This Issue:

Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Water Troubles

Cormelia Gogu lives in a small town in Romania, a country in Eastern Europe. Last year, the water at her school was unsafe for kids to drink or even to wash their hands in.

Romanians are working with a U.S. group to build new pipes and bathrooms at the school. Already, things have improved. "Now we can drink water during our breaks," Cormelia, 12, told TFK. "We can wash our hands."

GOING DOWN THE DRAIN?

To get clean freshwater, most Americans simply turn a faucet. But more than 1 billion people around the world do not have water that is safe to drink. That's about one out of every six people! Poor countries in west Asia, Central and South America and Africa have the most serious water shortages.

While oceans cover much of the earth, the world has a small amount of freshwater that people can use. Humans aren't conserving, or saving, enough water. Pollution is harming drinking water sources. Low rainfall has caused some countries to suffer through years of drought.

GET WATER WISE!

UNICEF, the World Health Organization and other groups work to get clean water to the people who need it most. By 2015, these groups hope to cut by half the number of people who don't have enough water.

Mansoor Ali works with UNICEF. He says the only way to help our thirsty world is to make "major changes in how we use and manage water."

WHAT'S THE SCOOP?
Do you use water wisely? How can you save water at home and at school?

Find Earth Day activities at timeforkids.com/earthday.

Next: Food for Thought