Running head: WATER CRISIS 1
Water Crisis
Brad Barlow
Indiana University East
WATER CRISIS 2
Water Crisis
Students have been taught since elementary school that our beloved planet Earth is
composed of 71% water. With that being said, who would ever think we would have a water
crisis? As a child, the only water crisis I could imagine was having too much of the stuff. Yet
here we are, faced with a major water crisis that is the cause of death for people across the globe,
especially infants in third-world countries. There are ways to make the issue less deadly.
Becoming informed, conserving water, and exploring new methods for cleaning water can save
lives. Man can survive without food for upwards of 30 days. What about water? No way. If a
human-being went 7 days without water, they would most likely be dead.
There is a direct correlation between infant mortality and the lack of clean water.
Approximately 60% of infant mortality in the world can be traced back to some sort of water
issue, whether it is from bacterial infections, viral infections or parasitic disease. Water related
diseases are plentiful: diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, polio, hepatitis, typhoid, malaria, dengue,
filarial, clonorchiasis, ascariasis, schistosomiasis and guinea worm (Vidyasagar, 2007). Another
common issue with some drinking water is the last thing to expect- minerals. Minerals can be a
great thing. Many bottled waters even boast about the
minerals that are in their water. However, some minerals
can be detrimental to our health, especially when those
minerals are in high quantities. Iron is great for us and is a
normal part of our diet, yet too much iron can cause serious
health problems. In some regions, fluoride is a concern.
Fluoride, in high quantities, can cause bone-defects. Often
times these bone defects can lead to life-long disabilities.
WATER CRISIS 3
One billion… That’s billion with a ‘b’. That’s how many people in the world do not have
access to clean drinking water, according to a study done in 2004 by the World Health
Organization (WHO) and UNICEF (World Facing “SILENT EMERGENCY” as Billions
Struggle without Clean Water or Basic Sanitation, say WHO and UNICEF, 2004). Much of the
world’s clean water is used for our food. It is estimated that two-thirds of the world’s fresh water
is used for agriculture (Schiermeier, 2014). Watering our plants is something that is quite
necessary for survival, so we need to look at other ways that we could conserve water. As
Americans, it is easy for us to forget how lucky we are to have the things that we do, such as
