The Importance Of Access For Safe And Abundant Clean Water

Pharmaceuticals are defined as prescription, over the counter and veterinary therapeutic drugs used to prevent or treat human and animal diseases, while personal care products (PCPs) are used mainly to improve the quality of daily life [16]. Over the past few years, there has been growing awareness of the unintentional presence of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in various compartments of the aquatic environment at concentrations capable of causing detrimental effects to the aquatic organisms. This has become a major concern because PPCPs are extensively and increasingly used in human and veterinary medicine, resulting in their continuous release to the environment.

Doctors are always telling us to drink more water to improve our health, but what if that water is contaminated by a potentially toxic chemical? When it comes to our drinking water in America, compared to other countries around the world, there is usually no concern in becoming ill after consuming a nice, big glass of tap water. The reason you don’t question the quality is because of the regulations in place by US Environmental protection Agency (EPA) for public drinking water. But now we are foreseeing issues with our drinking water due to chemicals used in items such as food packaging materials (such as pizza boxes and popcorn bags), fabrics, nonstick cooking pans and firefighting foams (Scutti). As a result of their inhabitance, the chemicals

Growing up as a middle class American, I never fully understood the significance of having clean water to drink, access to healthcare, and education. Many undeveloped countries do not have the resources to provide a regulated standard of living. In countries like Guatemala, up to 75 percent of the population live below the poverty line. Most of these residents live in rural, mountainous areas.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for regulating and overseeing the effective distribution of clean tap water. Even though, history has shown instances of water contamination, it is only normal that such incidents occur. The EPA has set procedures for monitoring the municipal waterworks and from their regulated activities, quick resolution for thresholds are achieved (Lewis 1). However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), subsequently setting inferior standards for fundamental

Water scarcity is a major issue the world now faces because of the prolonged global warming that the Earth has been enduring. Global warming has been causing a dramatic change in the Earth’s atmosphere, water supply, as well the ecosystem. It has caused glaciers, that hold a great deal of the world’s freshwater supply, as ice, to melt into the surrounding oceans because of the Sun’s heat warming the waters, and melting the glaciers. This has caused a problem for countries that rely on those sources. Not only the warming of the Earth, but also the multitude of pollutants that currently affect water supplies such as fecal matter, lead, and garbage, harm the available drinking water and render it useless. Due to the fact that certain countries are more polluted than others, just by default, their water supply has a greater chance of contamination. Therefore, the most ethical thing to do would be divide up remaining water equally amongst all countries. However, America and other first world countries will get privilege over the water because of their resources, wealth, and power.

Environmentalists all over the nation highly discourage flushing prescription drugs down the toilet in fear of contaminating the water supply. Although the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) states on their website that flushing certain medications down the toilet is the best option in fear of children, or young adults getting into the potentially harmful prescription drugs… Environmentalists say otherwise. In fact, the Ohio Environmental Council warns that there are many studies supporting their argument that flushing the medication is harmful to the water supply. Studies state that the amount of prescription drugs being found in waterways is creating issues such as the reproductive health of different fish even completely feminizing male fish.

In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) brought together experts in toxicology, water chemistry, water quality and health, water treatment and pharmacology to form a “Drinking–water” directive and policy. The quality Committee along with additional experts examined pharmaceuticals in drinking water, and the human health risk associated with pharmaceuticals in drinking water.

Growing up only a couple hours from the coast gave me the advantage of quick trips to the beach. I cherish the memories of the beautiful drive and the excitement of finally arriving to the ocean. As I got older, I began to notice more than just warm sand, fun shops, and yummy food- I noticed what has been going wrong. Over the years, I have realized how much garbage washes up on the shores, that tourists leave enormous messes, and most importantly- the beaches are showing the effects. I hear more often about sea life washing to shore, contaminated shellfish, and mass amounts of coral and other sea life sick or dying altogether. At first glance, I think it is just the effects of a changing world, but truly it is the cause of overuse and contamination of water. Everything we do has some

Zola opened her exhausted eyes and woke Lulu, her sister. The two grabbed large tin buckets and tiptoed out of their tiny living space, to avoid waking their family. They crouched under the tiny door, their eyes blinded by the rising sun from the outdoors. They looked at each other with wide eyes, preparing themselves for the hours of walking they would be doing today. This is the daily life of an individual child in places such as Sub Saharan Africa, like Zola and Lulu, with no access to safe water. Safe water is water that is safe to consume, because it contains no harmful bacteria or contaminants.The access to safe water is a growing issue among people around the world, including several millions of people in areas such as Sub Saharan Africa,

Water is a human right can be interpreted in many ways, but the most common interpretation is that people should have access to clean water. Despite that access to clean water may sound logical and ideally, it is still an issue. Because access to clean water is problematic, activist groups such as the US Human Rights Network (USHRN), “a national coalition, comprised of over 160 groups and individuals working on the human rights to water and sanitation throughout the United States,” exist to establish clean and accessible water in the world (USHRN: #WaterIsAHumanRight). The US Human Rights Network works on a local and national level that represents “urban, rural, and indigenous communities” throughout the states (USHRN: #WaterIsAHumanRight).

consume water in a modest way. We hear of campaigns in social media to save water

Currently drinking and wastewater treatment facilities do not treat for pharmaceutical or personal (PPCP’s) care product pollutants because water treatment plants are not meant to address complex chemicals.

Many of our medications come directly or indirectly from plants. (WHY PLANTS ARE SO IMPORTANT) http://www.bgci.org/plantconservationday/whyplantsimportant/ Because plants are so important to our lives and they require water to live, this is more proof that water is extremely important to human beings.

One of the most important natural resources we have on this planet is water. Water covers roughly 70 percent of our planet and is the very foundation for every single species on earth. We as humans, rely on water more than any other resource on the planet and we simply can’t live without it. Although water is abundant around the world, clean water for millions of people is inaccessible. Around the world, there are people struggling to get water yet along clean water and it greatly affects our health. Improving clean water supply and sanitation, and better access to clean water resources, can increase countries’ economic development and can contribute greatly to poverty reduction and overall people’s health.

Although the state of America’s water infrastructure is of great concern, the types of chemicals found in America’s tap water are equally as frightening. The passage of the Water Act in 1972 prevents the direct dumping of hazardous chemicals directly into waterways, and helps regulate quality standards of water. However, the Clean Water Act is has no jurisdiction on regulating indirect dumping of chemicals that integrates into water supplies. Pesticides and prescription drugs are the greatest cause for concern of indirect containments in America’s water supply (Olsen). An abundance of the harmful chemicals found in liquefied animals feces, used in large dairy states, have percolated into drinking wells that have caused serious infections (Duhigg). However, more harmful containments are infiltrating water supplies. Such containments include