The Road Less Traveled

The problem of water worldwide is two-fold, lack of clean, safe water for millions of people in developing countries, and the overall lack of fresh water, as a resource, in our world. Though the scarcity of water is a huge problem, it also an issue of the future, so I am going to focus on the issue of clean water and the effects on developing countries this week.

Clean water not only effects the individual lives of people who are unable to attain water for consumption, sanitation, etc., lack of safe water has huge impact on countries as a whole. People need to be able to access about five to eight gallons of water everyday, for hygiene, consumption, and sanitary reasons.  also a child born into a developed country uses about thirty to fifty times more water than a child born in a developing country (World Water Crisis). Just as water is a life sustainer, water also has a negative side. Many deadly diseases are water-borne. When water is contaminated either by chemicals or parasites it becomes very dangerous to people. Problem is many people in the world do not have access to any other water sources than contaminated ones. The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that malaria, diarrheal disease, and shistosomiasis as the main problems (World Water Crisis). These disease are so worrying because of the huge impact they have on the lives of many people worldwide. One statistic says that about six thousand children die everyday from diarrheal diseases (World Water Crisis). The worst part about these deaths are they can be so easily treated, or even avoided all together, if clean water was an easily accessed commodity. The lack of clean water for consumption reasons is only one problem. Because of lack of fresh water for sanitary and hygienic reasons, one million people die from malaria every year (World Water Crisis). Malaria is carried by mosquitos, and these mosquitos breed in stagnant water which is often linked to poor sanitation systems.

WHO has complied some scary statistics about water throughout the world. They say that one out of every five people do not have access to clean, safe water, that is one billion people worldwide.  They also declare that almost half of the world does not have access to sanitation (World Water Crisis). These numbers are staggering, how can our world begin to fix problems like staggering debts and debilitating wars, when one of the main issues of almost half the world is still being unable to access water? The problem is this is no easy fix, there are just too many people without clean water. If a country struggles to even give their people access to sanitation and water for consuming, how can they begin to give their people educations and better standards of living? If most of the population of a country cannot access water, how is that same country expected to be able to give their people jobs and a stable economy? Before a country can become successful and have high standard of livings, good job market, and high economy, they need to be able to fix the most basic of needs for their people, access to water.

People have been trying to fix the issue of lack of clean water for years, but the task is a difficult one because of the staggering number of people and areas that just don’t have the means to attain water. One, if not a solution at least helper, is the product called LifeStraw. Created by Vestergaard, LifeStraw is a device used to filter contaminated water. This device allows people to be able to drink water, even when it is not clean. On their website, Vestergaard describes their product as “Each product in the LifeStraw® portfolio is designed for a specific situation where safe water is needed but not readily available.” The LifeStraw uses fiber technology which allows the water to be sucked up the tube and causes the microorganisms and parasites to be caught in the fiber while the clean water passes through. The device is so great because it allows people to drink water that is dirty because the straw “self-cleans” the water and makes it safe to drink. Another benefit is the LifeStraw is relatively affordable.

Lack of clean water in developing countries is a basic problem, and one that will continue to hold these countries back. If a countries population is not healthy and cannot even access life necessities like water, they will never be able to become prosperous. The UN and WHO are working to find solutions to the lack of clean water problem, but with the large amount of people effected, it is proving to be a difficult task. LifeStraw is just one piece of technology that may be able to help with the problem for now. Will LifeStraw solve all the water problems? Absolutely not, LifeStraw still does not solve the problem of sanitation issues which effects almost half of the world’s population. LifeStraw is not the ultimate solution to the world’s clean water issues, but it’s a good place to start.

Works Consulted:

“World Water Crisis.” Medicine, Health, and Bioethics: Essential Primary Sources. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 346-347. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.

“LifeStraw.” Vestergaard: Impacting People. Vestergaard. 2013. 19 Feb. 2014.http://www.vestergaard.com/lifestraw-personal

Picture Citations:

http://africaneeds.org/issues-solutions/the-water-problem/

http://www.indesignlive.com/articles/sustainability/90-inspiration#axzz2toCr9TXX

February 10, 2014: Intro

 

1. Personal Stake:
   1. Ben: Prepare an individual for life

i.    ——————- Make holistic individuals

ii.    —————— Help students in “…finding a place in the world”

———————————Option 2

1. Kaitlin: College is too expensive

i.     —————-Too much debt

ii.     —————-People cannot always pay back this debt in today’s economy

———————————Option 3

1. Liz: Equal opportunity

i.   —————–  Difference in price of private vs. public college education

ii.    —————- People often pick majors based on how profitable a job they can receive

