About five years ago, I made a new year’s resolution to live more sustainably, and to educate myself about the environmental dangers that we all face. But “going green” turned into something much bigger when I started learning about how something as seemingly simple as water is what links together so many of the world’s most pressing environmental, political, and health-related crises. I created BlueGranola.com, a blog about environmentalism and water sustainability, conservation, and sanitation, to discuss the reasons why water matters and to advocate for change.

Water-related illnesses kill more people each year than all the world’s wars and conflicts combined. The nearly one billion people who lack access to safe drinking water and suffer from poor sanitation might seem far away, but water problems extend to all corners of the earth. Access to water, life’s most basic need, affects everything from your health to your hamburger.

BlueGranola.com allows me (and you too) to spread the word about the state of our world’s water: who’s lacking it, who’s polluting it, and who’s doing their part to defend it. But beyond “who” is “how.” How can we protect our most valuable resource through activism and advocacy? My hope is that this blog will help illuminate some of the ways we can work together to become more responsible consumers and more conscientious global citizens.

On a personal note, I am living in New York City and working at a public health organization before starting my Master’s in Public Health program at Columbia University in the fall.