WATER

What would we do without it?

On March 22nd, people around the world and across the United States will take a moment to celebrate the life-giving properties of water, focus on critical water-related issues, and commit to ensuring that scores of future generations of humans and other species have wide-scale access to clean water.

World Water Day’s theme this year is “valuing water” and provides us all with the opportunity to learn more about water issues, take action, and educate others about the myriad threats to clean water that is so necessary for drinking, agriculture, industry, biodiversity, wildlife habitats, recreation, and more. This year’s celebration will be held virtually. We encourage you to register for the online event.

Click Here to Register

The United Nations estimates that there are presently over 633 million people living without a safe water supply close to home, spending countless hours trekking to distant sources, and living in fear of contaminated water. While the world’s water challenges seem endless, thankfully progress is being made – with the UN’s current program of Sustainable Development Goal 6 looking to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030.

As a key population-related issue, NPG has consistently been focused on educating our members – and especially young people through our extensive educational outreach programs – regarding the vital need to keep our nation’s leaders focused on protecting America’s all-important water resources.

Without question, America’s creeks, ponds, lakes and rivers form our nation’s bloodstream. Yet, today many are plagued by outdated dams, polluted by industrial and agricultural runoff, and littered with debris that threatens fish and other natural resources.

In 2020, the organization American Rivers issued their list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers which included:

#1 Upper Mississippi River
#2 Lower Missouri River
#3 Big Sunflower River (MS)
#4 Puyallup River (WA)
#5 South Fork Salmon River (ID)
#6 Menominee River (MI, WI)
#7 Rapid Creek (SD)
#8 Okefenokee Swamp & St. Mary’s River (FL, GA)
#9 Ocklawaha River (FL)
#10 Southern Youghiogheny River (PA)

NPG takes the threat to our water very seriously. Soaring population numbers must be circumvented to curb the threats to our water in the U.S. before it is too late. As Michael Hanauer states, in his May 2020 NPG Forum paper: “Population growth is crucial in its impact on virtually every problem we face, and in its major impact in ever reaching authentic sustainability. Stopping, and then reversing, population growth is a necessary part of the sustainability equation. Environmental organizations and individuals need to incorporate the population connection into their program.”

To read more about population issues, please explore NPG’s Forum paper series, notably:

Climate Change, Migration and National Security, by Edwin S. Rubenstein

The True Environmental Disaster – The Silence on Our Growing Overpopulation, by Michael G. Hanauer

America’s Groundwater: Are We Doing Enough to Save it?, by Chris Daly

Revisiting the Chesapeake Bay The Effect of Population Growth on America’s Largest Estuary, by Tom Horton

Support NPG and our mission for a truly sustainable population.