Privatized Water

Nestle is planning to privatize their water. Peter Brabeck 

believes that water is a human right but there isn't enough fresh water 

on earth to go around. He believes that water should be available to everyone

but there is too much of a need to make it free.

1 in 10 people in the world do not have access to clean water. 1 in 3 people 

in the world do not have access to a toilet. This means that a population

twice the size of the Uniter States has no access to safe water. 

Privatized water is used as a shorthand for private sector participants in the provision of water services and sanitation. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees that water should be a human right and companies with a lot money can make that decision for us whether we agree or not. There are many reasons that privatized water is a bad idea. One reason is that is that privatization leads to an increase in product rates. The more water becomes privatized, the more profit companies will be able to make off of it and it will cost consumers more to purchase water. We are already seeing these trends in areas where water has been privatized. Privatized water has been most devastating in developing countries and in poorer areas of the United States. Also, our government promises that companies will make a certain profit off of the water they sell. This has lead to a huge unfair advantage in the world. Another issue with privatized water is that is takes away the public right to water. The largest private water company in the United States is located in Huber Heights, OH. Large companies like this one are able to do what they want with the water they own. In this case, the Huber Heights water company began to allow outside communities use their water without enforcing taxes. There were many complaints about this but residents were ignored. Once water has been privatized it is hard to reverse. Withdrawing a privatized water contract is almost impossible because it is a long, expensive process and a company can use NAFTA to provide legal recourse if the contract is challenged. Privatized water can leave poorer communities without access to clean water. Private water can become very costly and can double or triple a family's water bill. Most of the time this results in the family having to shut off their water sources altogether and their access to clean water is gone. This leads to many secondary issues such as dehydration and water borne illnesses because their only other option of water is contaminated. Although it is hard for some people to see, we are in a worldwide water crisis that it only getting worse. There are already areas of the United States that are in severe droughts and there is no light at the end of the tunnel for most people. As we see the water crisis worsening, companies are searching harder than every to find water to call theirs around the globe. Although a water crisis is devastating to many, investors and large water companies see it as an opportunity. Their plan is to privatize as much clean water as possible and sell it at increased rates like I mentioned earlier. Water should always be a human right since we share this earth but that is not reality. People are dying everyday because of having no clean water but large corporations only see dollar signs and are blind to what is actually happening in the world around them. 

Dead Zones

This is an example of a dead zone. This specific dead zone 

is due to the build up of sediment. This is called

a creeping dead zone. 

This came from an article claiming that humans are the cause

of dead zones globally. The article states that although dead zones

occur naturally humans play a large role. Our carelessness and 

practices may be causing dead zones. 

A dead zone, or hypoxic zone, in the ocean is a an area of low oxygen. The oxygen is so low that most organisms suffocate and die in these areas or leave. Dead zones are caused by excessive nutrient pollution from human activities coupled with other natural factors that deplete the oxygen required to support most marine life in bottom and near-bottom water. Although most animals and plants cannot live in dead zones, many species of bacteria thrive in these low oxygen areas. Dead zones occur all over the world and are completely natural but over the past 50 years there has been an increase in dead zones due to the amount of pollutants being tossed into the oceans. As  result, dead zones have ale increased in size and have thrown off the balance coastal ecosystems. The largest dead zone in the world currently is the Baltic Sea. Other dead zones include Chesapeake Bay in Oregon, Lake Erie, and the Gulf of Mexico. There have been 405 dead zones identified worldwide. There have also been studies conducted on the relation between climate change and dead zones. With the worlds general climate rising every year, the oceans will become warmer as well. Warmer water holds less oxygen which means that dead zones will begin to increase and become larger in size, killing off organisms. in the United States alone there are around 200 dead zones and only about 34 of them are from natural causes, The rest are from human pollution including sewage, irrigation runoff, chemicals, and more. In Africa and South America, sewage is the biggest issue with water pollution but researchers say that this could be a good thing because of the improvements on water sanitation and waste management solutions. Another cause of dead zones from pollution is airborne nitrogen from vehicles and power plants when they burn off fossil fuels. Nitrification is mainly an issue along the Chesapeake Bay area and in Long Island sound because of coal-burning power plants that heavily give off large amounts of nitrogen. We live near most of the dead zones in the United States. The eastern and southeastern regions of the United States contain the most dead zones. This map illustrates all of the areas of dead zones in the United State. The darker areas are the dead zones found across the country. Two reasons for more dead zones being in the eastern areas rather than the western areas are the population density and the climate of the region. There are more people, and animals, residing in the eastern parts of the country and the climate tends to be higher and more humid. 

