The Importance Of Having Clean Water For A Middle Class American

At the same time, the GDP per capita in this country is roughly one-half that of the average for Latin America and the Caribbean. The data of the World Bank shows that the distribution of income remains highly unequal with the richest 20% of the population accounting for more than 51% of Guatemala's overall consumption. More than 50% of the population is below the national poverty line, and 13% of the population lives in extreme

The country that I am reporting on is Guatemala. Guatemala is located in Central America on the continent of North America. There are four countries that border Guatemala and they are Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. There are also two bodies of water that border Guatemala and they are the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Guatemala covers 40,042 square miles of land. In 2017, the total population was 17,137,294 people and the population per square mile was 349 people. The primary language that is spoken in Guatemala is Spanish but K’iche’ and Q'eqchi' are also spoken too. Guatemala’s capital is Guatemala City and it is located in the southern part of the country. Guatemala has a Presidential Representative Democratic Republic government and the president is Jimmy Morales. The currency that the citizens of Guatemala use is the Guatemalan Quetzal. The Guatemalan Quetzal is worth 0.14 cents of the United States dollar. Most citizens practice the Roman Catholicism religion but Evangelical Protestantism and Orthodoxy are also practiced

Guatemala is a country located on the North American Continent, in Central America and is to the south of Mexico and to the north of Honduras and El Salvador between the North and South American continents. The capital is in Guatemala City. Guatemala in considered a tropical climate due to its proximity to the equator. There are volcanos and tropical rainforest. Guatemala is 108,890 sq. km and is similar in size to Tennessee. The interior of the country is covered in trees and has a diverse geography and topography with mountains, lakes, rivers, and lowlands and plains (Where is Guatemala, n.d.) The historic weather and climate for Guatemala varies according the altitude. The average annual temperature ranges from 25-30 C. The higher the altitude the lower the temperature. The rainy season begins in May and continues until October in the inland

The indigenous Maya population in the Highlands of Guatemala experience significant health disparities due to cultural and linguistic differences, rural isolation, under developed infrastructure, inconvenient and unaffordable healthcare, and lack of education and training. One of the most alarming concerns is that the Guatemalan Maya have the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the Western hemisphere: 190 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, and 43 infant deaths per 1000 live births. Poverty is also widespread among the indigenous population, averaging 76%, with extreme poverty at 28%.

Guatemalans are very attached to their customs and beliefs. Their devotion to God is immense. There are different religions in Guatemala but as many other Latin America countries the main religion practiced is the Roman Catholic. Some of the other religions include: Protestant, and indigenous Mayan beliefs.

I am a water person. Other than coffee my drink of choice is water. At home and in restaurants I always drink water, tap water. Is cheaper and I believed was drinkable but after listening to Betty Osceola, a member of the Miccosukee tribe and Environmental Advocate, I’m starting to doubt I will be drinking water straight out of the tap again.

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).

The Republic of Guatemala is located in Central America with a population of 16-34 million at the 2015 estimate (Factsheet). Guatemala gained independence from Spain in the 1820’s. There is a long history of government by authoritarian rule until democratic rule began in 1985. From 1954 until a peace accord was signed in 1996 there was civil war sparked by guerrilla opposition (Anderson). The languages spoken are: Spanish and Amerindian(Riches). The official language is Spanish, but the local, historical languages from the ancient Mayan languages are a part of everyday life.

Like mentioned before this is due to lack of communication, media, but mostly a corrupt system. In my interview with a prospective civil engineer who went to Guatemala with his colleagues to built a water infrastructure I learned a lot about the environment in Guatemala and what it is like to live there. DeLeon said, “Politicians often don't care about the poor because it is easier and more convenient for them since they get to keep the money that is not being spent on the people”. This demonstrates, how the corrupt government in Guatemala disables people from having full access to their right to have water and to be

Many countries around the world are in bad shape, because of poverty. Extreme global poverty has become a problem that is affecting a large percentage of the world’s population. It will continue to spread until serious actions have been taken place against the wealthier nations. However, countries feel they have no choice, but to deal with the problems and their main source of controversy and this is one of the reasons why poverty is taking so long to be condensed. Places in the Dominican Republic such as the Congo, and places in Africa such as Chad, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe,

Currently in the United States, there are a multitude of pollutants affecting Americans in their daily lives. One of the most significant detriments to their health would be lack of a consistent source of clean drinking water. The contamination of water derives from environmental challenges as well as human carelessness. The recent event in Flint, Michigan highlighted the availability of clean drinking water and what it entails if it is not provided to its citizens. There are several federal agencies established to address the issue of pollution, especially clean drinkable water. This should be a concern of most importance as American citizens cannot function or survive without the intake of clean and safe drinking water. Of all the environmental issues faced daily by Americans, none is more critical than contaminated drinking water.

Water is of great significance to us. Our body is mainly composed of water and we are constantly losing water by sweating, urinating, and a lot more. Because of all of these ways of losing water we also need ways of gaining water each day. If you don’t drink enough water you become dehydrated and not having enough water in your system could result in you not being able to get rid of poisonous chemicals in your body. Waterborne illnesses are illnesses caused by contaminated or untreated water, so the greatest contributor to waterborne diseases is inadequate sanitation. Some countries don’t have enough water to use for toilets, so they dump their waste in their water, not knowing that it’s contaminating their drinking water. (Parks 23). The United

In one article, it is stated that nobody in the "developed world" even comes close to the "poverty level," with a poverty line of $63 a day for a "family of 4 (The Economist, 2013)." Some contributing factors to the extreme levels of poverty can be attributed to not only a lack of education, but health care, clothes, food and shelter (The Economist, 2013). Developed countries tend to take these simple necessities for granted, as well as tending to forget or ignore the needs of developing countries (The Economist, 2013). While the measures the world has gone to in order to reduce poverty is impressive,

In America, many practices take place that the majority of people are not aware of, and corporations who do promote their latest adventures to the public do not reveal the whole truth about their objectives, positive and negative. The American people get confused and wonder why they must investigate American companies in order to separate the lies from the truth. The Oil and Gas Industry have been fracking, a process that has been met with controversy, to obtain natural gas and with this process comes profit and harm done to others by way of polluting the air, contamination in water, using large amounts of fresh water per well and damaging land. These industries are exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act by

POPULATION: Guatemala had a population of around 14,918,999 in 2015. In Central America, Guatemala is most the most populated, with a growth rate of about 1.82%. This trend is likely to continue because of its large population in the reproductive-age (young  50% under 19) and high birth rate (more than 3 children per woman). However, Guatemala does not have many government funded health programs, which has led to a decrease in total fertility rate. Due to the large percentage of young people in Guatemala, there is a good chance that future productivity will increase as more young people can contribute in the labour force. However, there is also the possibility that