Today, my friends and I watched a basketball game on the court. The players were in special wheelchairs. Everybody shot the ball well. It was an amazing game! After watching, we tried wheelchair basketball. It was fun!

Billions of people, mostly in rural areas, still lack access to these services. Data shows that 3 out of 10 individuals do not have access to safe drinking water. If this continues, more people will suffer from water-borne diseases. Roughly 1,000 children die every day because of water and sanitation-related diarrheal diseases.

Energy is not only a basic requirement, but it is also directly related to people’s well-being. An energy system can support everything from businesses, medicine, and education to agriculture, infrastructure, communications, high-technology, and the environment. However, 13% of the world’s population still lacks access to modern electricity.

In 2012, 4.3 million people died as a result of indoor air pollution caused by the use of combustible fuels for household energy. Women and girls account for 6 out of every 10 of these. Noncommunicable diseases such as strokes, lung cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses are caused by household air pollution.

Furthermore, energy is a major contributor to climate change, accounting for roughly 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2016, the share of renewables increased at the fastest rate since 2012, owing to rapid growth in hydropower, wind, and solar.

Innovative farmers have turned to using biofuel to grow their crops. Growing biofuel crops is considered renewable because the plants can be replenished quickly and easily.

Solar energy is clean, renewable energy that can be used for heating water, buildings and barns, and for creating power to operate farming equipment. A Northeast farm can grow greens throughout the winter, including tropical fruits, using solar power. Wind energy, on the other hand, is the world’s fastest-growing energy technology. The wind’s force is converted into mechanical power or electricity that many farmers use for water pumps.

There are some gender issues around wage inequality, employment, physical violence, sexual harassment, marriage, and pregnancy. Data shows that 49 countries still lack laws protecting women from domestic violence. Women also do 2.6 times more unpaid care and domestic work than men that leads to lower earnings and less time for non-work activities.

Although progress has been made in improving access to safe drinking water, billions of people—most of whom live in rural regions— still lack access to these services. According to statistics, three out of every ten people do not have access to clean drinking water, and six out of every ten people do not have access to clean lavatories.

More people will be affected by water-borne diseases if this crisis continues. Every day, about 1,000 children die from diarrheal infections linked to water and sanitation that could have been avoided. Women’s educational and economic potential is likewise limited because of water scarcity. In 80 percent of households without access to water, women and girls are accountable for water collection. As a result, they cannot attend school or work.

Water is crucial for our survival, not only for drinking but also for sanitation, livestock, and businesses. However, water scarcity, which is likely to intensify, affects more than 40 percent of the world’s population. Drinking water is more important than eating food for all living things, including humans because it accounts for 60 to 70 percent of their entire body weight. Stale, bad-tasting water limits water consumption, and it could be a breeding ground for disease-causing pathogens if it is contaminated.

Furthermore, the cost of maintaining water-intensive firms is rising. The 2015 drought in Brazil, for example, resulted in an increase in local costs of $8 million, including $2.1 million in higher utility bills. Nearly 80 percent of the water used by businesses comes from their supply networks, according to Ecolab, a water-treatment company in the United States. Shipping can also be delayed by low water levels, leaving cargo stranded on its way to its destination.