Seventy percent of the Earth is covered by water, less than 1% is usable by humans. At this point, research indicates that climate change is occurring and, while it is a natural phenomenon in a planet's cycle, human's appear to be accelerating the current conditions. As weather patterns shift and the US experiences continuous monthly recorded - breaking, temperatures many people have come across problems with their water supply. This is not a new phenomenon. Drought ridden areas experience price hikes in bottled water, fracking produces vast amounts of methane and pollutes the water making both problems worse and towns like Flint and the Love Canal are destroyed by toxic waters. Over the years individuals, corporations, groups and governments have mishandled water rights with catastrophic results.
Water for sanitation and health is a right. Not only does it benefit each individual, as a society having cleanly and healthy individuals keeps others from getting sick and benefits the entire group. Most governments and the UN agree that water is a basic necessity however, some governments have been using water rights and the control of distribution centers as a weapon against any and all opposing ideologies. In the Israeli - Arab conflict, Israel seized control of the Golan Heights during the "War over Water" 1964-67 and has been restricting and privatizing the water supply which flows through several countries, turning the Arab strategy against them.
Aljazeera Link to Israeli Water Company shutting down the water supply.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/israel-cuts-...
Nestle Corporation CEO said in several interviews that he agrees with the prospect of water being a basic human right up to the minimum required for health and cleanliness. Everything else should be privatized for profit. Unfortunately, water stewardship in the past has been misused and blatantly flaunted. The Hudson river was primarily destroyed by corporate dumping waste directly into the water supply. In New York, below Niagara Falls is a place known as the Love Canal. Its inhabitants were slowly poisoned because of medical waste dumped on site and leaching into the water supply.
Nestle CEO Interview:
New developments in fracking have decreased US reliance on foreign oil at the cost of producing higher levels of methane gas which is worse for the environment than burning coal. The destabilization of rock by the fracking process has inadvertently polluted local wells. There is as yet no direct link between fracking and polluted water supplies in fracking areas however it seems likely that fracking is the root of the problem. Continued research is necessary.
In the coming years, scientists expect many of the US states to experience water shortages so drastic it is considered a national security threat by the US government. Changing weather patterns and improper management of water will directly impact the lives of every US citizen. A long term solution to the water crisis may be for US coastal states to implement water desalination plants. For those that do not know, a water desalination plant filters salt water through several processes to eventually produce fresh water. These are not cheap to build and take a lot of time to develop but emerging technologies in the field had a major breakthrough recently. Wave powered desalination plants are technologically superior to other forms of desalination and it requires minimal staffing and maintenance. While it may not be cheap or quick to build, in the future coastal states could produce clean water and export it to drought ridden states. It will take time and an immense startup cost but be a continuous long term source of revenue for states.
Carnegie Wave desalination plant:
https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/news/...
Love Canal Incident:
https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/love-canal-tragedy
Flint Water Supply: Local governments mismanaging water
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