Water scarcity: A looming crisis?

By Alex Kirby, Tuesday, 19 October 2004

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3747724.stm

Although this article is kind of old I still wanted to use it because I feel like there has been no drastic change in the information given. The article tells you about what if happening in the whole world having to do with water, and then it gives solutions to help our world from having a dangerous lack of water.  Water pollution is becoming a serious issue because even though people may have water to drink, they defiantly cannot use that water due to contamination.  More than 5 million people die from water pollution yearly, this can be expected to rise since our world’s population is predicted to rise into the 8 billion’s by 2050. My picture is a picture of the water usage increase from 1900 to 2000 and you can only imagine what has happened since then and what will happen in the future if we do not change. Not only is it the amount of drinking water, but the amount of water to produced food.  The impoverished are also taking a huge blow, because those countries have very few ways of obtaining fresh water not only for drinking, but for everyday purposes as well. There are some “technical solutions” we can take, like drip irrigation and low pressure hoses for the agricultural world. Other things like desalination can help but cost far too much money to really fix our water crisis. The main technical solution that is given is RECYCLING, making water reusable for drinking and everyday tasks. Recycling and conservation are our best options especially with the question of our climate change and also the growing population.  Although, our water problem may be simple to solve, water is one of our most basic resources, everybody wants it (and needs it).

                I feel as if although this is a terrible crisis, that WE are the ones who put ourselves in jeopardy because of our lack of care for the way that we distribute our water supplies.  I am of course upset to hear not only what we are doing to ourselves, but what we are doing to those around who have NOT been using excessive amounts of water, and the people of the next generations that are going to be impacted greatly by something that is not their fault.  This reminds me of the presentation that Mr. Exton made at the beginning of the unit because he talked about how bad the need for clean water is becoming, so this just reinforces my thoughts on the subject. I think that everyone is going to have to change for there to be an improvement on this issue.

                Questions:

1.       What are you going to do to improve the water “situation”?

2.       Do you have any of your own ideas for a way to conserve water or fix the “water crisis”?

3.       How do you think water will be viewed at in the future? Why?

There's Something in the Water

By Hal Walter
WRITERS ON THE RANGE
November 8, 2010
http://www.hcn.org/issues/42.19/theres-something-in-the-water?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+hcn%2Fmost-recent+%28High+Country+News+-+Most+Recent%29

When Hal Walter and his family settled down in the Wet Mountains of Colorado, the last thing they were expecting was for their "Rocky Mountain Spring Water" to by heavily contaminated by e. coli and total coliform bacteria, and later lead and nitrate-nitrite.
Note: The family had to drill their own well to have water source since there are no aquifers in that area.
Mr. Walter and his wife decided to test the water they were using out of the well because as more time passed more medical issues rose; Mrs. Walters was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, Harrison (his son) was diagnosed with autism, and he was also diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder (ADHD). When the results were seen, the report stated the water was said to be "unsafe for human consumption, or even bathing" and considered to be "very dangerous". This wasn't a huge surprise to the Walters as past samples had returned and also came back with negative results. The only attention grabbing part was that they couldn't use the water any longer because of the e. coli and total coliform bacteria. In un-contaminating the water Mr. Walter had to carefully measure bleach, pour it down the well, wash the well with water for the hose, open all the household plumbing, and wait till the chlorine scent no longer lingered (over 24 hours).
They sent back another sample to make sure the water was pure and the results came back positive finally! But the Walters wanted to be extra careful and only purchased purified water from nearby health food stores. Which is good because as more information was sent back the family, the worse the results became. The lead levels were two times as high as EPA requirements-- the leading cause of hypothyroidism, autism and ADHD-- and overwhelming amounts of nitrate-nitrite.
These results led Mr. Walters to wonder about the other people consuming the heavily contaminated water and the very few people who actually tested their water supply frequently. It also led Mr. Walters to think that whenever the water sample is taken its only a "snapshot" of whatever is present in the water at that time. He ends the article saying to be aware of what's in your water and treat it accordingly.

