Water
We all need water to live and be healthy. We need to drink clean water every day. We also need water to wash ourselves, for cooking, for washing clothes, for animals to drink, for cleaning our house, and for watering plants and crops. Although water covers two thirds of the earth's surface, most of it is too salty for us to use. Only 2.5% is not salty, and most of that is locked up in icecaps and glaciers. Humans have available less than 0.08% of all the earth's water.
Our use of the world's water resources is highly unequal. Water consumption per person is ten times higher in developed countries than in developing countries. Virtually everyone in richer countries has access to safe piped water, while in poorer countries obtaining water can be a daily struggle. The world situation is becoming increasingly worrying. More than half of the world's major rivers are now seriously depleted and polluted. This is threatening the health and livelihood of people who depend on them, and degrading the surrounding environment. Currently one in three people lives in a water-stressed environment, and this is expected to double within 25 years.