Z., Isabelle. (April 15, 2016). Venezuela nears total collapse as government now unable to provide food, water, electricity and protection for citizens. Natural News. Retrieved November 18, 2016, from

http://www.naturalnews.com/053674_Venezuela_socialist_government_economic_collapse.html

Venezuela is now nearing total collapse as the government is failing miserably to provide its citizens with basic necessities such as water, food, electricity and protection. Venezuela gets 70 percent of its electricity from its hydroelectric plants. Severe drought has led to a water shortage everywhere, and the reduced water levels in the plants mean generators aren’t putting out as much power as need.

If the American economy goes the way of the Venezuelan one at some point, being self-sufficient could mean the difference between life and death. Venezuela has to have their water system modified and checked every once in awhile.

Heyes, J.D. (April 26, 2016). America following in footsteps of Venezuela with polluted water, infrastructure failures and economic collapse. Natural News. Retrieved November 18, 2016, from

http://www.naturalnews.com/053800_Venezuela_failed_infrastructure_USA.html

Basic services like water are failing throughout Venezuela. Even in the capital of Caracas, scores of residents don’t have regular, running water anymore, and when they do, it is yellow and contaminated. The government has attempted to deliver potable water to residents in the cities, but oftentimes the delivery trucks are robbed, with gangs forcing drivers to dispense the clean water in an area they control.

Venezuela’s government is failing and due to that it cannot provide clean water to the people. The people are drinking contaminated water that can kill you. Venezuela is in deep trouble and needs environmental help fast. America is not near as bad as Venezuela but we are heading in that direction if we do not consider valuing our water resource.

Nuwer, Rachel. (November 14, 2016). Vast and Pristine, Russia’s Lake Baikal Is Invaded by Toxic Algae. The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2016, from

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/science/lake-baikal-russia-algae.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FWater&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=collection&_r=0

Lake Baikal is in Siberia. The world’s oldest, deepest and most voluminous lake. Baikal lake holds 20 percent of the planet’s unfrozen freshwater, it is often described as the world’s cleanest lake. Scientist found out that many mass algal blooms at dozens of sites around Lake Baikal’s 1,240-mile perimeter. The problem seems to stem from an influx of untreated sewage, thus the result of inadequate wastewater treatment. Researchers traced the blooms to locations downstream of the town’s wastewater facility, as well as to an illegal sewage dumping site.

Algal blooms threaten iconic freshwater bodies around the world, but Baikal lake is precious. People have been throwing waste and sewage into the lake creating eutrophication, an excessive growth of algae. These blooms eventually use up the water of oxygen, suffocating aquatic plants and animals. Russian Railways had been adding industrial-grade waste to the town’s sewage system,which is causing the lake to overwhelm.

Rose, Joan. (March 22, 2016).” America’s Water Crisis Could Be Worse Than You Know”. Time. Retrieved November 19,2016, from

America’s Water Crisis Could Be Worse Than You Know

Water quality is part of health, Rose mentions that we need to address water issues to protect the public health of U.S. citizens and the bio-health of our planet in the future. Americans have taken water for granted and most of them don’t even know where it comes from. Waterborne disease outbreaks are much more common than most people realize. From 2000 to 2009 in the U.S. there were  of Legionella, a respiratory waterborne disease.

Our environment is stressed especially water resources, our water system in fraying. Pipes are getting old and we have to replace them but we can’t see them so we tend to ignore them. We think our water is clean if it comes out clear but it can have toxins from sitting around somewhere unsanitary.

Berger, Sofia.(2016) “ Wastewater Challenges & Opportunities in Latin America”. WWI. Retrieved November 19,2016, from

http://www.waterworld.com/articles/wwi/print/volume-31/issue-5/technology-case-studies/wastewater-challenges-opportunities-in-latin-america.html

Latin America had stalled on wastewater infrastructure and prioritized on clean drinking water. Latin America is one of the world’s richest regions in water resources. Approximately 37 million people don’t have access to a safe supply of drinking water and nearly 110 million people do not have access to sanitation facilities. In Latin America, countries are experiencing significant water loss due to the deteriorated condition of distribution and transmission water mains and services.

Getting clean drinking water is important just as wastewater in Latin America. People are getting sick and dieing because of poor water sanitation. World Bank is an institution that is helping countries with poor water systems. This is important to our environment because most of the world’s water is by Latin America.

Dennis, Brady(2016, August 9). “Researchers Find Unsafe Levels of Industrial Chemicals in Drinking Water of 6 Million Americans.” N.p., 9 Aug. 2016. From https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/08/09/researchers-find-unsafe-levels-of-industrial-chemicals-in-drinking-water-of-6-million-americans/?utm_term=.d35b3948abc0

More than 6 million Americans have industrial chemicals in their drinking water, the chemicals potentially cause serious health problems.Chemicals such as polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFASs. These chemicals have been used for decades in a range of industrial and commercial products, including non-stick coatings on pans, food wrappers, water-repellent clothing and firefighting foam. The chemicals can cause kidney cancer, thyroid problems, high cholesterol and hormone disruption.The compounds don’t break down and once they are there they do not leave. The chemicals are usually found in industrial plants that use them in manufacturing, military bases and civilian airports, and wastewater.

