Brazil Water Crisis

  1. Brazil http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/brazil/11428718/Taps-run-dry-in-Brazils-biggest-city-as-drought-bites.html
    1. Like California, Brazil is going through a major drought. Even though in february the country received the most rainfall all year they still are running out at a rapid pace. Since 2012 there has been warnings that there might not be enough water to carry this population in the coming years. The reason why no one knew about it was because of political reasons. The most recently elected president didn’t want to carry that burden on his shoulders until it was necessary so the government decided to not tell the public. This created a major shock that people are now having to deal with. The water supply shuts off at 1pm so on lunch breaks citizens of San Paolo run to the nearest water pipe to collect their water for the day.
    2. This relates to Environmental Science because it has to do with the distribution of water. Many people are scared now because the country might have to start rationing if worst comes to worst. Until now water had been easy flowing and there was no issue about whose water it was because there was enough for everyone. Now the real issue is what you do with a resource that technically can’t be owned by one particular organization. That is why the government is trying to take control of the situation before it gets even more out of hand.

Can Fracking Pollute Drinking Water? Don’t ask the EPA.

The Environmental Protection Agency still does not have a clear answer to if fracking could contaminate drinking water. The EPA has been unsuccessful in collecting the data the need to dully address the issue. There was a study that was supposed to be “definitive” in 2010 but the answer still looms today.

This is relevant to our APES class because we just learned about fracking and how it could potentially help supply energy during this energy boom. If fracking could pollute drinking water, then we should be working on a way, if possible, to make it enviormentally friendly as possible and have it not damage our drinking water. I hope the EPA continues their investigation as the answer to this question “could prove critical to future U.S. regulation of the multibillion-dollar fossil fuel sector and to ensuring water safety for millions of Americans.”

Thousands of Children Could Be Drinking Lead-Tainted Water Years After NBC4 Exposed the Problem.

7 years ago an NBC4 team discovered that Los-Angeles area schools were offering contaminated drinking water. Today, the schools have not fixed the problem of having too much lead in their water. Parents are pushing for the schools to fix the issue immediately.

This is relevant because it makes me wonder if M-A has clean drinking water. It also makes me wonder how often local schools have their water checked for toxins. If any local school has gone years without a checkup, I would want one sooner rather than later. The thought of drinking contaminated water is scary. It is surprising that the schools have not fixed this problem sooner as the students’ safety should be a top priority.

Rising seas threaten South Florida’s drinking water.

South Florida is known for having plenty of drinking water. There is a great amount of rainfall each year and lots of ground water. However, rising sea levels could quickly change all of that. It could potentially cause the drinking water to become too salty.

This is relevant because as the Earth’s temperature increases, more ice melts. As more ice melts, the sea levels rise. As sea levels rise, the more carbon they absorb and the warmer they get; causing more ice to melt. It is all connected. Rising sea levels are a very dangerous threat and could impact many costal areas in the United States and all around the world.

Chiquita Bananas Accused of Contaminating Drinking Water.

A lawsuit from February 2015 accuses Chiquita Bananas of not only using methods that contaminate local drinking water but also that they consciously hid it from the public. The firm Hagens Berman filed the lawsuit. Steve Berman, a partner of the firm, stated “Chiquita promised its customers it follows ‘strict standards’ of eco-friendly production including practices that ‘conserve wildlife habitats, national resources and promote community wellbeing,’ yet, its business practices have wreaked havoc on local communities where it grows and harvests its produce. Chiquita knew that consumers valued environmentally sound production methods and used its deceptive marketing to cover up its foul production methods.” This possible pollution of local drinking water could impact local loves greatly.

This is personally relevant to me because I have Chiquita bananas in my kitchen now. If I knew this company was potentially harming the environment, then I would have picked a different brand. We should always try to buy from companies that are doing their part in helping the environment. One easy way to accomplish this is to buy local.

East Porterville running out of drinking water

Breslin, S. (2014, November 17). Residents of East Porterville, California, Running Out of Drinking Water.

Retrieved November 20 from

http://www.weather.com/climate-weather/drought/news/east-porterville-california-water-woes-20140825

People living in East Porterville, California are beginning to run out of drinking water due to the current drought in California. 182 homes have already reported no water or at least some kind of water issue. The main reason is that these homes rely on wells for their water but these wells have completely dried up.

The drought in California is devastating. People are running out of water and there is not much our state can do. We need to help people who do not have access to drinking water but it will be expensive. The drought is turning out to be not only an environmental problem but also an economic one as well.

San Diego converting wastewater to drinking water

Alfonso, M. (2014, November 19). San Diego to Make Wastewater into Drinking Water. La Jolla: Patch.             Retrieved November 20 from

http://patch.com/california/lajolla/san-diego-make-wastewater-drinking-water

San Diego plans to recycle purified water for its residents. San Diego cannot afford to use water just once, especially in the current drought. The 20-year plan is supposedly environmentally sustainable and uses proven technology. The project is expensive however and will be paid for through “a mix of state and federal grants, and rate increases on consumers.”

The current California drought is affecting cities through out the state. This plan for San Diego seems to be a solution to drinking water problems. The recycled water could account for 30 percent of the cities drinking water needs.

San Francisco wants to use groundwater for tap water

Alexander, K. (2014, November 23).  California drought: SF wants to add groundwater to tap. Bay Area and State: San Francisco Chronicle.

Retrieved November 23 from

http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/California-drought-S-F-wants-to-add-this-to-5913205.php#/0

 

Multiple spigots in San Francisco “will start delivering the Sierra supply blended with a splash of local groundwater — by many measures, a far inferior source.” This local groundwater is not as clean as the Sierra runoff. However, city officials ensure that “the underground reserves are sufficiently clean and palatable.” Jeff Gilman who is the project manager says that he doesn’t think people will notice a difference in their tap water. He states, “It tastes the same. Color is the same. Odor is the same.”

 

This article reminded me how serious this drought is. We now have to dig into the groundwater to drink. Although it is groundwater, it is treated and is completely safe and tastes normal. The Sierra snowmelt is in decline and this plan seems to make sense. David Sedlak, a professor at UC Berkeley, stated, “Already, many water agencies across California incorporate groundwater into their supplies, he noted, with about 80 percent of Californians relying on some amount of groundwater for their daily needs.” Now the concern is how much groundwater can we use until it’s gone?

States having issues keeping drinking water clean

Seewer, J. (2014, September 7). States Struggle to Keep Drinking Water Clean; Many Look for Help From EPA. Politics: The Washington Post.

Retrieved September 7, 2014 from

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/states-struggle-to-keep-drinking-water-clean-many-look-for-help-from-epa/2014/09/07/fb26abc8-36c5-11e4-8601-97ba88884ffd_story.html

 

A few states are having trouble providing safe and lean drinking water for their residents. Lake Erie has been exposed to algae, which ruined the drinking water for about 400,000 people in the Toledo area. Engineers are struggling to find solutions, as there are no federal standards on algae infected water nor are there instructions for fixing the problem. Engineers admit to searching Google for answers. This incident left people in the Great Lakes area without clean water for two days in August 2014. An outcry has arisen, as people are demanding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to provide a national standard for safe amounts of microcystin (the toxin that contaminated the Toledo water). Environmental representatives from Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan met with EPA officials this past month.

 

This article made me realize how something so small can have such a big impact. Algae contaminating water forced people to line up for water. That reminded me of people having to go to the local well for water back before we had tap water. It was also a bit concerning that the water quality engineers were “Googling for answers” and spending “nights on the Internet trying to find how other places manage it.”