Index

Afghanistan, 29

Africa, 10, 13, 26, 27, 28, 32, 38. See also Benin; Botswana; Egypt; Guinea Bissau; Kenya; Morocco; Namibia; Rwanda; São Tomé and Principe; Uganda; Zambia

agriculture, 9, 11–12, 13, 14, 17, 35, 36, 37, 38

Alberta, 17

Angolo Primary School, 28

aqueducts, 12–13

aquifers, 13–14, 20, 24, 37

Argentina: El Chaltén National Park, 42; la Difunta Correa, 21; Esquel, 23; Iguazú Falls, 20; Parque de los Glaciares, 42; Salta, 32; shrines, 21; toilets, 33

arsenic, 23, 29, 30

Asia. See Afghanistan; Bangladesh; China; Cambodia; India; Laos; Near East; Singapore; Thailand; Vietnam

bacteria, 6, 21, 22, 23, 28

Bangladesh, 24, 29, 30

bathhouses, 13, 15

bathing, 13, 15, 24, 40

bathrooms: generally, 29, 31; Roman, 13; Medieval, 15. See also latrines; toilets

Benin, 33

biosand filter. See filters

boiling water, 14, 26, 28

Bolivia: Cochabamba, 32; electric showers, 31; toilets, 33

Botswana, 6, 31

Cambodia, 28

Canada: amount of fresh water, 11; history, 17; mining companies, 23, 41; non-profit organizations, 38; population of, 11; volunteers, 14

Centre for Affordable Water & Sanitation (CAWST), 29, 41

Central America, Mayans, 15. See also El Salvador; Guatemala; Nicaragua

El Chaltén National Park, 42

chamber pot, 15

Chile: Chungungo, 38; la Difunta Correa, 21; fog, 6; El Tofo Mountain, 38

China: amount of fresh water, 11; water diversion, 14; population of, 11

chlorine, 22

cholera, 29

Christian Church, 15

cisterns, 9

climate change, 17, 20, 24. See also global warming

Cloaca Maxima, 13

coal: as power source, 15–16; mining, 16, 17, 23, 41

Colombia, Gaviotas, 30

compost toilet. See toilets

condensation, 19, 31, 38

contamination, 17, 21, 29, 42

deforestation, 28. See also forests; trees

desalination: in Dubai, 32; environmental impact of, 30; treatment plants, 30–31

la Difunta Correa, saint, 21

dikes, 36

disease, 23, 29

ditches, 11

Dominican Republic, 14

drinking fountain, 31

drinking water: amount on Earth, 18, 19; boiling, 14, 28; bottled, 32; desalination of, 30–31; filtration of, 22, 29; fountains, 31; pollution in, 23, 24, 29; recycled, 19, 21, 32; sources of, 6, 7, 10, 11, 17, 24, 27, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38; used in toilets, 30, 34

drought, 20, 35

Dubai, 32

Earth, 3, 11, 18, 19, 24, 32, 33, 36, 37

education, 24, 33, 35, 39, 41

Egypt, 12

El Salvador, 22,

England, 15, 16

erosion, 37

Europe, 12, 15. See also Crete; Cyprus; England; Germany; Greece; Scotland; Spain

evaporation, 19, 20, 30, 31

Exploratorium, 31

factories, 16, 17, 30

farming. See agriculture

fig trees, 12

filters: biosand, 22, 23, 28–29, 40; ceramic, 29, 30; effectiveness of, 28, 29, 30; limitations of, 29; materials for, 28, 29, 35

floods, 14, 15, 16, 20, 35

fog, collection of, 6, 38–39

FogQuest, 38

food: availability of, 12; nutritional value of, 9, 18; production of, 12, 36, 39

forests, amount on Earth, 37

fossil fuel, 16, 30

fresh water: amount on Earth, 18; human need for, 16; sources of, 8, 18, 19

fundraising, 28, 41

Ganges River, 24, 25

gardening, 39, 40, 41

garderobe, 15

Gaza Strip, 30

Germany, toilets, 33

germs. See bacteria; microbes

glaciers, 18, 19, 20, 42

global warming, 20, 30. See also climate change

golf courses, amount of water consumed by, 36

Gopakumar, Anagha Ann, 35

gravity, as power source, 13, 14, 23

Great Stink, The, 16

Greece, 12, 13, 24

Green Empowerment, 30

Guatemala, Tojquia, 38

Guinea Bissau, 10

Haiti, 28

Hinduism, 24

Hreljac, Ryan, 28

human body: composition of, 9; processes of, 18

icebergs, 24

ice caps, 18

Iguazú Falls, 20

illness: prevention of, 14, 23; remedies, 7; water-bourne, 6, 26, 41. See also disease

