns 52 tomorrow, flipping 52 and she's gorgeous!) was speaking about water usage in Africa vs. water usage by a typical American family or it may just be an individual, I forget. In Africa: 5 gallons a day. In the USA: 120 gallons a day.

I've seen these numbers before because worldbank.org has a neat website with materials for use in the classroom. That information was in a section on water that I used last school year when we were raising money for the John Dau Sudan Foundation. An eye opener - a difference of 115 gallons a day. A day, people. Imagine the usage after a year. Never mind, I'll do the math for you.

Africa in one year: 1,825 gallons.

The US in one year: 43,800 gallons.

Water is an issue for millions of people whether it's not enough, too much (New Orleans anyone?), not potable (drinkable and clean and healthy), it's disappearing, whatever...

This is just one of those posts about my ramblings, ergo the name Messy Stuff: A Life with MS and Other Ramblings. Any thoughts or comments?