I think it's unfair that the Walters had to go through being diagnosed with three different diseases to find out on their own that their well water was heavily contaminated. The EPA should have made special rounds to all the self-drilled wells in the Wet Mountains and told the owners how to measure the contaminant level on their own and the limits for the different contaminants. Furthermore, the EPA also should have told well users what to do if the limits were exceed and which contaminants caused the most danger to humans. This reminded me of how surprised I was when we tested the water samples we brought in from home and there was an abundance of chlorine in my water sample. This was obviously on a much smaller danger scale though.

Here are some questions in response to the article summarized above:
1. What would you have done in the same situation? Would you have gone through all that trouble of getting more accurate results or simply using a different and cleaner water source?
2. If you were on the board for the EPA, how would you warn, and in the future protect people in danger of being contaminated by the water they use and consume?
3. Using your knowledge from the experiments we did in class and the background information we know about different contaminants, how could you tell if the water you used was contaminated without sending it to a research facility or EPA testing lab?

Bodies Make up Coral Reef?

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/news/culture-places-news/mexico-human-reef-vin.html

Or if you want it to load faster

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H0U4CvgiMk

Yes it is a video but I found it really interesting. So this artist want to help the coral reef in Cancun because it is starting to be run down and destroyed. This is the second largest reef next to the Australian Great reef. It is being run down by too many tourists, over fishing and pollution. Tourists could also be taking many of the parts of the reef. Jason deCaires Taylor is the one trying to help. He is really good at making sculptures and wants to make some out of underwater cement. It is a special marine grade cement that will allow algae and coral to attach to it. He then drops the statues down to the bottom of the ocean and then a couple months later fish and algae are all over and around it. Not only do the bodies and sculptures grow coral but also it attracts more tourists to the sculptures instead of having them go to the coral reef. He also has already put a lot down to make it seem like a little village. Also it provides a safe haven to small fish who need to hid from predators. When a predator comes then the fish will be able to swim down to the bottom near the feet. Also a dive boat has to bring people to the spot so they will think that it will boost their rates of money they make and save the real reef.

I think this is a great idea and maybe other people will catch on and start to build their own sculptures too. It really provides a great balance and just isn't something that will really hurt the environment. It helps provide a natural balance and is almost just like a real coral reef because it will provide safe places for fish and already has. So this is one of the greatest things that I have seen that will help protect our reefs and oceans. Since reefs are really important to the ocean. For example they provide a natural storm barrier and also filter some water to make it clearer.

1. How would you help protect our reefs besides build sculptures like these?

2. Why do you think Jason deCaires Taylor decided to do this?

3. How well do you think this will work in rebuilding reefs?

4. What other benefits might this help in our oceans?

5. Do you think this idea will catch on to other people soon, if so how long do you think we have until that happens?

EPA to regulate rocket fuel chemical in drinking water for causing the same problems as fluoride

By: Ethan a. Huff; Friday, February 4, 2011

http://www.naturalnews.com/031208_perchlorate_drinking_water.html

The article I read, talked about how the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) needs to put a limit on the amount of perchlorate, something found in rocket fuel, in your everyday drinking water. The agency talked about how too much of that chemical will disrupt the take in of iodine. This would disrupt the way the thyroid would work, and would cause disease. When the thyroid fails to get the iodine it needs, then many things could begin to happen. You could get chronic fatigue, depression, weight gain, hair loss, perpetual muscle pain, increased cholesterol levels, heart disease, and many other conditions. The EPA had lowered the perchlorate level to a maximum of 4 parts per million(ppm). However, this thyroid problem also occurs with the natural toxin called floride. The EPA remains silent on this fact, also meaning that the natural chemical found in drinking water could be harmful to everyone. This doesn't seem right.

