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Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Water Troubles

Spanish Translation

--By Kathryn Satterfield

Last year, Cormelia Gogu and other students in her small town in Romania didn't have any clean water at their school. Old, rundown pipes made it dangerous for kids to drink the water or even to wash their hands. The dirty water made many kids sick.

These days, things are improving at Cormelia's school. A Romanian aid group, working with the U.S.-based Earth Day Network, is rebuilding the school's pipes and bathrooms. "Now we can drink water during our breaks," Cormelia, 12, told TFK. "We can wash our hands."

Cormelia knows that water is a precious gift. But many people in the United States and other wealthy nations don't. A simple turn of the faucet gives us gallons of clean freshwater. It's easy to believe that the supply will never run dry.

GOING DOWN THE DRAIN?

Eighty of the world's 193 countries suffer from serious water shortages. Problems are the greatest in the developing nations of Africa, Asia and Latin America. But water woes spill over into other countries too.

In recent years, the United Nations, the World Health Organization and other international groups have pumped up their efforts to protect the world's water and to deliver it to those who need it most. As a result, many of the world's poorest communities now have access to updated, more efficient water systems. Still, 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water. Aid groups hope to cut that number in half by 2015.

The earth is about 75% water. But only 2.5% of that is freshwater. Most of the freshwater is frozen in ice caps, leaving just 1% for human use. Sadly, we're draining our planet's limited supply at an alarming rate, and we're choking our waterways with chemicals and pollutants.

Water use is swelling to unmanageable levels. It increased at twice the rate that the world's population grew during the past century. In parts of China, India, Pakistan, African countries and even the United States, wells that bring people groundwater for drinking and crop irrigation are drained faster than they can refill.

Expanding desert regions and unpredictable rainfall levels are parching some places on earth. Countries in the Middle East, parts of Asia, and east and southern Africa are suffering from years of drought. In recent years, because of a drought, even some U.S. states have had to cut back on water use during the summers.

REFRESHING NEWS

The planet's water woes are "absolutely solvable," says Mansoor Ali, UNICEF's senior adviser of water, the environment and sanitation. But it won't be easy to quench the world's thirst. "It's going to take some major changes in how we think about water," he told TFK, "and how we value, manage and use water."

Aid groups are making steady gains, educating kids and adults on how to conserve and protect water. In Romania, Cormelia and her neighbors are soaking up all the knowledge they can. Says Tatiana Done, the director of the water project there: "The people really understand that something can be done."

THINK!
In what ways does your family or community waste water? How can you help conserve this valuable resource?

GO
Find Earth Day activities at timeforkids.com/earthday.

Next: Tough Questions For The President