Water is one of the most vital components of human life. It is a necessity, a precious resource that humans need to live, that is taken for granted every day. There is no possible way for life to be sustained on Earth without water – it just cannot happen. The human body itself is composed of almost eighty percent water: almost 95 percent of the human brain is water. It is common knowledge that pure water is the best water – for humans, and for plants and animals. Regardless of this piece of knowledge, humans still find ways to disregard the sanctity of pure water and instead, pollute it. The right to water is not officially a human right. However, because “water is a basic need for human development, health, and well-being… it is an internationally accepted human right” (Thompson 3). Water contamination is an epidemic that is so common these days that it is no longer shocking to even hear that water is contaminated. Water contamination negatively effects water that is used on a daily basis. Continuing on in this way will eventually lead to contamination that will make the existence of clean water impossible.
Water contamination comes in various different forms. The most common in today’s world is chemical contamination. At the dawn of the industrial era, factories and sewage plants were the main culprits behind water contamination. In her article Water Quality, author Mary Cooper notes that “although the most egregious point-source pollution [factories and sewage treatment plants] has been reduced, a more insidious form of pollution continues to dirty the nation’s waterways – runoff from city streets, suburban construction sites and farms” (955). In farmland America today, the focus of contamination is mostly on runoff. Runoff...
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...b., 2000. 550-55. Print.
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Priorities for Risk Assessment”. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2007. eBook Collection
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Worsnop, Richard L. "Water Quality." CQ Researcher 11 Feb. 1994: 121-44. Web. 16 May 2014.
Humans need water. In a world that is overpopulated, we use a lot of water and other natural resources. Currently, in our world, clean water is getting scarce. Recently, for example, Flint, Michigan, had a water crisis. In early 2016, the water was discovered to be tainted with lead and other toxins. Long before that, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and Governor Rick Snyder along with his council, knew about the lead, but to save money for the city of Flint in early 2014 Snyder had changed the city’s water source to the Flint River which had corroded pipes, causing people of all ages to be sick from the high amounts of lead
Such is the condition of Texas waterways. The surging population in Texas, the numerous pharma, chemical and oil industries, landowners, farmers and other residents have been recklessly using water. Water is a limited resource and our best efforts in recycling, reusing and conserving water have not yielded the desired results. Climatic changes over the past few decades may have resulted in unpredictable rainfall in Texas. It is important to conserve water without polluting it. It is shocking to know that the drinking water has traces of arsenic, cyanide, nitrates, asbestos and mercury and lead. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Geological Survey after conducting studies have shown that water samples containing growth hormones, various antibiotics,birth control drugs, and many other chemicals end up in ground water. The Trinity River is highly polluted with bacteria from sewage. The high water pollution in Texas State by various sources causes environmental hazards and life threatening diseases like cancer and nerve damage; thus the government and community should intensify their efforts to reduce pollution and make drinking water safe.
Then the documentary tackles Puget Sound. The Duwamish River is the largest hot spot in the nation. In 2001, the Duwamish River was classified as a “Super Fund” site. This is given to a site that will receive federal assistance for clean up. But yet, it may be too late. Puget Sound in contaminated with PCP, lead and mercury. The threat comes from the giant industrial polluters of old and from chemicals in consumers’ face creams, deodorants, prescription medicines and household cleaners that find their way into sewers, storm drains, eventually into America’s waterways and drinking water.
Water has become a very controversial issue in the United States and around the world. As populations increase and resources decrease, the way we use our resources and keep populations safe become more and more important. Throughout the world there are nearly 1.1 billion people who do not have access the clean drinking water. 5 Most of these 1.1 billion people are located in poor areas and do not have the financial means to build the infrastructures needed to provide water to the citizens of their country. 5 Drinking water is an essential part of our everyday life. People must have water to survive, but it must be clean and safe to consume.
It’s no mystery that having clean water is a fundamental element to living in a prosperous society and one of the few things essential for human survival. Water not only sustains our health, but is required in making everything from electronics to clothes. Clean water may seem as ordinary as putting on your shoes, but it’s a daily party of our life that’s being threatened.
Drinking water is essential and indispensable to life itself possible on the face of the earth, it is much more than a well, a resource, a commodity, drinking water is specifically a human right of first order and an element essential national sovereignty itself and, most likely, whoever controls the water control the economy and life in the not so distant future.
"Water Pollution." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 May 2014.
One of the pollutants companies cause is water pollution. Water pollution is the impurity of water by chemicals, pathogens and other elements that make water undrinkable. Companies such as Industrial plants are producing more than half of the united states water pollution because when their water sources take away all of the industrial wastes from the manufacturing facilities, they often carry the wastes into waterways and streams which then spread the pollutants into a much bigger area and flow into oceans and rivers. ” More than 40 percent of America’s lakes, rivers, and estuaries were too polluted for drinkin...
The Web. 12 Feb. 2014. Stille, Darlene R. Water Pollution. Chicago, IL: Children's Press, 1990. Print.
Clean water is needed for good human and animal health, but as DoSomething.org states, over 1 billion people worldwide don’t have a means of getting clean drinking water, an...
Water Pollution is a current issue that has serious consequences; it progresses everyday in our lakes, oceans, rivers and other bodies of water.
Clean Water: “An under-appreciated liquid to Survive” Water is pure and transparent liquid that is vital for all humans, plants and animals on the planet. In the United States, people have access to clean drinking water and clean sanitation systems, not like in other parts of the world where clean, safe drinking water is getting scarce. A lot of people don’t have access to it, and many regions are suffering severe drought. Yet, when humans take it for granted, they don’t appreciate that a reliable, clean supply of water is essential to human health, economy and agricultural prosperity. Having clean and safe potable water is a right, and not a privilege.
Miller, Debra A. Will the World Run out of Fresh Water? Detroit: Greenhaven, 2007. Print.
Water pollution is something that can be prevented; it is important to be aware of the causes of water pollution to keep the environment safe and clean for the many generations to come. Domestic households and industrial and agricultural practices often produce wastewater that can cause rivers and lakes to become polluted. This is typically called sewage and wastewater pollution. Sewage is a term for wastewater that usually contains feces, urine, and laundry waste. With there being billions of people on earth, treating sewage is a big priority.
Freshwater in the world makes up only a small portion of water on the planet. While the percentage of water in the world is nearly 70%, only 2.5% is consumable. Even further, only <1% is easily accessible to basic human needs. According to National Geographic, “by 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with two-thirds of the world's population living in water-stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change.” With this current trend, water will become more immersed in environmental, economic, political, and social changes. Many of these in later years shall need to be addressed as tension rises: