Answer the following prompt:
Do you think water should be a human right or something that you should pay for?
Describe the environmental issues that are related to the problems discussed in theses article?
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Week of Aug 22-26 Prompt
Read this article: http://news.yahoo.com/mothers-exchange-blows-kenya-drought-deepens-155527381.html and this article: http://news.yahoo.com/texas-plant-turn-sewage-drinking-water-205103974.html
Answer the following prompt:
Do you think water should be a human right or something that you should pay for?
Describe the environmental issues that are related to the problems discussed in theses article?
Answer the following prompt:
Do you think water should be a human right or something that you should pay for?
Describe the environmental issues that are related to the problems discussed in theses article?
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I think water should be a right but should also be paid for. If we gave water out as a right we would quickly run out of that resource then have no water leaving our whole population slowly dying from dehydration. We would have to return to the old days collecting water when it rains along with snow melt because people we can’t make water like we can make lemonade. Paying for water in some cases shouldn’t be necessary, for example the Kenya people wait in line for days at a time to reach treatment facilities for their children’s malnutrition, I image it’s the same for water for the drought there is only becoming worse. So in my opinion it could go either way. Other environmental issues could be the cattle grazing the land down so there is no more grass to graze from forcing the farmers to move, which in the following moves the village’s food supply. These are issues that the people here in the urban areas don’t have to worry about so maybe we should all lend a hand in changing these issues such as donating to charities or even learning more and educating others.
ReplyDeleteIts a compromise. We can't have common water because of the tragedy of the commons effect that usually happens when a resource is free for all to use. That being said water should be provided in dramatic and dire situations. As a quickly depleting and important resource water is becoming increasingly valuable. I believe we should continue to pay for water and work toward conservation in the developed countries while providing aid and help to developing countries. They have enough to deal with due to social and political unrest and water, the basis of survival, should not be a large issue for them too.
ReplyDeleteSince water is a necessity for every living organism on our planet, we have to look at every species-they do not pay for water, and they survive, so we should not pay for water and also survive. Drinkable water, while not as abundant as salt water in the ocean, is necessary to live, so it should be a free resource-everything else we have to pay for. It just has to be regulated, not cut off from people with little or no money. Money does make the world go round, but in this case, I think the one free thing left in the world should be water.
ReplyDeleteWater should be a natural right to everyone, but that being said, big corporations will come along and take as much water as they can. So, I think that drinking water and water as a necessity should be free, but any extra water beyond that should be paid for, like water for a large farm.
ReplyDeleteThe environmental issues presented in the article include very high temperatures and severe droughts every couple of years, contributing to the lack of water and angriculture in areas of Africa, therefore the famine and water crisis.
Water should be paid for. We pay for it, so everyone else should. If water was a given right, then who's to say that money shouldn't be a given right. In this world it's survival of the fittest. The env. issues are high temp. and severe droughts every few years. These issues contribute to lack of water. The lack of water then accounts for the lack of agriculture in areas of Africa.
ReplyDeleteWater, a necessity in life, should be a natural right to everyone. But, because it is becoming costly and difficult to find fresh and clean water, we must pay for it in order to use the large amounts that we consume. The problem to the environment associated with these articles include the waste into the oceans if sewage were to be recycled and reused. The other environmental issues would be the limited supply of water that we have come to, not only by the use of humans but by global warming and droughts as well.
ReplyDeleteWater, being one of the few requirements for life, should be free to an extent. In response to the Tragedy of the Commons effect, water should be free but regulated to prevent depletion of that resource. Water required that exceeds beyond individual need should have to be paid for. As far as developing countries, water along with malnutrition should not be a problem. Women in Africa wait hours to receive supplements for their children who are dying of malnutrition. This fact is a direct result of the irresponsibility of the rest of the world. Here in the U.S. we have people dying of overeating and people who throw away food because it doesn't "look right". The fact that we are wasting food while people are dying from starvation in other countries is just wrong. One environmental issue described in the first article was that of severe and more frequent droughts occurring in Africa. These droughts are disrupting the livelihood of many African tribes and could be a direct result of the climate change that we are hearing so much about these days. These high temperatures and droughts contribute to the lack of agriculture and thus livestock in certain parts of Africa. In conclusion, water is a basic necessity and to deny it to people because of the inability to pay is selfish and goes against the the basic and inalienable right to live.
ReplyDeleteEvery living thing needs water to survive, it should be free to a point. However the effect of the tragedy of the commons can't be ignored. Water in the US is taken for granted, we take dozens of showers and fill our swimming pools with water. But that doesn't mean we don't need it, but we could cut back on our usage of it without causing anyone who doesn't have as much water problems. If we used less then those who needed it more might be able to get more. In the Us we already pay for our water and those who can't pay are provided for. In the USA things will be pretty easy when it comes to water. But we have to help other countries by using less so they can take more. but it would have to be organized not just a free for all grab for the resource if leaders got together I'm sure they could agree on a way of equally dividing the water
ReplyDeleteDavid Lange
ReplyDeleteWater should be a right made available to every person; however, due to the increasingly limited supply of potable water, restrictions need to be put in place to ensure that water is readily available and affordable to all people, and simultaneously restricted in a way that mitigates the tragedy of the commons and ignorant wasting of the resource. It is possible that this could be solved by appropriate pricing of water to promote smart consumption, but these are ideas to solve water a crisis in a functioning capitalistic society. In places that resemble the Kenya described in the article water must be obtained by those who need, regardless if they can afford or not. Life and basic survival should easily be first priority, but when they have wallets deep enough it shouldn't hurt to remind them the value of water with a little price. With the current phenomenon of global warming that will cause rampant droughts this question will become increasingly universal.
Everybody is deserving of water but because of the limited supply of clean drinking water regulations should be put in place to ensure that water is made available to the public in an affordable fashion. Also the the tragedy of the commons should be considered and ignorant waste of valuable water should be strictly punishable. Promotion of smart water consumption and awards for water conservation as well as appropriate pricing could be an effective way to solve the problem that is plaguing Kenya and other countries. Water is obviously the most crucial living essential, and with increasingly severe droughts throughout the globe and the heightened reality that is labeled global climate change, the water in our world will quickly become a sought after necessity.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWater is something that plays a big role in people's lives; therefore, we should use it for free but beecause of the uncleanliness of the water and low amount of it, people now have to pay to have it cleaned so we can drink and take in as much as we need. A huge environmental issue discussed in the articles are the severe droughts. This is critical for the people in Africa because there is a low supply of water. Another environmental issue in countries, discussed in the articles, is the cleanliness of the water which is mainly caused by people's sewage and other unnecessary things, not being recycled or at least not kept out of oceans.
ReplyDeleteKylie Kirkland
ReplyDeleteWater is key to survival. In this case, water should be free but it also takes money to clean it. Water should cost money because it takes money to clean it. One environmental issue addressed in the articles is that the rates of animals are decreasing. The people in Africa rely on animals such as cattle because it is one of their only resources of food. Another environmental issue is that their is a drought in Africa. This is a big deal for the African people because there is a low supply of water. This is also affected by sewage and other materials.
Water is needed to live and reproduce for all living organisms on earth and in many parts of the world it is in limited supply, however, water like food needs to be paid for due to the process of cleaning and making it drinkable water. Everyone needs to pay for it, unless a country is willing to aid and pay for it for another, less fortunate country. Kenya is suffering from very high temperatures and a drought which supplies them with no drinkable water.
ReplyDeleteWater is mandatory to human survival; therefore it should be free and supplied to every living person. In situations like the one in Kenya, I feel it is necessary that people of their country and other countries aid them in the time of need to get something as simple as water. Kenya is being effected by severe drought primarily from global warming changing weather patterns. The high temperature from the change of direction of the jet stream are impacting Kenya and other African nations more severely that most other places because Africa is a dry continent.
ReplyDeleteI think there's another way to look at the issue. Humans should be provided with water. However there has to be a way to get the water to the people. It's more a logistical issue than a moral one. I mean come on alot of these countries are essentially in deserts and then people are worried about them not having enough water. So people say, we must get them water! But how? How I ask you? Do the countries have the economy to support diverting near by rivers? Transport water? The answer is probably no. Private companies would aleviate the problem but the companies just wouldn't be able to give away the water for free and stay afloat so the only real answer is humanitarian aid and the funding for that comes from tax pays/donors in first world countries. What does all this say? No matter what you do, no matter how much you want to say: just give the poor people water, water isn't free and its going to cost someone something whether the indigenous, their government or larger countries. So the question: should water be a right or something you pay for has no meaning. Transporting and moving water to provide for people unable to obtain water costs someone money no matter what you do. Free water sounds like a great thing, but, like having chainsaws for arms, it just isn't feasible.
