A Silent Tsunami

While the tsunami that devastated Asia and Africa stunned the world another water disaster is going unnoticed - humanity is quickly running out of its most precious resource
-- a conversation with William K. Reilly

(Ann Kellan)
Most of us were shocked by the devastation of the 2004 tsunami in Asia and Africa...

(rushing water, screams from the tsunami)

(Ann Kellan)
But there's another, even more devastating water disaster we are failing to notice. It kills hundreds of thousands every year, and is the subject of a new report called A Silent Tsunami about:

(William K. Reilly)
The absence of water, absence of clean water, drinkable water.

(sound of glass being filled with water)

(William K. Reilly)
Water, I think, is as large a public health problem as we face. There is no bigger one.

(Ann Kellan)
William Reilly chairs the advisory board of Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and co-authored A Silent Tsunami. He says Americans take clean water for granted until we face a shortage... or leave the country.

(William K. Reilly)
It's so common for Americans to go to places where we wouldn't consider drinking water. All the guidebooks tell you don't do it. I would think human empathy would cause us to ask, "well if we can't drink the water, what are the locals doing?"

(Ann Kellan)
Over a billion people lack safe drinking water and most of the disease in developing countries comes from water contamination. As our economy becomes more globalized, so will these diseases...

(William K. Reilly)
They migrate with immigrants, they migrate on airplanes, they migrate in the air in some cases. It's going to effect us.

(Ann Kellan)
To make matters worse, the same countries that lack clean water are quickly using up their reserves. Reilly says there are no policies or technologies in place to encourage conservation. The bottom line? The world is quickly running out...

(William K. Reilly)
We had, over the last century, a six-fold increase in water use at the same time ... population just doubled. Now obviously that's a trend that can't be sustained.

(Ann Kellan)
To download a free copy of the report and find out how to stop this Silent Tsunami from claiming even more lives, put Earth File dot O-R-G in your Web browser. I'm Ann Kellan, and that's another one for the Earth File.

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