Aquaculture

This is an example of aquaculture, or aqua farming. This is the 

farming of aquatic life including fish, plants, sea vegetables, 

and more. Types of aquaculture include marine and freshwater. 

This is another example of freshwater aquaculture versus 

marine aquaculture. These include different types of fish and plants 

that are raised depending on what water they live in. Aquacultures insure that

production is plentiful. 

Aquaculture, also known as aqua farming, refers to the controlled breeding of fish, shellfish, and vegetation. This is done for both the commercial production and restoration of aquatic life in areas that need it most. This includes aquaculture in both marine and freshwater areas. Aquaculture for restoration use is important because earth is loosing more and more species of plants and animals everyday. Restoration ensures that these plants and animals are bread and released back into their natural habitat. In the United States, aquaculture is overseen by the United States Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Food and Drug Administration. Aquaculture is usually combined with other practices such as wetland protection, water quality, wastewater treatment, water supply, fish health, and on-native species programs. Combining aquaculture with these other programs help with the increase in food production to keep up with supply and demand. Aquaculture is not harmful to the environment in any way. Although the United States has enough supply to distribute, 88% of the seafood we consume as a nation comes from an imported source. The countries that the United States imports seafood from typically do not have any environmental standards. The quality the water in United States aqua farms either stays the same or is better than when it is first used and is often reused for irrigation or treated and reused for more aqua farms. There are qualifications for the fish feed used in aquaculture as well. Fish feed must meet the Food and Drug Administration standards as well as those of the American Association of Feed Control Officials. Buying and consuming United States raised fish and aqua life is important because the United States has one of the highest standard for environmental and product safety compared to the rest of the world. This is not to say that we should not trust fish and other aquatic life that is imported but the Unites States can ensure the safety and regulations of the product. As for a global view of aquaculture, it is rapidly expanding and can be found almost everywhere except Sub-Saharan Africa. Because of global aquaculture, fish are more plentiful than ever and fisherman are having more success because of the abundance. In order to maintain a current global level per capita consumption, aquaculture needs to reach 80 million tons by 2050. With the hopes of aquaculture eventually reaching every nation in the near future, there is a large chance that we could begin to see more diverse populations of aquatic life and new species appearing. Market, trade, and consumption largely influence the rate at which aquaculture grows and succeeds. Other than the United States, Asia has the highest rate of aquaculture overall. 

Is water a human right?

This is an example of a child that does not have simple access 

to water. Most areas in the world are without access to water. 

This creates many issues other than dehydration. 

Other than dehydration, people who drink contaminated water

face many life threatening health issues. Contaminated water

may contain chemicals or other substances such and urine, feces,

parasites, etc. that can kill anyone that ingested them. Some countries do not

have the right to water because of larger, more powerful countries. 

   Although most people in developing countries have easy access to water and can drink it straight from the tap, we do not think about the fact that billions of other people in the world do not have the same access. As of 2011, the United Nations General Assembly stated that drinkable water should be a human right. This includes the fact that not only should water be plentiful and easy to access, but it should be clean and able to drink without the risk of illness. This is clearly much easier said than done. There is no specific plan in place to make sure that water is a human right because it would be too large scale. Deciding if water is a human right or not is solely based on opinion at the moment. The United Nations General Assembly also stated that water as a human right is more designed to give other rights as water and is used more as an umbrella statement for many smaller issues. As a country that has accessible access to water, we really cannot declare this to be true all over the world. As of 2015, 884 million people still do not have access to clean drinking water and the numbers are steadily rising. Along with no access to clean drinking water, 2.6 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation. Unfortunately, between 50 and 100 liters of water per person are needed everyday for basic needs including drinking water and sanitation needs. On the brighter side, the UN stated that: "Between 1998 and 2008, 1,052,000 urban dwellers gained access to improved drinking water and 813,000,000 to improved sanitation. However, the urban population in that period grew by 1,089,000 people and thus undermined the progress". The United Nations General Assembly also stated that 27% of urban dweller in the developing world do not have access to piped water at home.