——————————Option 3

1. Christina: Need to compete with global economy

i.    —————— Learn the values of working with others – globalization

——————————Option 1 and a bit of Option 2

1. Erin: It is “not enough to just be educated”

i.     ——————Need to learn morals

ii.     —————–Learn to be a good person as part of one’s education

——————————Option 2

1. Sean: Broaden Horizons

i.   ——————-  Define what you are passionate about in college

ii.    —————— Do so, by studying other peoples and values and setting up one’s own beliefs

—————————–Option 2

1. Nicki: Grow as a person

i.    —————– College is much more than learning a subject

ii.     —————College is learning how to be an adult and how to establish your identity

iii.    ————– Define morals and values

—————————–Option 2

1. Majors:
   1. Ben: College of Liberal Arts à Business
   2. Kaitlin: Criminology and Psychology
   3. Liz: Actuarial Science
   4. Christina: International Politics and Criminology
   5. Erin: Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Anthropology
   6. Nicki: Materials Science and Engineering
   7. Sean: ?
2. Topics of Discussion:
   1. What are we loosing out on with Option 2?

i.   ——————-  Loosing our technological advancements

1. ———————–Always want things in society to be easier/ more convenient

ii.     —————–Learn about different people = increased international students

1. ———————Makes it harder for American students to get into college

2. International countries start intensive education earlier. Should we?

i.    —————– Elementary American education is much more relaxed

ii.    —————- Accelerating education too fast too late

1. ———————–Should stimulate interest at a young age, through specialization options
   1. Possible Steps Toward Increased Specialization without Loosing Values/ Morals:

i.     —————-Give children specialized opportunities at a young age in school

ii.     —————FLEX – language program in 3^rd grade – Choose to continue or not take language throughout elementary school

1. Global Competition – Language in Schools as a Way to Stay Globally Connected

i.     —————Give more language options

ii.   —————  Inform people of the importance of taking languages, such as Chinese

1. Federal Government Help?

i.     ————-No standardization – every kid is different

1. —————–Focus so much on bottom kids – top kids have nowhere to go
   1. Raise Bar for all Students as a Way to Encourage Students? Even Bottom Students?

i.  —————-Can Discourage bottom kids

ii.     ————-Need to continue to help the struggling students

iii.     ————Yet still need to allow strong students to thrive and grow

1. Parental Responsibility to Encourage Students to Do Well?

i.   ————– More guidance for kids with encouraging parents

ii.     ————France banned HW

iii.     ———–HW prepares you for college – doing work by yourself

1. —————–Should be a kid’s responsibility rather than the parents’
   1. Values Taught by Family

i.   ——–  Government should not be telling parents how to raise their kids

1. ———–Against Option 2

ii.   —————  Teachers have to step up and act like a parent to kids occasionally, but they should not teach the kids all values

February 10, 2014: Intro

 

1. Personal Stake:
   1. Ben: Prepare an individual for life

i.    ——————- Make holistic individuals

ii.    —————— Help students in “…finding a place in the world”

———————————Option 2

1. Kaitlin: College is too expensive

i.     —————-Too much debt

ii.     —————-People cannot always pay back this debt in today’s economy

———————————Option 3

1. Liz: Equal opportunity

i.   —————–  Difference in price of private vs. public college education

ii.    —————- People often pick majors based on how profitable a job they can receive

——————————Option 3

1. Christina: Need to compete with global economy

i.    —————— Learn the values of working with others – globalization

——————————Option 1 and a bit of Option 2

1. Erin: It is “not enough to just be educated”

i.     ——————Need to learn morals

ii.     —————–Learn to be a good person as part of one’s education

——————————Option 2

1. Sean: Broaden Horizons

i.   ——————-  Define what you are passionate about in college

ii.    —————— Do so, by studying other peoples and values and setting up one’s own beliefs

—————————–Option 2

1. Nicki: Grow as a person

i.    —————– College is much more than learning a subject

ii.     —————College is learning how to be an adult and how to establish your identity

iii.    ————– Define morals and values

—————————–Option 2

1. Majors:
   1. Ben: College of Liberal Arts à Business
   2. Kaitlin: Criminology and Psychology
   3. Liz: Actuarial Science
   4. Christina: International Politics and Criminology
   5. Erin: Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Anthropology
   6. Nicki: Materials Science and Engineering
   7. Sean: ?
2. Topics of Discussion:
   1. What are we loosing out on with Option 2?