India: Aluvia, 35; drinking water, 29; farming, 35; Ganges River, 24, 25; Loporia Village, 36; Thar Desert, 36

industry, 16, 17, 22, 24

Industrial Revolution, 16

International Young Eco-Hero Award, 36

inventions, 9, 13, 14, 16

Iran, 12, 13, 14

Iraq, 12

irrigation, 11, 12, 14

Kalahari Desert, 31

Kenya, 27, 37

Knossos Palace, 12

landfills, 22, 23, 32

Laos, 35, 41

latrines, 11, 28, 29, 34. See also bathrooms

laundry, 17, 40

London, England, 16

Matthai, Wangari, 37

Mayans, 15

Mesopotamia, 12

Mexico: Matamoros, 39; Mexico City, 34; qanats, 13

Middle Ages, 15–16

Middle East, 30. See also Dubai; Gaza Strip; Iran; Iraq; Syria; Turkey

mining, 15–16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 41

Minoans, 12, 41

moats, 15

monsoon, 20, 35–36

Morocco, 8

Musée des Égouts, 24

Mycenaeans, 12

Namibia: recycled waste, 32; Windhoek, 32

Nasca people, 14

Nicaragua: El Balsamo, 43; Green Empowerment, 30

North America: generally, 12, 30; water usage, 41. See also Canada; Mexico; United States

nutrients, 18, 21

outhouses. See latrines

parasites, 22

Paris Sewer Museum, 24

Peru: Chunya, 11; generally, 6, 7, 11, 14; Pamparomas, 6, 7

petroleum, 32

pipelines, 12, 14, 22–23, 36, 38, 43: leaky, 39, 40

plumbing, 12–14, 22–23, 43

polar ice, 20

pollution, 21–22, 23, 24, 41

ponds, 36

puquios, 14

qanat, 13–14

rainwater: collection of, 11, 32, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41; function of, 37

recycling: of waste, 19, 32; of water, 13, 19, 32

religion, 15, 24

reservoirs, 15, 20

Roman Empire, 15

Romans: generally, 13; public toilets, 13, 15; sewer system, 13, 15

runoff, 37

Rwanda, 32

Ryan’s Well Foundation, 28

salt plain, 32

salt water: desalination of, 6, 30–31, 32; drinking, 8; percentage on Earth, 2, 18; underground, 31, 32

San Francisco, CA, 31

São Tomé and Principe, 2–3

Scotland, Paisley, 22

sewage: landfill, 23; pollution, 24; recycling, 24; Roman baths, 13; treatment plant, 32

sewer system, 13, 15, 16, 24

showers: electric, 31; generally, 14, 40

Singapore, 32

soil erosion, 37

Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), 33

solar power, 6, 33

Spain, 13

springs, 2–3, 12

steam: engine, 16, 42; water pump, 16

sustainable energy, 30

Syria, 12

tea, 14

Thailand, 20

Thames River, 16

thirst, 21, 31, 36, 37, 38

tippy taps, 40

toilets: compost, 34; flush, 12, 30, 33, 34; generally, 12, 13, 23, 30; low-flush, 30, 40; paper, 13; public, 13; sponges, 13; versus latrines, 34; water-free, 34. See also bathrooms; latrines

trees, planting of, 37, 41

tunnels, 11, 13, 14

Turkey: generally, 12; Istanbul, 9; public baths, 13; toilets, 33

Uganda, 28, 30

ultraviolet light, 23

United States, 32. See also San Francisco, CA

Uruguay, 21

Vietnam, 42

volunteering, 6, 14, 28

waste: amount dumped each day, 22; human, 16, 34; industrial, 22; recycling of, 23. See also contamination; pollution

wastewater: generally, 15, 16, 32; recycling of, 32

water: amount on Earth, 18, 19; amount used by toilets, 34; as a resource, 33; availability of, 24, 26; bottled, 21, 32; channels, 11, 14; conservation, 12, 39–40; diversion, 12; for cooking, 11, 28; for washing, 8, 17; harvesting, 35, 36, 40; hauling of, 17, 24, 26, 27, 35, 43; management of, 13–15, 33; ownership of, 32–33; recycling of, 13, 19; running, 13, 40; runoff, 37; sources of, 2–3, 15, 17, 20, 24, 27, 28, 30; supply of, 17, 24; underground, 12, 13–14. See also drinking water; fresh water; rainwater; salt water

water cycle, 18, 19–20

Water Detectives, 39

water pumps, 6, 16, 24, 30, 33

water tanks, 31, 38, 42

water taps, 8, 17, 22, 32, 40

water treatment plants, 21, 22, 23

Watt, James, 16, 42

wells: for drinking water, 10, 11; fundraising for, 28, 41; generally 28, 36; materials used for, 11; Ryan’s Well Foundation, 28

wetlands: generally, 21, 22

youth programs, 39, 40

Youth Wavemakers Summit, 41

Zambia, 26