Introduction
Quote: "The United States can be considered largely water rich relative to many other countries, and its citizens enjoy near universal access to safe water and sanitation." Pg. 4
Comment: I think, as a US citizen, we are very lucky of how easily we have access to water. We have access to it at home, school and work. It is everywhere and we have access to it very easily, compared to other places in the world. I think sometimes people take this for granted because most people in the US have never had the experience of having to walk miles to go get water, which sometimes is polluted. Most of us just walk anywhere and there is water.
Connection: When I read the quote I chose, it made me think about the part of the Blue Gold: World Water Wars movie where it talked about the Ryan's foundation and how in Kenya they had to walk to the rivers to get water, which was sometimes polluted. Like Ryan said in the movie, here it takes us about 10 steps to get to the water fountain while in other parts of the world people have to walk about 10,000 steps in order to get water. Some people die because they don't have water. We are so lucky to enjoy "near universal access to safe water and sanitation," compared to many other countries in the world.
Question: What are some US communities that continue to face systemic violations of this human right?
Violations of the Human Right to Water and Sanitation
Quote: "Arsenic is another threat to water quality, particularly in small communities that rely on groundwater as their main source of drinking water. Approximately 1.1 million people in the United States are affected by arsenic contamination. Of the estimated 1,000 water systems affected, 914 are unable to afford the costs of mitigation efforts to meet the arsenic standard." Pg. 6
Comment: I think it is unfair how these small communities are exposed to contaminated water and more than half of them are unable to afford the costs of reducing this contamination. Like it said earlier in the article, "Once water is contaminated, it is more expensive to treat to safe drinking water standards." But it is unfair how those people are having to pay more even though they weren't the ones who contaminated the water. I think the government should do something about it because so far they are violating the United States' obligations to protect and fulfill the human right to safe water and like the article said, "all U.S. communities should have equivalent standards."
Connection: When I read about Arsenic I thought about the article we read in the Soil and Agriculture Exam and how there was Arsenic in rice. As it said in the article from the exam, arsenic is really bad for you and can cause cancer. In the article it said to try to reduce the amount of rice you ate in order to reduce health problems that could be caused by arsenic because there was some arsenic in it and this is probably the same thing for water, people shouldn't consume a lot of water that is contaminated with arsenic or else they will have health issues due to the arsenic in their bodies.
Questions: Has the US done anything to help those 914 water systems that are unable to afford the costs of mitigation efforts?
Other than causing cancer, what are other consequences of being exposed to too much arsenic?
How much would it cost to reduce arsenic levels in the highly arsenic contaminated areas?
Vulnerable Populations and Discrimination
Quote: "About 40 percent of the Navajo Nation lacks piped water service and has to spend two hours a day hauling water to their homes. According to a 2006 study, the total economic cost of hauling water was $113 per 1,000 gallons, compared to the $3.50 on average that residents with piped service paid for the same amount of water from the tap. Nearly 70,000 Navajo live without water infrastructure and sometimes resort to non-potable water sources." Pg. 6
Comment: When I read this quote, it really struck to me the big difference between what the cost of hauling water was compared to the what residents pay for water from the tap. The total economic cost of hauling water is $113 per 1,000 gallons while residents with piped service pay only $3.50 for the exact amount of water, that is a difference of $109.50, which makes a huge difference to people who have low-income and can't really afford to spend that much money. Also, nearly 70,000 Navajo live without water infrastructure and have to resort to non-potable water sources, which can then lead to diseases, which can then increase health costs. It is unfair how minorities including Native Americans, Hispanics and African Americans, "all disproportionately lack access to complete plumbing facilities."
Connection: When I read this section and about how "access to affordable water is inadequate on many Native American reservations," it made me think about some towns in Mexico. There are towns in Mexico that have no water systems so the people that live in those towns have to buy water from nearby towns but this costs a lot more. First of they are charged more money because they are not from the town that has the water and second of all they need to pay for transportation to get all that water to where they live.
Questions: Why isn't extra help provided to the minorities that have limited access to water?
Why isn't much of this talked about in the news?
U.S. Foreign Aid and U.S. Engagement in International Financial Institutions &
Conclusion: Implementing a National Plan of Action on the Right to Water and Sanitation in the United States
Quote: "...the right to water should be applied holistically by factoring it into policies that affect water quality, including agriculture, chemical use in products and energy production. Putting human rights at the center of national planning and policy will help ensure that basic needs and ecosystem protections are prioritized when balancing competing demands on water." Pg. 8
Comment: I agree with what the UN Special Rapporteur recommended. I think it it is very important to put human rights in the center of national planning and policy because this way the US government would "respect, protect and fulfill the human right to water and sanitation in the United States." Water is a human right that shouldn't be denied to anyone even if they are a minority or are homeless. Water should be clean and have no major contaminants so that people don't get sick.
Connection: As I was reading this, it made me think back to the Blue Gold: World Water Wars movie and how many different people kept repeating the phrase, "Water is a human right." Someone in the movie also said, "We are all owners of water and air..." Another person said, "Water is a human right that should not be denied to anyone who is enable to pay for it." Another person said, "If money is more important than water, then where are we?" I agree with all of these people because water is a human right and shouldn't be denied to anyone. For most of US citizens we are given this right and have access to water but we still need to make sure that certain minorities as well as homeless people have the same right. We need to make sure that money isn't a boundary to get water. Water is a human right, and therefore should not be denied to any human.
Question: Are there any plans for projects that improve the human right of water to minorities?
No comments:
Post a Comment