i.   ——————-  Loosing our technological advancements

1. ———————–Always want things in society to be easier/ more convenient

ii.     —————–Learn about different people = increased international students

1. ———————Makes it harder for American students to get into college

2. International countries start intensive education earlier. Should we?

i.    —————– Elementary American education is much more relaxed

ii.    —————- Accelerating education too fast too late

1. ———————–Should stimulate interest at a young age, through specialization options
   1. Possible Steps Toward Increased Specialization without Loosing Values/ Morals:

i.     —————-Give children specialized opportunities at a young age in school

ii.     —————FLEX – language program in 3^rd grade – Choose to continue or not take language throughout elementary school

1. Global Competition – Language in Schools as a Way to Stay Globally Connected

i.     —————Give more language options

ii.   —————  Inform people of the importance of taking languages, such as Chinese

1. Federal Government Help?

i.     ————-No standardization – every kid is different

1. —————–Focus so much on bottom kids – top kids have nowhere to go
   1. Raise Bar for all Students as a Way to Encourage Students? Even Bottom Students?

i.  —————-Can Discourage bottom kids

ii.     ————-Need to continue to help the struggling students

iii.     ————Yet still need to allow strong students to thrive and grow

1. Parental Responsibility to Encourage Students to Do Well?

i.   ————– More guidance for kids with encouraging parents

ii.     ————France banned HW

iii.     ———–HW prepares you for college – doing work by yourself

1. —————–Should be a kid’s responsibility rather than the parents’
   1. Values Taught by Family

i.   ——–  Government should not be telling parents how to raise their kids

1. ———–Against Option 2

ii.   —————  Teachers have to step up and act like a parent to kids occasionally, but they should not teach the kids all values

Personal Stake in Option Two:

 

-Nicki: Likes Option Two

-some of it has to come from families

-people should take ethics courses; things pertaining to values

 

-Liz: Higher education plays a part, but so does family

-interesting to see if it would work to incorporate courses

 

-Ben: Need ethics to use knowledge from college effectively

-Shouldn’t be trying to force ideas down students throats

 

– Christina: responsibility to instill certain values, but problems could arise because values vary for every person. Should be a foundation set of courses.

 

-Sean: Don’t know how much college could instill morals, already have morals when you go to college.

 

-Berty: Can’t relate because hasn’t taken any ethics course.

-learn certain values through teachers

 

How can we stop colleges from overstepping that boundary?

-Look at different points of views

-Already have morals set so it won’t change you that much

-Ben: Business ethics class: offer personal beliefs, but doesn’t expect students to follow them, but to challenge them.

 

Do you agree that college shapes morals or already have them?

-College helps you explore the extent you believe and helps you solidify your morals that you already have before college.

-Could help you define them more than high school

 

-Peers have a lot to do with it (small town to big city).  This could leave room to change.

-You could change morals because it is stepping away from parents.

-Being immersed in a different culture.

-Ideas that you haven’t heard before, help you redevelop your morals.

 

All students should have to study many different subjects, but that means you have to invest time and money into classes that do not relate. What are your views on this?

 

-That would be too much with the amount of classes we already have to take

-Should only have to take about two or three

-Most jobs in America can have things taught to you on the job, so employers look for personality and personal aspects. Therefore, colleges should shape people into good citizens.

-A lot of general education classes could teach you about writing well and communication, leading to good background for many majors once they are looking for jobs.

-Need outside experience: meeting different kinds of people, volunteering

-Need to experience things outside the classroom

 

How do you feel about service learning?

 

-Should not be a necessity, but a decision.

-Students should be prepared

-Won’t teach anything, students may not want to do it because they have to. Since they are being forced, they may not want to.

-Can have an environment that encourages students to do it.

-Don’t think its wrong to force colleges to do it, but students should be aware of this before applying or accepting.

