Did you know that Matt Damon– guy with amazing acting chops, handsome boyish good looks, and big heart– is co-founder of Water.org? This organization works with developing countries to make clean water and sanitation possible. They do so by setting up wells within reasonable distances of villages so people can have a nearby sustainable water supply.

Long-term solutions that are community-based are the best solutions to the problems that many countries face: disease and death due to unsafe, unclean water or no water at all. It’s great that water.org  partners with communities to enable and empower them to take an active part in the process. Another focus is basic sanitation; water sources that are overrun and polluted with waste from animals and humans is no good.  Toilets, my friends, are still a new thing to many people. Read more on why and how Matt is involved.

Every single day, no joke, I give thought (and thanks) to our ability to access clean water any time we want to. I’m constantly reminding Luke not to let the water run.  {He might say that ‘constant reminding’ is really nagging, but it’s for a good reason.} Having immediate access to clean water, which most of us in the U.S. enjoy, is a privilege that many others around the world don’t have.  We take it for granted. In fact, many people die from a lack of clean water.

Do any of you have this on your brain, too?  Water being scarce is one of a billion concerns we have for the environment and its limited resources.  As a culture we are more aware of the effects of over-consumption and to our credit we are making changes in an effort to reverse and halt the negative effects of the way we live. When ‘going green’ became very popular and everyone seemed to seriously ‘rethink,’ reduce, and reuse all I could think was that if ever there was a trend worth jumping on the bandwagon for, this was it. Go green! Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. And for goodness sake, turn off the faucet when you’re brushing your teeth! Also, do your best not to pollute water sources.  {This is me stepping off my soapbox.  Thanks for reading!}

p.s. Concord, Massachusetts has voted to ban the sale of single-use bottled water. It’s contentious. Hear about it from the Boston Globe and here.

p.s.s. How wonderful is Matt Damon…family man, humanitarian, environmentally conscious and active, talented and incredibly cute?! Making the world a better place is right;)