In my opinion, I believe that water should be a human right but we must be aware that this right must not be taken for granted and must be shared with the rest of Earth. Water is also the right to animals and plants as well and it is our job as humans to maintain the water quality everywhere and make it safe for an organism to use. The more humans contaminate the remaining water on earth, more species of plants and animals will go extinct until we have nothing left. So far, we are doing a poor job of making sure water is accessible and sanitary for all humans and an even worse job making sure that it is sanitary enough for plant and animal use. Water is not a resource that we can automatically get more and more of. I believe that it a human right but human should also be limited on how much they use and how much waste they are putting into it. 

stream erosion

This is an example of stream erosion. This is located in 

Linn County, Oregon. This stream supports 3 communities

and the erosion is constant. 

This is a picture of the different loads in a stream. These 

loads include solution. suspended, and bed. This is the 

way debris moves through streams.

  Stream erosion happens when loose sediments are moved along the bottom of a river channel creating small bed forms such as ripples and sand dunes. There are 3 types of loads in stream erosion including solution, suspension, and bed. Solution load, or dissolved, is when dissolved rock is carried in the flow. This is higher where the flow is derived from groundwater pathways. This allows water to stay in contact with rock for long periods of time. It is also higher where rock is prone to chemical weathering. The next load is Suspension. Suspension load happens with finer sediment such as clay and silt and as it flows, it does not come into contact with the bed. The clay and silt is suspended by the turbulent flow of the water. The suspended load comes from materials eroded from the surface bordering the channel and deposited in the stream plus the erosion from the channel. The third load is the bed load. The bed load is moved through the bed of the channel. The bed is transported by traction and saltation. Traction is the scooting and rolling of materials through the bed of a stream. Saltation is the movement of materials through a bounce like motion. Saltation occurs when materials  are suspended in a stream for a short distance and then fall to the bed, dislodging particles. This is a reoccurring pattern. 

   Mature streams form after excessive erosion has occurred over time. It is characterized by the sloping sides. The stream gets wider and becomes more U shaped. The stream will also become less steep which results in slower and steadier moving water. This characteristic can lead to the formation of large floodplains where water can escape if the stream somehow becomes flooded. On the other hand, a youth stream occurs when a stream is in it early stages on an uplifted landmass. These streams are very steep in formation and have an energetic flow of water. Unlike the U shape of a mature stream, youth streams are V shaped and have not formed a floodplain yet. Youth streams are also characterized by the interruption of boulders, rapids, and waterfalls on the flow of the stream. Floodplains are areas of land that are prone to flooding the surround mature streams. This is the wide, level bottom of a valley that contains a stream. These are very important areas to have because they are capable of holding water from a flooded stream. Floodplains vary on the size and depth of the valley that the stream is located in. When enough land is eroded and a mature stream is formed, this is now called a stream valley which is a depression of earth with water flowing at the lowest point. Stream valley's are characterized by the presence of floodplains.  

Wetlands

This is a picture of a wetland. Wetlands are the most threatened

part of nature at the moment. Many have been damaged 

or removed by humans for various reasons. 

What are Wetlands? Wetlands include and body of land with a marsh or swamp, or in other words saturated. It is an area where water either covers the soil or where water is present in the soil throughout the year. This is largely determined by what type of life there is in the environment including plants, animals, and insects. Wetlands also depend on other factors such as topography, climate, water chemistry, vegetation, and human disturbances. Wetlands are most common in the northern and midwestern parts of the United States as well as Alaska. Some wetlands even dry up for parts of the year and becomes habitats for other animals and vegetation during the off-season. 