ReplyDeleteBlake Wright~
ReplyDeleteWater is a natural resource that is vital to the human life. Without it we would simply not be able to survive. To be able to drink this water is a natural born right that every person has. To do so freely however would turn into chaos and depletion of the source. People would nearly go savage and do anything within their power to get the water that they need to support their family so they can live. That being said with water being a natural born right, does not allow absolute usage of it. It needs to be monitored to the point where we can use it efficiently while being able to preserve our sources. With sewage being converted into clean, drinkable water this is becoming possible. So in turn, water should still be paid for so our sources don't run dry, but free-ish to the point that those in dire need have access to it.
Water-a vital resource for sustaining life-is becoming an increasingly precious commodity in some areas, yet it is also becoming overexploited by the many that have not truly learned of its value. While millions of gallons of water are used by Americans every day, a majority of which is not necessary for our survival, people in less developed areas, such as Kenya or Somalia, are not receiving even the minimum amount of water to survive or sustain crops and livestock. It is also possible that our contribution to climate change is increasing the frequency of droughts in already suffering countries. I believe that people should have a free right to water to an extent, but if that level is exceeded for pure comfort or pleasure, then they should be charged. If the amount of water used by developed countries is reduced, then more can be sent to the aid of others, at least until we have developed enough wastewater systems to provide ample drinking water for all people.
ReplyDeleteI belive everyone should have the right and access to clean water. Though i do also think that using water for extra such as running a company with it or using it in excess amounts should be charged. We in America are lucky to have drinking fountains and the right to free water, and so should other people.
ReplyDeleteJamie Weisman
Clean fresh water is a necessity to human life as we know it. Everywhere around the world people are dying from malnutrition in third world countries like Kenya and Somalia while we have free water almost everywhere we go. It seems like the US is hogging tons of fresh drinking water and ending up wasting a lot of it. As for paying or not paying for water I think it should be a compromise. Humans need water to live and we all need water to live so it should be a right, but to avoid over consumption it should be limited to strictly to the needs of individual use to keep it fare. An environmental issue discussed in this article is the fact that droughts are becoming more common in Africa which add to the shortage in drinking water even more so. These droughts cause economic activities such as agriculture and raising cattle to slow dramatically. Which adds to the countries malnutrition.
ReplyDeleteTanner Kane
ReplyDeleteI think that since water is a natural resource that is vital for survival, it should be a right. But only a certain amount. Most people who have complete access to water don't understand what it's like to not have any. So if water is being overused, then it should be paid for. The issues being discussed in these articles have to do with temperature and drought (which are connected, obviously) it is a somewhat natural factor in the environment, but it could also be caused by the overuse of water.
Cameron Barbarick
ReplyDeleteI believe water should be free to everyone but to an extent. Water is a vital source or survival for all species, and to ensure the survival of our species we need the water. However, water being used for other things rather then drinking, should have a price. The environmental issues in the article are due to droughts and very high temperatures. These droughts cause high agricultural problems in third world countries and because of this water should be provided to the countries in need.
Jesse Barnes
ReplyDeleteWater is an enourmous necesity for all of the worlds inhabitants;therefore we must all have access to it. Africa is a prime example of
an area with people who cannot pay for water so it should be free untill they can. America is a prime example of an area with people who
can pay for water, so they should. Anyone who has an abundant amount of money should pay for the water Africa needs, it should be a human
obligation to help those in need because, they cant be allowed to die. Water can be administered to everyone one way or another, but we all are going to have to contribute.
I think water should be free for evey living thing. Its needed for everyhting that wants to survive. I think its wrong the these people fight for there water and food. If they worked together and help out they would have a better chance of surviving. Also once they get there systems cleaned and working they can start charging and earning money for there little town.
ReplyDeletethe comment upon is from HALEIGH LIS.
ReplyDelete