This is the web version of the October 15, 2009 Live Earth email to members. Click here to join and receive bi-weekly updates from Live Earth.

Live Earth Announces 2010 Global Event!

Live Earth is pleased to announce the largest worldwide water initiative in history to help combat the global water crisis. The Dow Live Earth Run for Water - to take place April 18, 2010 - will consist of a series of 6 km run/walks (the average distance many women and children walk every day to secure water) taking place over the course of 24 hours in countries around the world, featuring concerts and water education activities, raising awareness and funds to help solve the water crisis. Jessica Biel, Alexandra Cousteau, Pete Wentz, Angelique Kidjo and Jenny Fletcher will lend their names and their time in support of this global event.

Why Water?

Water scarcity is a a major issue affecting countries, communities and families all over the world. One in eight people don't have access to safe, clean drinking water. Communities in Africa, Latin America and Asia suffer 1.8 million deaths every year from diarrheal diseases and the death of 5,000 children each day due to inadequate water infrastructure. In these areas, women and children are forced to walk 6 km (3.7 miles) each day to secure water that is likely unsuitable for drinking. However, the water crisis is not only limited to developing nations. Adding to these existing issues, the affects of climate change are increasingly impacting both supply and quality of available fresh water throughout the world - shifting traditional rainfall patterns, altering water-shaping ecosystems and magnifying the effects of pollution.

In 60% of European cities with populations greater than 100,000, groundwater is being used faster than it can be replenished. By 2025, two-thirds of the world's population could be living under water-stressed conditions.

Register/Donate

You can help solve the water crisis by participating in the April 18th event. Run/walk registration is now officially open! Sign up now at http://liveearth.org/run.

Not finding an event in your city? Those interested in organizing their own run/walks in their communities to support the Dow Live Earth Run for Water can register their run/walk as a "Friends of Live Earth" event at http://liveearth.org/friends. To date, Friends of Live Earth events are confirmed to take place in locations around the world, including: the Netherlands, Bogotá, Columbia; Eldoret, Kenya; and many more!

Interested in donating to help the cause? A cross-platform global fundraising effort will raise money to fund sustainable and scalable water programs. The Dow Live Earth Run for Water global network of NGO partners, including Global Water Challenge, A Child's Right, Fondo para la Paz, Indonesian Water Partnership, Lien Aid, Pump Aid and Wildlands Conservation Trust will fund sustainable water projects in developing nations around the world. For more information on fundraising, please visit http://liveearth.org/give.

Thanks and be sure to visit LiveEarth.org for the latest on The Dow Live Earth Run for Water, conservation tips, and more!

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