Two thirds of the fresh water is locked up in glaciers, leaving only 1% of the earth's water for human consumption (The World Water Organization). Global warming, urbanization and increasing demand have posed challenges for the quality and availability of drinking water globally and in the U.S. as well. The U.S. has one of the safest public drinking water system. There are around 60,000 Community Water Systems (CWS) serving 300.2 million people. In addition, there are over 100,000 Transient and Non-transient Non CWS serving 20 million people (EPA).
More than 1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water (Lawrence & Weber, 2011, p. 43). Especially in the developing countries, with poor water management it contributes to increasing malnutrition and disease, a losing of biodiversity and agricultural production, rising food prices, reducing economic growth and social stability, that leading to conflicts over water resources. The major source for of the Coca-Cola Company’s (TCCC) products is water. Even the company’s CEO admits “that unless the communities where the company operated had access to water, they haven’t got a business” (Lawrence & Weber, 2011, p. 43). Coca-Cola and its bottlers using 80 billion gallons of water every year worldwide; in which two fifths goes into finished beverages.
The shortage of water burned up the crops the minute they sprouted. Agriculture accounts for about 70% of water withdraws worldwide, increasing to over 90% in developing countries. Water is also necessary for the production of our food, the natural fibers of our clothing, biofuels and other goods based on agricultural raw materials. The average farmer feeds 150 people a day, and with the decrease of water means the number of people fed will decrease. Farmers today have spent thousands of dollars to update their irrigation practices.
Solariums should be banned Each year over 1 million people around the world the world use solariums. That estimates about 4000 people per day. Using Solariums results in 1 in 6 people get melanomas. In total 7,215 people get melanomas each year, yet we still allow them to be used. What has to be done before we shut down these horrid creations?
Nearly 47 million Americans, or 16 percent of the population, were without health insurance in 2005, the latest government data available (DeNavas-Walt). In 2005, nearly one in 20 people between the ages of 18 and 64 said they were unable to get necessary prescription drugs during the past 23 months due to cost (National Center for Health Statistics, 2007). National surveys show that the primary reason people are uninsured is the high cost of health insurance coverage (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Employee Benefits: 2007). Unfortunately, even the insured are feeling a burden of health care costs.
In 2007-2008, it was reported that 10.81% of residents 18 years and older in the Cloncurry Shire were suffering from high or very high psychological distress (ABS, 2011). Research shows that people living in rural and remote communities across Australia have particular high risk factors of mental health compared to their metropolitan counterparts (Rajkumar & Hoolahan, 2008). This is believed to be associated with isolation and environmental hazards such as drought, floods and fires (Rajkumar & Hoolahan, 2008). With the community experiencing monsoon weather patterns and droughts each year, the impact the weather has on the community results in financial stress on families which has been linked to anxiety, depression, family breakdown and other mental health issues (Rajkumar & Hoolahan, 2008). With recent economic uncertainty in remote Queensland communities due to both government and corporate service closures and restructuring of the farming industry, the Cloncurry Shire has had an 8% population decline over the past decade (Queensland Government, 2011c).
It took 4 days for a relief team to reach the area. Relief agencies had aid flights ready but were constantly held back by bad weather (fog, snow, avalanches).Reports suggested that people had to live under sub –zero temperatures and thousands facing starvation. Helicopters were at last able to drop supplies to three isolated villages 11 days after the event. Why is Afghanistan unable to cope with a major earthquake? Afghanistan does not have the money, the infrastructure or the technology to predict plan or cope with a major earthquake.
Freshwater is used for public water supplies, irrigation, industrial processes, and cooling electric power plants (OECD, 2013). The average family of four uses about six hundred liters of water per day (Porteous, 2000). The concern is if the freshwater supply is not protected and conserved, the planet will run out and if this happens the planet will not survive. Approximately seventy five percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, as oceans, rivers, glaciers, snow or lakes (Singh, 2008). Singh reports that “Only three percent of water globally is potable (drinkable) and, of that amount, approximately thirty percent is available for use and most of it is located in Brazil” (Singh, 2008).
All the containers including water bottles are made from natural gas and petroleum. The cost to fuel 100,000 cars a year is what is spent to make water bottle that Americans use a year. In addition, the making of plastic materials, processing the water, fill and seal the bottles, and transporting water bottles to the various stores around the country is an expensive waste of energy and severely drains the limited fossil fuels. In “Bad To The Last Drop,” bottled water “is shipped at vast expense from one part of the world to another, is the kept refrigerated before sale, and causes huge amounts of plastic bottles to into landfills.” According to, “In praise of tap water,” only about 23% of the bottle will end up being recycled. Almost 77% of water bottles are not recycled.
We rely on clean water, for most of all of our needs from drinking, sanitation, and agriculture. Some places in the world do not have the option to have clean water. “In fact, 1.2 billion people currently live in areas with insufficient water. Human populations are slated to rise to eight billion by 2020. As our population and pollutants increase, the shortage will only worsen.