-Ethics course: some values are placed higher than others

-Students can chose whether or not to believe them

 

February 14^th, Option 2 Deliberation part 2:

1. It’s the students choice to agree with the ethics and opinions offered in an ethics class
2. Should a college put in an honor code, or are they prying into our lives?
   1. Some rules good, like dorm rules (quiet rules, etc.) good for safety
   2. Integrity rules are good-not cheating, plagiarizing
   3. Schools shouldn’t be teaching behavioral rules-may not always agree

i.      Students can’t be taught how to act or what to believe

ii.      Who are they to tell you how to handle a situation-can’t be forced

1. Rules can’t be too strict-or else college, a place where we are supposed to discover ourselves, everyone comes  out the same

i.      Some people believe that college is like a factory and producing like-minded people

ii.      If we have similar values, then what is the point of enforcing values?

iii.      There should be diverse values

1. Integrity-don’t agree with because they encourage more about the grade and tests rather than learning and actual education

i.      Integrity laws-allow for fairness, if you put the work in you succeed

ii.      If there are less test, people won’t want to cheat because they don’t need to strive to get that perfect grade

1. Problem of less test-people don’t work so hard because they don’t feel encouraged to learn and master the subject
2. Students aren’t motivated to do well unless it gives them a good grade

iii.      Honor code is a way for the university the protect themselves from the public

1. Idealistic-most people probably don’t actually follow it
2. Should be more collaboration

i.      Once we leave college-lots of collaboration in workplace, why not practice it now (it’s important to learn to work with others

ii.      But it’s hard because people need to show their own individual skills-someone could just be along for the ride within a group (individual and collaborative work-a nice blend of both)

iii.      Our education system reflects what our society teaches-to be competitive and about the individual-other countries people learn to work together

iv.      Group work could still bring a competitive edge-person wants to become the leader of the group (reflects our individualistic values we learn from our society)

1. International acceptance

i.      Its fine-if they get in and they pay the college then they can come-that’s the way our country works

1. International populace is important to society

ii.      We should all be judged on the same scale, equality with the international students

iii.      International students help the university grow and may allow for more students to be accepted in the future

February 14^th, Option 2 Deliberation part 2:

1. It’s the students choice to agree with the ethics and opinions offered in an ethics class
2. Should a college put in an honor code, or are they prying into our lives?
   1. Some rules good, like dorm rules (quiet rules, etc.) good for safety
   2. Integrity rules are good-not cheating, plagiarizing
   3. Schools shouldn’t be teaching behavioral rules-may not always agree

i.      Students can’t be taught how to act or what to believe

ii.      Who are they to tell you how to handle a situation-can’t be forced

1. Rules can’t be too strict-or else college, a place where we are supposed to discover ourselves, everyone comes  out the same

i.      Some people believe that college is like a factory and producing like-minded people

ii.      If we have similar values, then what is the point of enforcing values?

iii.      There should be diverse values

1. Integrity-don’t agree with because they encourage more about the grade and tests rather than learning and actual education

i.      Integrity laws-allow for fairness, if you put the work in you succeed

ii.      If there are less test, people won’t want to cheat because they don’t need to strive to get that perfect grade

1. Problem of less test-people don’t work so hard because they don’t feel encouraged to learn and master the subject
2. Students aren’t motivated to do well unless it gives them a good grade

iii.      Honor code is a way for the university the protect themselves from the public

1. Idealistic-most people probably don’t actually follow it
2. Should be more collaboration

i.      Once we leave college-lots of collaboration in workplace, why not practice it now (it’s important to learn to work with others

ii.      But it’s hard because people need to show their own individual skills-someone could just be along for the ride within a group (individual and collaborative work-a nice blend of both)

iii.      Our education system reflects what our society teaches-to be competitive and about the individual-other countries people learn to work together

iv.      Group work could still bring a competitive edge-person wants to become the leader of the group (reflects our individualistic values we learn from our society)

1. International acceptance

i.      Its fine-if they get in and they pay the college then they can come-that’s the way our country works

1. International populace is important to society

ii.      We should all be judged on the same scale, equality with the international students

iii.      International students help the university grow and may allow for more students to be accepted in the future

I believe that a society’s success rate is highly influenced by the higher education offered and the number of people educated at a higher level. Our society specifically views education as a competition based in numbers. What do I mean by that? People seem to believe, within our society, that people are more educated if they have the highest grades, SAT scores, GPAs, etc. But I don’t necessarily believe that, education is about the knowledge and the skills you learn, not about the scores earned on one test. A person can test really well, but once they go out into the world, they don’t know what to do. Higher education is about gaining the knowledge and skills needed in order to be successful in whichever career you pursue. If people stop worrying so much about being the “best” or “number 1”, they may actually be able to gain the actual knowledge they need in the world. Though competition may be helpful in pushing people to discover and create new things, I believe that collaboration is way more helpful. If people work together, knowledge is spread and more ideas are created. I think more disciplines should work more closely with each other. It seems like now each major is completely isolated from another, but to be well-rounded and knowledgeable, you need to know about more than just one topic or discipline.

