The Largest Global Water Movement in History Gains Speed this World Water Day as Live Earth(R) Announces 100 Confirmed Cities Set to Participate in the Dow Live Earth Run for Water

LOS ANGELES, March 22 /PRNewswire/ -- This World Water Day, Live Earth is urging citizens to step up and help solve one of the greatest challenges of this generation – the global water crisis.  On April 18th, people around the world can join Live Earth in more than 100 cities at the Dow Live Earth Run for Water – a series of 6 km run/walks (symbolic of the average distance many women and children walk every day to secure water), combined with live concerts and water education activities that will ignite a global movement to help solve the water crisis.  World-renowned artists such as Melissa Etheridge, Rob Thomas and The Parlotones, as well as supporters Alexandra Cousteau, Pete Wentz, Angelique Kidjo, Carl Lewis, Kara Goucher,  Dean Karnazes, Jenny Fletcher and The Prince of Orange will join forces to support the cause on April 18th.

Water is a basic human right, and yet nearly one billion people on this planet don't have access to it.  Every day, thousands of women and children die due to lack of adequate drinking water. Eighty-eight percent of diarrheal cases worldwide are linked to inadequate and unsafe water. These cases result in 1.5 million annual deaths, mostly among children under the age of five. 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.

"There's no question that the global water crisis is one of colossal proportions. But the difference between this crisis and so many others is that there are solutions now to reverse it – and these solutions begin when we as a generation stand up and take part during a tipping point event like the Dow Live Earth Run for Water," said Alexandra Cousteau, global water advocate and founder of Blue Legacy International.  "On April 18th, the world community needs to rally together, take ownership of the critical issue of water and empower each other to work daily towards ending this crisis."

Through a cross-platform global fundraising effort, all donations – and a portion of all race registration fees – raised by the Dow Live Earth Run for Water will be disseminated to fund sustainable and scalable water programs.   To date, a global network of NGO partners have joined Live Earth in this initiative and will leverage funding from the Dow Live Earth Run for Water to implement water and conservation projects around the world. This includes Global Water Challenge, A Child's Right, Akvo, arche noVa, Espacio Aqua, Fondo Para La Paz, Indonesia Water Partnership, Instituto e, Lakarmissionen, International Riverfoundation, Lien Ad, Pump Aid, The Salvation Army and Wildlands Conservation Trust, among many others. For the comprehensive list of Live Earth's NGO partners around the world, please visit http://liveearth.org/runforwater/partners.  

Cities committed to hosting a Dow Live Earth Run for Water event include, among others: Buenos Aires, Argentina; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cape Town, South Africa; Chicago, IL, USA; Hong Kong, China; Jimbaran, Bali, Indonesia; London, UK; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Manchester, UK; Melbourne, Australia; Mexico City, Mexico; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York, NY, USA; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Singapore City, Singapore; Stockholm, Sweden; Washington, D.C., USA. For a full list of participating Dow Live Earth Run for Water cities, visit http://liveearth.org/run.

"The Dow Live Earth Run for Water is the largest call to action to engage the world community in one of the most serious environmental issues of our day, the global water crisis," said Kevin Wall, founder and CEO of Live Earth. "It will raise the profile of this issue, educate the world's citizens about its challenges and bring resources and solutions to the nearly one billion people around the world who lack access to clean, safe drinking water."

Taking place in 100 cities around the world, participants of the Dow Live Earth Run for Water are encouraged to RUN in a run/walk in their community or organize their own run/walk through the Friends of Live Earth program, SAVE water in their home and local community through conservation efforts, GIVE money to support clean, safe water projects and SPEAK UP by signing the Live Earth petition to express your support that everyone should have access to clean water, adequate for the health and well-being of the individual and the family.

"As the title sponsor for the Dow Live Earth Run for Water, Dow is committed to bringing the science, technology and 'human element' required to help solve one of the world's greatest challenges of our generation – the global water crisis," said  Ian Barbour, general manager at Dow Water & Process Solutions, a business unit of Dow. "This World Water Day, we encourage people around the world to sign up for the Dow Live Earth Run for Water and help millions of people gain access to this vital resource."

Live Earth's NGO partners are organizing many of the events taking place on World Water Day around the world, from UNEP's World Water Day Conference in Nairobi, to more than 600 Dutch schools holding Walking for Water events in partnership with Aqua for All:

• Akvo will organize a major event in Amsterdam to showcase the latest Dutch efforts to tackle the water crisis.  
• Pump Aid and End Water Poverty in the UK are leading the charge to break the Guinness World Record for the world's longest toilet queue to raise understanding of the lack of poor sanitation across the world.
• The GLOBE Program created a week-long global World Water Day Event during which schools will be investigating local water quality and using the research to participate in direct action that will improve water resources in their area.  
• Arche noVa in Germany will work with artist Herman Josef Hack and student artists to inspire discussion about the human right to water.
• Lakarmissionen/IAS is focusing on raising awareness of water issues facing refugees in Darfur.
• Global Water Challenge, National Geographic, Alexandra Cousteau and her Blue Legacy organization, and other U.S. partners are holding events in Washington, DC to call for stronger commitments and more robust action to ensure universal access to clean drinking water and safe sanitation, including participation by Senator Clinton and advocacy with members of Congress.

People can register for the Dow Live Earth Run for Water run/walk in their area via The Active Network at http://liveearth.org/run.  If there is not an event already scheduled nearby, people can organize their own community "Friends of Live Earth" event at http://liveearth.org/friends.  

About Live Earth

Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action.  A for-profit company, Live Earth seeks to leverage the power of entertainment through integrated events, media and the live experience to ignite a global movement aimed at solving the most critical environmental issues of our time.  More information about Live Earth can be found at http://liveearth.org.

About Dow

Dow combines the power of science and technology with the "Human Element" to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2009, Dow had annual sales of $45 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 214 sites in 37 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

SOURCE Live Earth