UN: Polluted water killing, sickening millions

[kwame k]

NAIROBI, Kenya – More people die from polluted water every year than from all forms of violence, including war, the U.N. said in a report Monday that highlights the need for clean drinking water.

The report, launched Monday to coincide with World Water Day, said an estimated 2 billion tons of waste water — including fertilizer run-off, sewage and industrial waste — is being discharged daily. That waste fuels the spread of disease and damages ecosystems.

"Sick Water" — the report from the U.N. Environment Program — said that 3.7 percent of all deaths are attributed to water-related diseases, translating into millions of deaths. More than half of the world's hospital beds are filled by people suffering from water-related illnesses, it said.

"If we are not able to manage our waste, then that means more people dying from waterborne diseases," said Achim Steiner, the U.N. Undersecretary General and executive director of UNEP.

The report says that it takes 3 liters of water to produce one liter of bottled water, and that bottled water in the U.S. requires the consumption of some 17 million barrels of oil yearly.

Improved wastewater management in Europe has resulted in significant environmental improvements there, the UNEP said, but that dead zones in oceans are still spreading worldwide. Dead zones are oxygen-deprived areas caused by pollution.

"If the world is to thrive, let alone to survive on a planet of 6 billion people heading to over 9 billion by 2050, we need to get collectively smarter and more intelligent about how we manage waste, including wastewaters," Steiner said.

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[kwame k]

Could you imagine telling someone 30 years ago that you had an idea for selling bottled water for a $1.50 per bottle. They would of laughed at you.

Fast forward to today and it seems water will become the oil/gold of the future.

[jhale667]

Could you imagine telling someone 30 years ago that you had an idea for selling bottled water for a $1.50 per bottle. They would of laughed at you.

Fast forward to today and it seems water will become the oil/gold of the future.

Yeah, these days I wish I was the guy that invented PUR...

[Kristy]

NAIROBI, Kenya – More people die from polluted water every year than from all forms of violence, including war, the U.N. said in a report Monday that highlights the need for clean drinking water.

The report, launched Monday to coincide with World Water Day, said an estimated 2 billion tons of waste water — including fertilizer run-off, sewage and industrial waste — is being discharged daily. That waste fuels the spread of disease and damages ecosystems.

This is nothing new but it seems that big chemical corporations have found a new place (and government) to rid themselves of toxic chemicals that is known about. Makes you wonder what is going on in China and they are handling all of their industrial waste. It'll be interesting to see what the cancer/birth defect/death rate will be in that county come the next ten to fifteen years.

[Seshmeister]

I don't think many people realise yet that it's all going to be about water soon.

Apart from tiny amounts coming from comets it's a closed system. We only have the water we have, it just goes around in circles and at the moment we are using 50%. If population keeps rising due in part to the superstitous churches then in 20 years we will be fighting for water not oil.

China knows this and has been buying up areas all over Africa rich in freshwater.

[Nitro Express]

Actually potable water is getting to be one of the rarest resources on the planet. A good field to go into is one that can help solve the world's water problems because there is a lot of money to be made there.

[Nitro Express]

I don't think many people realise yet that it's all going to be about water soon.

Apart from tiny amounts coming from comets it's a closed system. We only have the water we have, it just goes around in circles and at the moment we are using 50%. If population keeps rising due in part to the superstitous churches then in 20 years we will be fighting for water not oil.

China knows this and has been buying up areas all over Africa rich in freshwater.

Evelyn de Rothschild is buying up Brazil because it has 18% of the worlds water resources. So the big boys know it's a problem and who controls it controls the world.

[Nitro Express]

One reason China is going to go full bore on developing cheap electricity is if they have that, they can desalinate sea water. Most of the world's water is salty, so technology is what is going to solve that problem. Unfortunately, those who are in charge of oil don't want cheap electricity and then you have the cap and trade gang that wants to tax energy.

[Nitro Express]

The world's population probably will peak out around 8 billion. I grew up in a religion that encouraged big families and that was for several reasons, to grow the church and to have cheap farmhands since most everyone was a farmer. People are having less children now because they aren't farm worker assets in the suburbs, they are liabilities.

Some parts of the industrialized world people aren't having enough children and that's another problem. Japan, Russia, and Europe are aging which is also a problem. Iran has the youngest population on the planet.