Happy world water day....

Happy World Water Day!!!

You may or may not know that each March 22 since 1993 the globe has celebrated World Water Day. This year's theme for the global observance is water quality, aimed at raising awareness that even seemingly water secure areas may in fact be water-deprived. Think of the magnificent flowing rivers that upon further reflection are too contaminated from sewage, bathing, manufacturing, and other harmful practices to provide a safe water source for the villages that depend on the river for survival.

The UNEP World Water Day site states "Every year, more people die from the consequences of unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war. Every year, the contamination of water resources within natural habitats affects us all directly by destroying fresh water fisheries, affecting food production and spreading sickness and disease. Clean, safe, and adequate freshwater is vital to the survival of all living organisms and the smooth functioning of ecosystems, communities, and economies. However, the quality of the world’s water is increasingly threatened as human populations grow, industrial and agricultural activities expand, and climate change threatens to cause major alterations of the hydrologic cycle."

Please take a few minutes today to think about what you have done recently to promote clean water sources in your community.

On a related note, as many of you know, this year I have pledged to do my part to help improve access to clean water supplies in developing countries by running with Team Blue Planet. This past Saturday I pounded the pavement around Annapolis for four miles towards my goal to encourage friends and family to donate $3000 this year to Blue Planet Run Foundation who then invests 100% of the donations in providing clean water access to the developing world. The run was ironically called the Four Rivers Four Mile Maryland Day Run. While most of Maryland enjoys access to safe drinking water, we are not without our own problems in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed thanks to harmful environmental practices. I encourage you to visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation website at www.cbf.org to learn more about the challengese our own water resources face and ways you can make a difference locally.

Thank you to all of you who have so far donated to this cause! WATER IS LIFE, PASS IT ON!!!

Water is life...

Happy New Year! I'm sure that all my friends and family have set goals for 2010 - perhaps to lose weight, get in touch with old friends, do more to ensure a healthy body, finally clean out the attic, or any number of a million other goals people set for the new year. I also set goals. This year my goals include getting back down to my size and fitness level from 2005, recycling more, and doing my part to improve one of the greatest challenges to global health and economic prosperity - ensure clean drinking water. Will you help me?

Unsafe drinking water is the world’s leading cause of sickness and death, places a barrier between women and girls to accessing basic education and also keeps families in poverty. Yet it is a simple problem for us to solve. Around the world, but primarily in Africa, I have witnessed what happens in communities that are water deprived and seen the great joy and growth in responsibilities in communities that have received the ability and management tools to access a lifetime supply of clean water through the generosity of organizations and countries from all different walks of life.

Few know that just $30 provides one person with a lifetime of safe drinking water...that's just two large pizzas from Dominos, or six lattes from Starbucks or means that you buy one sweater from Target instead of Macy's or Ann Taylor. For my part, I am running in 2010 with "Team Blue" to raise $3000 for water projects supported by the Blue Planet Run Foundation. As part of "Team Blue," I have dedicated a significant amount of time and energy towards creating access to safe drinking water for the billion people in need around the world.

Will you help support this worthy cause? If you would like to help me reach my fundraising goal to provide clean drinking water to 100 men, women and children in 2010, lace up your shoes and join "Team Blue" or visit my fundraising page at https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5505/t/3491/my/donate.jsp?supporter_my_donate_page_KEY=1091. Every penny makes a difference.

Want to track my racing this year or join me for one of these runs to raise money for clean water? Below is a VERY tentative schedule of what I have on tap for 2010. I look forward to your support.

Water is life...pass it on!

02/13/2010 - Valentine's Day 5K
03/07/2010 - B&A Trail Half Marathon
03/27/2010 - Run to Register 10K
04/03/2010 - MARSOC Cross Country 10K Mud Run
04/11/2010 - Cherry Pit Ten Miler
06/05/2010 - North Face Endurance Challenge 50K
06/12/2010 - Crossroads 17.75K
06/20/2010 - Dawson's Father's Day 10K
07/10/2010 - Women's Distance Festival 5K
07/17/2010 - John Wall Mile
07/24/2010 - MARSOC Run the Beach 8K
07/31/2010 - Blue Crab Bolt 10K Trail Series #1
08/01/2010 - Dog Days 8K
08/14/2010 - Blue Crab Bolt 10K Trail Series #2
08/28/2010 - Blue Crab Bolt 10K Trail Series #3
08/29/2010 - Annapolis Ten Mile Run
09/11/2010 - Mantua Potato Stomp
10/03/2010 - Metric Marathon
10/09/2010 - Warrior Dash
10/16/2010 - Beirut Memorial 10K
10/24/2010 - Army Ten Miler
11/06/2010 - Down's Park 5 Mile
11/07/2010 - Battleship North Carolina Half Marathon
11/21/2010 - Cold Turkey 10K