This Friday, Oct. 15, bloggers around the world will be talking about water and the many issues related to it as part of the fourth annual Blog Action Day. It’s a chance for people, corporations and nonprofits to come together to talk about one of the most important issues facing the planet today. Because, believe it or not, the lack of clean water is responsible for an astonishing 42,000 human deaths every week around the world.
Blog Action Day started in 2007, the brainchild of founders Collis & Cyan Ta’eed. That year, they talked about the broad issue of the environment. In 2008 bloggers waxed on poverty, and in 2009, addressed climate change.
This year, the Ta’eeds have stepped aside and let a bigger organization handle Blog Action Day. Enter Change.org, the blog network devoted to social issues, which had been the founders’ partner in 2009. More than 3,350 blogs have signed up to participate.
Some people might be surprised that water is this year’s topic. “A lot of people are coming to us saying ‘Oh, I didn’t know water was an issue,’” says Maria Tchijoy, outreach director for Change.org. Water isn’t something people think of right away. So our goal is to get people to understand how many people don’t have access to clean water, and the number of people who die of it,” as well as other water-related issues. “We’re focusing on awareness building,” says Tchijov.
Other issues people can write about include pollution, waste from plastic water bottles, the water footprint of their food, or even fashion.
But Change.org allows people to do more than just learn about an issue. “One of our focuses is letting people take action,” says Tchijov. “A lot of people ask, what else can I do? What action can I take? What fundraising can I help with? We want people to blog, but they can go further.” For example, bloggers can embed an action widget in their blog, linking to a petition to support the United Nations’ efforts to bring clean water to people all over the world. “You can embed in your site or blog post and allow your readers to take action right there,” says Tchijov.
There is also a fundraising option where people can start their own page to raise money for charity: water, a nonprofit which helps bring clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations.
Many of the world’s top 100 blogs are participating in Blog Action Day this year, including the official Google blog, the Gadling travel blog, the White House blog, and the technology blog Mashable. “Blog Action Day is a great melting pot of social media with important global causes to create real change. It’s social media creating social good, so what’s not to love,” says Mashable’s assistant features editor, Zachary Sniderman.
“Blog Action Day is just a perfect opportunity to explore how social media can further philanthropy and work towards creating change,” says Sniderman. “Do we think this one day will solve all the problems immediately? Probably not. But it’s because of initiatives like Blog Action Day — a culling together of conscientious, social media-minded and motivated people — that real change can happen from widespread awareness, advocacy, and hopefully some powerful, practicable solutions.”
Mashable put up its first entry about Blog Action Day last week, where it called for its many readers to take action. As for Friday, “We’re aiming to have some ideas on how individuals can save water or do their small part to help developing countries,” says Sniderman. “Additionally, we’re working on a broader take on how social media plays into water issues and social good at large.”
The many nonprofits partnering with Change.org for Blog Action day illustrates how much of this planet replies upon water. For every partner like the NRDC or Water for People, there are others like Green For All, an organization which focuses more on ending poverty. But lack of water can create poverty or make it worse, and even the United States is not immune. “We see America at a crossroads where water will become either our next looming resource crisis or a foundation of strength and stability for the 21st Century,” says Ricki Weisberg Ndege, communications director for Green for All. “Critical investments in our aging water infrastructure cannot only address issues of water scarcity, water pollution, and public health concerns but also be an important generator of 21st century green jobs. We are asking people to tell their elected officials to invest in our water infrastructure.”
So this Blog Action Day, take a deep drink of precious water and join a few thousand bloggers in taking action in spreading awareness and discussing the issues. After that, “Keep the discussion going,” says Change.org’s Tchijov. Working together, you might help make a difference.
Water droplet by Denis Green via Stock.xchng. Drought by Hafsah Al-Azem via Stock.xchng.