Saturday, August 30, 2008

Water is Life

How much water does the average Libyan use on a daily basis? Did you know that Americans use between 100 and 175 gallons per person every day, while the average British citizen uses just 35.6 gallons? Compare that to the average for unindustrialized countries which is only 2.6 gallons a day.

I'm always amazed by the amount of water wasted by the majority of Libyans. Especially since they live in a country that has a serious water situation. I watch my neighbours sloshing bucket upon bucket of water to clean their balconies on a daily basis. If you look at the balconies of many homes you can see water damage caused by the amount of water that's used! Same for washing the floors and carpets. It seems the more water they use the better they feel. Is this really necessary?



We have water now, thanks to the Great Man-Made River project. But it's not expected to last forever... and then what? I remember my life here in the 90s. The water would turn on in the late afternoon and trickle out of the tap for about 45 minutes. Then there would be the mad dash when I would fill every bucket and container in my house with water before the water stopped for the day. And that water wasn't fit to drink - it was brackish and salty. We could only use it for cleaning and flushing the toilets. I quickly learned that it would take 5 litres of water to give a baby a bath and 10 litres for an adult. We saved the dirty bath water to use for flushing the toilet. Have you ever washed your hair with salt water? Everyday was a bad hair day! Washing the dishes was a project all by itself. I don't want those days to return to Libya.... No, not ever!

But this isn't an issue for just Libya. It's a global problem. Blue Planet Run has a FREE BOOK you can download as well as interesting articles and videos related to the water crisis that our planet is facing. Take some time to have a look and find out more.

And the next time you turn on the tap... take a moment to think. Water is Life!


10 comments:

  1. I agree with you l00%. I live in Dubai, and nothing makes me more crazy than people cleaning the sand from their garages, driveways, sidewalks, etc. with a hose rather than using a broom! Then there's the washing of their cars everyday (yes everyday) - don't even get me started. People wake up! Good post.

    ReplyDelete
  2. السيدة خديجة أهنئك بحلول شهر رمضان المبارك وأشاطرك قلقك على تبذير الماء قال الله سبحانه وتعالى "ان المبذرين كانوا اخوان الشياطين" كما قال رسول الله (ص) لا تسرف في الماء و لو كنت تغرف من نهر.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I used the translator boton my mesenger to traslate abullatif's comment and here is what it came up with:

    Ms. Khadija congratulate you by the blessed month of Ramadan and share the concern of the waste water was God Almighty, "The Wastrels Brothers were devils," as The Messenger of God (s) no Saraf in the water if you drink from the river.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dear Khadija
    Internet translators are never accurate.
    Her's what actually abdullatif said:-
    Ms Khadija, I congratulate you by the arrival of the blessed month of Ramadan, and I share your concern regarding the waste of water.
    God Almighty said:- " The Wastrels were brothers of the devil"
    And as The Messenger of God said:-"Do not waste water even if you scoop it from the river"

    ReplyDelete
  5. السيدة خديجة
    اردت أن أنبهك الى إن الترجمة لتعليقي على موضوع(الماء هو الحياة) غير دقيقة فوجدت أن السيد محمود أبودابر(أرجو أن يكون الاسم صحيحا) قد سبقني لذلك .شكرا محمود
    كما أرجو من السيدة خديجة أن تترك ما كتب باللغة العربية كما هو طالما كان صالحا للنشر.

    ReplyDelete
  6. abullatif diango said... according to the translator bot by Google:


    Ms. Khadija
    I wanted to cautioned that the interpretation of my comment on the subject (water is life) are inaccurate and found that Mr. Mahmoud Abodabr (I hope that the name correct) had preceded me for that. Thank Mahmoud
    I hope Ms. Khadija to leave what has been written in Arabic as long as it fit for publication.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Abdullatif... why don't you just post your comments in English seeing that this is a blog written in English and that you are obviously capable of reading English?

    ReplyDelete
  8. استطيع قراءة اللغة الانجليزية وفهم المعنى العام للموضوع,ولكن لاأستطيع الكتابة بها!
    بما أن تعليقاتي باللغة العربية قد ضايقتك,سيكون هذا أخر تعليق وسأكتفي بدور المتفرج.

    ReplyDelete
  9. translated by google: I can read and understand the English language on-General of the topic, but l can not write it!
    Since my comments in Arabic were harassed, this will be another comment and I will play a spectator.

    Abullatif... why don't you use google translate to translate your comments?

    ReplyDelete

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