South Africa Faces Water Crisis

Consumers in South America were told recently that their fruits and vegtables may be infected by Ecoli because they were irrigated by water contaminated with sewage. Their riverine eco-sytem is being infected by AMD (Acid Mine Drainage) and many of their cities are running out of natural water sources and they are running out of water to capture from the few sourses they do have.

The water is poorly managed by both ecological and water security standpoints. It is estimated that Guetang is predicted to become water stressed by 2011 and the rest of the country will follow closely behind.

They have tried to pass many laws to help protect their limited water sources but they have all failed in one way or another. The main problem is their water cleaning system is broking. The water just goes through a tratment plant that has not been updated for the increased demand from broadening access to water bourne sewage. The water is not sufficiently cleaned. The barely treated water now enters rivers and dams. Only about 3% of sewage plants opperate at a suitable level and only a little more than half the drinking water is of moderate quality.

Opinion: I think America should help chip in to help South Africa. They are in a difficult situation and the only way they can get out of it is with the help from the United States and other countries. if we want to stop the water crisis in the world we need to start with the places that need it most like South Africa.

Questions:
1)What do you think are some reasons that South Africa cannot update all their sewage plants?
2)What do you think is the best way to fix their problem?
3) Do you think the U.S. has a obligation to help South America? Why or why not?

Slide in EPA Clean Water Criminal Enforcement Continues Under Obama

picture: http://askmissa.com/2010/04/06/aveda-institute-washington-dc-hosts-fundraisers-to-support-clean-water-initiatives/

article: http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/10/25/25greenwire-slide-in-epa-clean-water-criminal-enforcement-83471.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Under the Obama administration, criminal enforcement of federal water-pollution is now in place, according to the EPA. 32 new Clean Water Act convictions have been reported also. The last count had been 42, and this year is down from 28 to 21. Nearly 60 percent of these cases have been dropped recently.

All "navigable" waters are protected by this law, and this causes controversy. Congress has repeatedly failed in eliminating the word "navigable."

With Obama's consent, EPA is now going to toughen the enforcement of our nation's water pollution laws by working to close legal loopholes, hiring more investigators, and bringing more cases against polluters. This is being done to decrease the amount of legal ambiguities that have dodged the Clean Water Act enforcement.

Opinion: I think it's great that the number of polluters has gone down, but it's not good to hear that people have been getting away with polluting. At least the EPA is working on fixing this problem, and making sure that everyone pays for their actions. To me, polluting water is a crime that should be accounted for. Another thing that was brought to my attention was the fact that it's only illegal to pollute a "navigable" waterway. This means that streams, ponds, and such aren't protected! This is a problem that should be fixed in my opinion.

1) Can you find any more information regarding the number of people accused for polluting waters?

2) Do you think that it's a good or a bad thing that the numbers of polluters (caught) have gone down? Does this mean that there are less, or just less caught?

3) What else do you think could fix this problem if there is a way?