The federal government does not currently regulate PFAS chemicals. Alabama community declared its tap water unfit to drink and told residents to avoid it until officials could install a temporary, high-powered filter for the water supply. In New Hampshire people received water bottles because authorities were thinking of ways to address the containment in nearby groundwater. Even with all of the evidence of health risks some people argue to remain water unregulated.

Vaidyanathan, Gayathri, and ClimateWire(2016, August 29). “Fracking Can Contaminate Drinking Water.” Scientific American. N.p., n.d. 29 Aug. 2016. From http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fracking-can-contaminate-drinking-water/

A former EPA scientist, Dominic DiGiulio, has proved that fracking has polluted groundwater in Wyoming. In 2008, people of Wyoming complained that their water had a bad taste and smell. It was said that the groundwater had contained toxic chemicals. Later in 2013, the investigation was transferred to state regulators without publishing a final report. DiGiulio had published a study that said people’s water wells were contained with fracking wastes that are usually stored in unlined pits dug into the ground. Americans use a common technique to get oil and gas by cracking shale rock deep underground, there are thousands of wells in America that are vulnerable to that kind of threat. The author mentions that natural gas has an impact on America.

In 2016, the state had tested Wyoming’s peoples water wells and detected 19 concerning chemicals. EPA had said that nearly half of the chemicals are unstudied and scientist do not know the level of safety. The containment seen in Wyoming could occur in other states, fracking occurs at shallow depths, states such as California, Montana, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico could frack. Shallow hydraulic fracturing is surprisingly common in the western U.S. In California the wells are fracked shallower by 2,000 feet.

Lohner, Svenja(2016, July 21). “Drinking Water Cleanup.” Scientific American, 21 July 2016. From http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/drinking-water-cleanup/

A science project to observe how the water from lakes, rivers, groundwater, and reservoirs turn into drinking water. The author made this project for you to experience yourself several treatment processes to achieve clean water. Surface waters usually contain soil particles or flocs, organic matter that makes the water look dirty or cloudy. The solids floating in the water are called TSS(total suspended solids), they are potentially dangerous bacteria that can stick to these tiny particles and make the water unsafe to drink.

Before the water becomes safe to drink, it has to go through the treatment plant where the first step is to get rid of the solids using chemicals called coagulants and flocculants. Coagulants and flocculants help clump a the small particles into bigger ones so they can sink to the bottom due to their size and weight. It is common that most suspended solids in water have a negative surface charge which repels one another. A chemical with an opposite charge is added to neutralize the particles charges. Then they settle down faster and the water becomes more clear.

Tan, Zhai Yun(2016, April 14). “How Do We Get Our Drinking Water In The U.S?” KQED Public Radio, 14 Apr. 2016. From http://www.npr.org/2016/04/14/473806134/how-do-we-get-our-drinking-water-in-the-u-s

Americans take clean water for granted, since the Michigan lead crisis, we start to think where does our water come from? Our water comes from lakes, rivers, and the ground. Water usually comes from and treatment plant to a storage tank and then to our homes. The most common steps in a water treatment are coagulation and flocculation, chemicals added to dissolve dirt. Next is sedimentation where floc settles in the bottom of the tank, after filtration comes in where the clear water passes through the filter. Last is disinfection chlorine or chloramine is added to kill parasites, germs, bacteria, viruses, and fluorine is added to prevent tooth decay.

The author talks about how lead is common in the northeast and midwest of the U.S. Many older water pipes are made out of lead which can contaminate the water. According to the EPA, even low levels of lead can cause behaviour problems, slow growth, and affect IQ levels. Another case would be the nitrate in runoff rivers and groundwater. Nitrate can kill babies who are six months and younger, the nitrate causes the babies to have breathe shortness. The author brings a topic about the western states drinking saltier water. In some cases the water is too salty to drink or even use. Saline water sources include seawater and brackish groundwater.

Mcginty, Jo Craven(2016, March 11). “With Drinking Water, Safe Enough Is the EPA’s Goal.” The Wall Street Journal, 11 Mar. 2016. From http://www.wsj.com/articles/with-drinking-water-safe-enough-is-the-epas-goal-1457702107

Our tap water is supposed to be clean water, since the Safe Drinking Water Act was passed. The tap water is “unadulterated H2O”, which means the water has low levels of chemicals and pathogens. The law clearly was created so our water would be safe to drink, but it is not. A school in New Jersey had their water turned off because it contained lead. Earlier this year in Michigan an emergency was called because of lead contamination. There are about 100,000 potential drinking water contaminants but it isn’t possible to regulate all of them.

EPA(Environmental Protection Agency) regulate specific substances in the water, determined by dangerous to health and cost-effective. For the EPA to regulate a substance they have to meet a criteria. The three criterias are affect to the human body, in water systems at a troubling level/frequency, and the benefits must outweigh the expense. The author goes on stating that there are 100,00 contaminants but only 90 are regulated by the EPA. As a result it cost money to have pure-water but to save natural resources we should use regular water to take a shower, wash a car, water the yard, and of course toilet water.