Inspired #7: Keeping Streams Clean

Slaving away at a fluids class this semester has not made me fond of thinking of water, save when I eat dry cafeteria meat. Despite my school horror, I cannot see a world without water. Not only for the obvious reason of survival, but many things at home, in industry, in research, and many office coolers rely on a steady flow of water. When we were down in Washington D.C. for the CSIS exercise, the one presenter had the strong analogy of water. I'm a little fuzzy on the exact details, but I believe he said that if you had a gallon of water, one pint is fresh water and one drop is what we can currently use and drink.

So, that to me says a couple things. One, the glaciers and other fresh water sources are still out there, but melting the glaciers would have an effect on ocean salt content, which would affect many ocean life as a result. Plus, the change in ocean temperature would cool down water in the tropics where many fish make their living. The other thing this says is that there is a ridiculous amount of salt water. So, desalination in a moderate quantity is probably a safe practice that will likely become required, especially in regions with low amounts of fresh water like Southern California or Australia.

A quick survey of the EPA website shows how water contamination is a danger to health. Contaminants in water will get into both drink and food, causing illness, or possibly damaging body parts with significant exposure. Reducing the amount of aquatic wildlife will change the food chain, which might actually be a more covert consequence discussed less than illness. Changing the structure of the food chain can lead to less fish and animals that make up our diets. More people and less food does not sound like a bright prospect.

We have to stop throwing chemicals into the water supply. There is a finite supply of it until water desalination becomes economically feasible as evaporating water requires a lot of energy such that it is not cost effective to do. This is another practice caused by people that has led to negligence. While we are clever, we should not overlook the importance of this resource.

Looking back, the past few blogs to me seem like what I think are aspects of society that are not taken seriously enough, and ironically, a lot of it is the basics. Feeding people, having clean air, getting water, and balancing a budget are things that each of us are expected to do. Then why cannot governing bodies do a better job of them? It seems that mass production and our demand for technology has led to all of this. I am optimistic in people though. Yes, we may never always do it pretty let alone wait until the last minute to take action. However, society as a whole always seems to find ways around bugs like these.