Also education is something that every person should have a fair chance of receiving. Plenty of people can’t afford college or can only afford two years, but they shouldn’t be relegated to a lower paying job because of their financial standing. Many jobs really don’t require four years at an educational institution, many require actual experience in the field or training. I firmly believe that education is very important to our society, but college isn’t the only way of gaining knowledge. Some careers the greatest knowledge you can gain is not in a textbook or college classroom, but in that actual field. Higher education is a very tricky topic because knowledge can be defined as so many different things, so therefore there is no one way of acquiring it. People also learn in different ways so one way of education is not acceptable for everyone.

Water. A pretty basic, as well as fundamental part of our life; a component we don’t give a second thought or glance to. But this can not be said for all of the world, actually for large parts of the world, water is their biggest problem. Water. The thing that we can access very easily, every moment of every day with just the flip of a faucet. The flip of a faucet and life sustaining, clean water comes pouring out. How fortunate are we to never know the difficulties and  trouble water, or the acquisition of water, can bring to every day life.

 

About seventy percent of the Earth’s surface is covered with water, but only about two point five percent of that water is fresh, and about two thirds of the fresh water on Earth is frozen in the form of glaciers. The average adult’s body is made up of about fifty to sixty five percent of water. Water seems to be a common thing on our planet, about as common as a hair is on the human body, however, in reality, water is a scarce commodity. That’s right, a commodity. Water is something that is useful and valued by all beings on our planet, whether plant, animal, or human. Water is a basic necessity of life, and without it, life as we know it on our planet would cease to exist. And water is not only useful for drinking, water literally allows us to run the world and live life the way that we do. That two point five percent of fresh water has to be distributed not only to all living beings for consumption, but water is also used for agriculture, cooking, sanitation, and industry. So, basically, without water our world is nothing. For people like us it is hard to imagine our lives without water, it seems near impossible to grasp how precious water is, but water is our world’s most important resource and it is not limitless like some people seem to assume. Most people assume our most precious resource is oil or natural gas, but in reality it is water, the natural sustainer of all life. And one day, if we continue to act the way we do, large resources of fresh water may be a thing of the past, a picture in a history text book.

As the world population continues to increase every year the strain on our water supplies is growing. For many people, water is already beginning to run out in places such as the Middles East, large sections of China and India, and North Africa. In most of the areas experiencing scarcity in water supplies, can be found some of the world’s largest populations. The planet we live on can not seem to keep up with our mass producing of people and large populations. The United Nations, or the UN, has declared a water supply crisis and has even made some terrifying and shocking predictions. The UN predicts that by 2025, two thirds of the entire population will experience “stress conditions” because of the lack of water; and one point eight billion people could face severe deficiencies in water supplies. And these shocking numbers do not seem far off; in a study run by the UN  in 2000, three billion had no access to sanitation (which requires water), one billion people could not access clean and safe drinking water, and close to five thousand children die every day worldwide from preventable waterborne diseases. And without water to drink or sanitize other problems arise. Lack of water means that our world’s food supplies could be in serious danger.

As our water supplies are becoming increasingly more and more endangered, scientists are also worried about the effect global climate change will have on our already sparse water sources. Scientists at the Africa Earth Observatory Network found that the areas of the world that are experiencing the largest strains in their water supplies will probably see a reduction in rainfall in the coming years. Through their studies they have concluded that what seems as a small reduction in rainfall can have huge effect on the Earth’s surface water sources. In some parts of Africa, if the rainfall decreases even by ten percent, the water supplies in that area will be cut in half.

Water seems like a common thing, something that will always be here, but scientists are increasingly learning that our fresh water sources may be in jeopardy. Water is an issue already, causing millions of people to die, but with the spike in the world’s population and the threat of global climate change looming, water is becoming an even bigger issue then ever imagined.

Citation:

“Water: Two Billion People Are Dying for It.” Human and Civil Rights: Essential Primary Sources. Ed. Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and K. Lee Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 235-237. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.

Picture Citations:

http://www.rainharvest.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/water-scarcity.jpg

http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/images/scarcity/2013_06_08_water_scarcity.png

For my passion blog I am going to write about my bucket list, and explore different places and things I want to do. For my Civic Issue Blog I am going to write about the issue of water, especially clean water in third world countries and how important water is to our everyday life and how it needs to be protected.