Once again, celebrity news about reality stars giving birth or getting married eclipses an event that could have real repercussions on our everyday life. Cape Town, South Africa, one of the world’s biggest “green” cities, is approaching “Day Zero,” according to the Skimm. Day Zero is the one thing you hope to never hear happening in your city; in the simplest of terms, the city is running extremely low on water and is steadily approaching the day where they must turn off the taps and do extreme conservation to the point where most will go without water. Instead of eating Tide Pods and flipping out over celebrity news, let’s put our focus on the impending decline of resources in the world.
Ironically, when a huge event happens in the world that could affect millions, there always seems to be a story about a celebrity making the front pages of everything. Let’s face it, climate change is complex and scary. Most of us think if we pretend it doesn’t exist, then maybe it’ll just do that. But Cape Town’s current situation proves the contrary; it’s real and its not stopping if we continue like this. Due to the biggest reservoir, Theewaterskloof Dam, drying out to 13.5 percent capacity, the citizens are in desperate need of a miracle, according to the Guardian. While Day Zero may be postponed now due to an amazing act of farmers donating millions of liters of water, the day is still coming in May. Soon, citizens of Cape Town will be required to use less than 13.2 gallons of water per person daily to avoid any more damage or a fine, according to the New York Post. This doesn’t just mean drinking water, this means everything they do needs to be reduced and the low rain fall will do nothing to help it all. The average American uses 80-100 gallons of water per day. Imagine being restricted on how much you can flush your toilet and use your shower. It’s not a life anyone should lead.
Remember the Syrian bombings going on nearly every day? How most Americans turned their noses the other way because it “wasn’t their problem?” We’re all interconnected. Just because this problem is overseas, doesn’t mean it won’t affect us as well. This is the first step to the decline of our natural resources, and it’s coming a lot quicker than any of us expected. Barely anyone knows what’s happening to millions of people on our planet, but I guess Kylie Jenner’s baby’s name takes precedence?
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