Water Conservation
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Guest Blogger |
June 5, 2008 Guest Blogger: Colin Sullivan, Brainerd High School, Brainerd, Minnesota, USA
Survival. Since the time of our earliest ancestors, this has been the prime objective of life. For humans, there are certain requirements that must be met in order to obtain survival. Surely the most prominent of these requirements would be water. Without water, the average human will die in three to five days, according to National Geographic. So how then have we allowed fellow human beings to suffer and die in the pursuit of water? In ancient times, help would not have been offered, for competitive reasons. But now, with morals and standards as a key part of our society, and competition is no longer an issue, what is stopping us? How has we let this detrimental problem that plagues our ancestors evolve into a continent-wide epidemic?
This dehydration epidemic plagues Africa, specifically its Sub-Saharan region. According to BBC News, More than 1.5 million children under five die each year because they lack access to safe water and proper sanitation. As human beings, it is simply immoral for us to stand by and watch the process of the destruction of a continent, due to a problem that could quite simply be reduced. BBC News continues, saying, Diarrhea-related diseases in young children could be cut by more than a third by improving sanitation facilities. With this, it becomes apparent that not only is the severe lack of water a detrimental problem in Africa, but it is also a problem that can be practically decimated by the simple aid of a more stable and sound nation, or a larger group.
No matter the cost, we have spotted a clear and obvious problem. As people, when a problem such as this is spotted, and the effects are clearly shown, to not act in order to alleviate the stresses upon African shoulders would be immoral. That is why I strongly encourage water aid be given to those African nations in need.
