Water is the foundation for human life - it is our basic and most important requirement. Yet over 1 billion people do not have access to adequate water for their basic needs. Why? There is enough water on the planet for everybody, but the UN reckons that in twenty-five years time 5 billion people will lack a decent supply of water.

Shouldn't water be a collective right and not something that is traded and sold, sequestered and abused and polluted for mammon? Why is water ten times more expensive in Niger than it is in Manhattan - is that fair? Water should be a public good and all governments should regard it as such and protect it as they would a national park.

When I eat a tomato in January I am eating Spanish water table. I am literally eating the future of a country. In a decade or so the water table of western Andalucia will be empty and the farmers (after seeking compensation from the government) will move on leaving a barren desolate land devoid of water. When I play on a golf course in Spain I am walking across something that uses 2.3 million litres of water a day, enough for 16,000 people!

We need fewer dams, less bottled water and a more responsible attitude from our politicians to our most precious resource.

I have a suggestion for Greenvoice users. If you have a garden, get a water butt and use rain water on your plants; that in itself would save water as a garden hose uses 1,100 litres of water per hour. And if you're feeling empowered please sign up for a water campaign or two on the site and read Anita Roddick's book Troubled Water.

A selection of water campaigns from Greenvoice:

• Dirty aid, dirty water
• Provide safe water in Uganda
• Refill your water bottle

Sources:

Unesco Water Portal Weekly Update No. 92: Water Use
http://www.unesco.org/water/news/newsletter/92.shtml

Barcelona forced to import emergency water
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/14/spain.water