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The Public Health Issue of the 21st Century


We don't think that there is much question that the biggest public health issue of the 21st century will be water.  Once you start paying attention, you see that the issue is cropping up in many ways in more and more locations all over the world. 

It strikes us that the issues will (and already do) impact in these major areas:

Access to clean water for drinking
Access to clean water for hygiene
Access to clean water for agriculture
Access to clean water for recreation

These are all impacted in various ways and in turn impact lives in various ways.

In many areas we are running short of water because we aren't thoughtful about how we use our water, how much of it we use, and how we might reuse it.

In many parts of the world the largest issue is access to water that is clean.  Just shortages of water itself is part of the problem, but much of the issue is that the water that is available is polluted in one way or another.  Bacterial and viral contaminants pollute water in many areas of the world.  In other parts of the world the solutions to those very problems are coming to be questioned for the health problems that they in turn create. 

Bottled water is creating tons of waste.  Much of the water in those bottles isn't especially clean to begin with.  And the plastic used in those bottles can quickly leach into the water you are drinking. 

Many question whether the disinfectants used to clean up the water supply is something we should be drinking.   While authorities say our municipal water supplies are safe, there are mixed results in studies.


What Can We Do?

Don't waste water!
Don't pollute water!

• Turn off that faucet when you can.  
• Reuse water instead of just dumping it down the drain.  Take water you have used to cook in for example, and water your plants with it.
• Get a water-saving shower head
• Look into gray water usage
• Use a car wash where the water is recycled
• Get soil additives to reduce the watering needed in your gardens
• Use sprinklers that put water where you need it, and not on the sidewalk
• Stop using unhealthy chemicals in your house that end up in the water supply (and air)
• Filter your water to remove volitile organic compounds and chemicals

One thing we've been noticing is that frequently the amounts of almost anything that could be bad for you are defended because in the amounts in your water they are not believed harmful by the authorities.  However, this conveniently ignores that this is only one source of whatever that 'stuff' is.  If you are exposed to it is several ways, the exposure is cumulative.