What is the importance of wetlands? Wetlands are important to our environment because they provide earth and it inhabitants with economic, social, and cultural benefits that many of us fail to realize. Economically, wetlands provide opportunities for fishing, timber, and give tourists activities to try. Wetlands help reduce the impact of storm damage by giving water a place to go if flooding occurs. They also maintain water quality for rivers, recharge groundwater, store carbon, and help stabilize climate control and control pests. Wetlands have a lot to offer us and we are not doing our part to sustain them. Without wetlands we will loose vegetation, animals, and many other issues will arise. They help with irrigation on farms and provide water for livestock and domestic use. Wetlands filter out pollutants and absorb nutrients that would otherwise result in poor quality downstream. 

What is RAMSAR? RAMSAR convention, also called the convention of wetlands, is a treaty that provides national action and international cooperation for the conservation and the wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are currently 2,216 RAMSAR sites. 

What is RAMSAR in Ohio? In the state of Ohio, the RAMSAR site located in Columbus is called the Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park (ORWRP). Wetlands include freshwater, tree dominated wetlands, permanent rivers streams and creeks, seasonal and intermittent wetlands, and permanent freshwater marshes. It has a unique combination of biologically diverse habitats, it provides high quality education of students at The Ohio State University, and significant wetland eco-tourism and outreach for an urban community where few wetlands remain. Since its development it has supported over 160 bird species, diverse fish and invertebrate species, and a variety of mammals, amphibians and reptiles as well as over 1.6 million people in its surrounding urban region. The ORWRP is one of only two research facilities of its kind in the United States.

What country did not sign on to RAMSAR? Although the list of countries that have signed on to RAMSAR is very large, I did find out that Uruguay just signed on to the treaty as of this year. There is no direct information on what country has not yet signed on to the treaty if there are any. It looks like RAMSAR has already had an impact on its participating countries. Although this treaty is widespread, many countries only has one specific facility or area for wetland protection. 

Urbanization

This is what urbanization looks like in some parts of Africa today.

Although this is not America, the United States is rapidly growing and

could resemble this in the near future. This is a prime example of 

why we need to limit our resources before we run out.

   Urbanization refers to the increasing number of people that live in urban areas. This results in the physical growth of urban areas vertically and horizontally versus rural areas. Urbanization began in the time of industrial revolution when people flocked to large cities in search for jobs and a better life due to the decrease in need for agriculture. This has been the case in America for decades as well as other areas of the world. Developing countries are beginning to have increases in urbanization, which is causing mass homelessness and low resources. People are turning to the worst case scenario in order to stay alive including food, water, and everyday needs. Those who have no resources at all readily available to them are turning to contaminated water to wash dishes, clothes, and even themselves. Children are becoming ill because they are so thirsty that they are drinking the same water that is being bathed in and excreted in by humans and animals. Many of us do not realize this because we have available running water and it is all clean but most countries have no running water and most of the water is not clean. In some places in the world, families wait in lines for hours just to fill up jugs of water to carry all the way home. This water will last for close to a week depending on how many people live in the house and how frequently the water is used. Urbanization is causing more trash to build up in small water sources and is being carried to larger lakes and oceans. The increase I'm litter is causing chemical and other dangerous substances to leak into water sources. Believe it or not, urbanization is also causing erosion and sedimentation to occur in heavily populated areas. Although population growth is not in anyones control, we can all do our part in keeping these areas clean and healthy to live in. A few things we can do to help is keeping trash, animal waste, and debris out of draining systems. We can also dispose of waste including antifreeze, paints, oils, etc. properly. Cleaning up oil spills, break fluids, antifreeze, and grease can eliminate contamination in water sources. Controlling soil erosion and encouraging local government officials to develop construction erosion/ sediment control ordinances in your community. Have your septic system pumped and inspected every 3-5 years to make sure it is working properly. Other than trash and chemicals, pathogens can also enter freshwater through feces and food that contaminate water sources. This is the reason for so many people falling ill in developing countries. Pathogens cannot be  seen by the human eye and do not make water look dirty. Most people will drink water if it looks clean regardless of where it came from. These pathogens cause hundreds off illnesses and deaths yearly worldwide. Many of us know that water is an issues in other countries and can become and issue in the states very soon for humans, but we fail to realize that our habits of not taking care of the environment is killing wildlife, especially aquatic life. There is a food chain on earth and if we damage the very bottom of it will we will be next.