My thoughts are relatively predictable and simple. One, how will the EPA just leave an issue like this alone? With this being said it's hard to believe the ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY is not protecting people and leaving the flouride in the water. Water naturaly needs flouride, but when the protection of people is at hand, I believe that the limit should be decreased. I mean I can relate to how sick people can get when water is contaminated. My brother went to High School that had contaminated fountain water for a couple days without knowing. He stayed home for a while with stomach virus' and strep throat. Contaminated water is dangerous and should be delt with immediately, not just left alone.

Questions:

1. If you were to be contaminated by this water or knew someone who was, how would speak out to try and get this delt with?

2. When water is contaminated people suffer greatly. Would you help people who were contaminated who you know closely? Why or Why not?

3. Water is a rare source that people don't have much of. How would you react if we found more ways to get water that is drinkable?

Water: Present changes and future ideas

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/travel-outdoors/cycloclean-pedal-your-way-to-clean-drinkable-water.html#

http://webecoist.com/2011/02/25/the-future-is-green-12-visionary-architecture-concepts/#

I decided to blog about pieces of two interesting articles I read, both of which the original articles you can find provided at the links above. The first article concerns an invention created relatively recently by the Japanese in an attempt at helping slow down a world wide problem using a simple solution: Purifying contaminated drinking water through bicycling!

In the picture listed to the left, a woman is enjoying a glass of fresh drinking water from the bicycle-water set up, known as "Cycloclean." The bike is functional, cost-effecient, and if damaged, easy to repair. The act of purifying the water itself is quite a simple one- just through pedaling, it is able to accumulate water from the selected water source through a tube, and push the water through filter membranes before it is ultimately stored in a container connected to the mechanism on the bike. With 884 million people in the world suffering from dirty drinking water, it's no wonder such an invention was created. However, though very user-friendly and ideal, the bike comes at a high price, equivalent to $6,700 US dollars. Even at such a high price, at least 500 bikes have been created and sold in the last few years. Maybe in the future the production of the bikes will increase, and allow for a more affordable cost so the general public will be able to enjoy the bike's functions in their own rural areas all over the globe.

While the Cycloclean proves to be a rather efficient invention, it still doesn't stop others from dreaming big about what the future can bring. For some, the future certainly looks bright- very bright- for many architectures creating more eco-friendly spaces and homes!

Listed at the right are just 3 of the many architectural structures that designers came up with, all of which are based around the idea of using natural energy in attempts to go more green. The first picture listed on the right at the far left (the tall, green, twisted tower) is known as the "Acupuncture Tower." It was designed by grad students of Tawain university, for Taiwan's port city, Khaosiung. While working as a usable building, it would also simultaneously be able to desalinate ocean water, harvest wind and solar energy, and recycle waste. The top image to the right (the purple-grey/blue one) is another great, pro-energy design of a futuristic theme park. The park would be full of eco-friendly rides while still providing an entertaining experience; the particular structure in the design would be created to harvest rain water, collect solar energy, and recycle waste, similar to Taiwan's acupuncture design. The final design to the bottom right is a skyscraper created for Armenia. The tower would consist of three towers joined by a bridge, and would house offices, homes, and a hotel. The exterior of the building would be made of mechanical openings which would allow for light and heat to circulate through the building system, as well as being equipped with solar panels, wind turbines, and rain-collecting filters.

These constructions are only a few of many ideas composed for the future. Though the ones I personally blogged about here haven't been considered for construction, few of the other eco-friendly building designs have been slated for creation in upcoming years. As the earth becomes populated more and more each day, the horizon seems quite promising with the prospect of having space-saving, go-green homes which could benefit our society!

So, my questions for you are...

1. Of the three designs posted, which do you think would be the most beneficial right now? And where would it be beneficial most?

2. Do you think there is a way to help lower the cost of the bike so it's affordable to the mass public who's in need of clean drinking water? If so, what is this way?

3. Look at the building designs, and think about the way each one utilizes a way to improve the environment. If you could create your own structure, describe what would make your structure eco-friendly, and how (example: a structure that is solar powered, through large solar panels lining the building's exterior, etc.) Think creatively for this one, don't just use what the other designs talked of using!