Water - Running Out?

Some of us, like me living in New England, have a relative
abundance of water and tend to take it for granted.

With this post, I want to put a little perspective on the issue.
Some 40 percent of the world's population "carry their water from wells,
rivers, ponds, or puddles outside of their homes", according to
Diane Ward in her book, Water Wars - Drought, Folly and the
Politics of Thirst. In some countries, women may spend 6 hours a
day or more fetching water in buckets from questionable sources.

The fact is that over a third of the world's population
is seriously affected by a water and sanitation crisis. In
Africa, 6 out of 10 people do not even have a proper toilet.
This of course contributes to the spread of deadly bacteria,
viruses and parasites.

Principal rivers in many countries no longer have anything
left to pour into the sea. Nations are squandering their most
precious commodity at such an alarming rate that many doubt
that their could be a viable solution.

Do you think this will eventually affect the water-rich Western
countries? Politically? Economically? Of course it is, already.
Yet here in the United States little is being done to protect
our water sources. Water infrastructure in major cities is old
and dilapidated. Testing for many of the newer and more
dangerous drugs in water is literally non-existent. Many people
still consider it their 'right' to have unlimited clean water when
that is no longer the case anyway, and enormous cost increases
are just around the corner. The major disinfection agent for
municipal water, chlorine, has no doubt saved millions of lives
over the years, but it is itself a health risk of high order. And
many cities and towns are turning to an alternative, chloramine,
which is cheaper but poses more risks and is harder to remove
at the point of use.

In the meantime, do not take for granted the quality of water
you are using for drinking and sanitation. Your health is
on the line.

More later,
Sam