The memory is still clear after all these years: The stench of urine around many of the churches in Quito, Ecuador was overwhelming in the early morning, especially if it was warm. The poor found shelter in and around the churches at night.

A few years ago I was hiking in Oregon with my son. We were going back down the mountain and were a couple of hours from the bottom, when we stopped at a mountain stream that overlooked an absolutely breathtaking view of this blooming, green meadow with two large elk in the distance.

We sat down by the stream, took off our boots and plunged our sore feet into the ice-cold mountain water. I don't think either one of us said anything for several minutes, until my son scooped up some water, took a sip and remarked that, "this is a gift."

"The water?"

"All of it," he said. For just a brief moment I felt an almost painful sadness. Could we humans really destroy all of this I thought. The only answer that came to mind was of course we could.

World Water Day was this past Saturday. Did you know that? Some 2.5 billion people live without a toilet. This is approximately 40% of the world's population.

The United Nations believes, because of the lack of toilets and sewage treatment, three-quarters of a million children die every year from diarrhea and assorted ailments connected to fecal contamination.

Andrew C. Revkin of the New York Times reported on the German Toilet Organization, which set up a display in New York this past Thursday, showing people squatting behind such things as an umbrella and a briefcase. Where would you hide 2.6 billion people toiletless? a logo asked.

When I lived in Quito we soaked our vegetables in iodine because human waste was the common fertilizer. We of course boiled the water for drinking. This was in the capital city of Ecuador. The combined population of China and India is about the number of humans without toilets.

The United Nations has declared 2008 the International Year of Sanitation. One of the objectives of the 2000 Millennium Development Goals is to cut in half by 2015 the number of people who still lack toilet facilities.

The water story will of course continue. It is a central part of sustainability and the environment.

Note: Several people sent me e-mails suggesting that "water" is a story that needs to be talked about a lot more. I agree. Three water related articles that I have posted on this blog are "A Watery Metaphor," "Praying With Sonny," and "The Future, Mr. Gittes, the Future."