Response #14: Clean Water Awareness

Water is a key resource that all humans need, especially when in hot or humid climates.  The website www.20liters.org is dedicated to educating individuals about the need for water in less fortunate locations in this planet.  Rwanda, Africa is one of those places that needs copious amounts of water to sustain the life of the individuals living in the country, but does not have the water needed.  Clean water that is potable is even better because it can be readily drank and cooked with, but in Rwanda, the water is often contaminated (www.20liters.org , 1).  To this end is 20liters dedicated, it wants to help people find out about the need for clean water.  Not only is the problem in Rwanda that the water is in bad condition, but the water is scarce as well, and the already meager supplies of water are dwindling.  The other fact that the website is trying to illuminate is that stored water is often highly contaminated, the containers are often unclean, and this contamination leads to stored, polluted water.  The website is dedicated to a highly worthy cause, in that the need for clean water is the number one most serious issue humans face.  To stop this, the website raises money for charity; the website raised $1400 after visiting a small elementary school (www.20liters.org, 2).  The website is laid out in a simple manner that is easy to navigate, but the tabs are slightly confusing.  Anyone who visits the website will be educated in the need for clean water and the website effectively does this by giving statistics as well as employing photographs from rural Rwanda.  If more people could help in this manner, the people of the earth could live healthier lives and aid those around them too.  The only cons that I see in this manner of raising funds is that it would be very easy not visit the website and that the only ones to see the website are those who own computers, which are only the rich.

Response #13: Veggies For All

It is a common known fact that too much of anything can be bad for the human body, and meat is no exception.  Freston, Kathy insists that this is very much the case in her article “Vegetarian is the New Prius”.  She insists that the emissions due to animals and emissions of processing to maintain the livestock are one of the leading causes of greenhouse pollution, which many other scientists have also stated.  Her solution is that humans need to turn into vegetarians, and rather than eat meat, eat vegetables.  There is a certain truth in this, in that Americans do consume too much meat, meat which often is poorly raised and fed steroids, and that this negatively impacts health.  But to go to the extreme and ask that all individuals give up their meat and turn exclusively to vegetables is unrealistic and will not occur.  It is known that soy protein is harmful to men in large amounts, and it is also one of the cheapest protein supplements available.  Other plant proteins, such as whey and hemp protein, are more rare and costly.  Despite even the protein issue being solved, the problems of nutrients and of vitamins are more difficult to obtain from plants.  Lastly, it will not work because people enjoy the taste of meat, and that is far more problematic than the two previous issues.  In addition, if the animals are one of the main causes of pollution, then what about humans?  After all, humans are raising the animals and slaughtering them, as well as many other practices that are equally if not more damaging.  If someone complains of animals causing the earth to turn into a greenhouse, a suitable response would seem to be to tell them not to eat, as their very existence produces methane too.

Response #12: Quicksilver Snacks

Mercury is a heavy metal that can cause serious diseases and ailments for those that come into too much contact or ingest too much.  According to Gross, Alexandra in her article “Eating Mercury”, mercury has been found in high fructose corn syrup, which is a main food ingredient in America (Alexandra, 1).  It is frightening because high fructose corn syrup is an ingredient that is common to most processed foods in America, thus it is ingested by almost everyone.  The FDA is supposed to monitor the food ingredients, but many people believe that the FDA is corrupt or at minimum ineffectual in protecting the citizens.  Mercury is dangerous in the human body, but to make it confusing there are two different types of mercury: Inorganic and Organic.  According to the FDA, “…the form of greatest concern is the organic form, methymercury….” this organic form of mercury can cause far more damage than the inorganic forms (Alexandra, 2).  If the metal is used in the processing of the corn starch into glucose and fructose, it is likely that the inorganic form is being introduced in poorly controlled manufacture of the product.  This is because the inorganic form is much more common and cheap than the organic form, and it is less harmful to humans, which is always good.  The danger however is the mercury could be the organic form or it could be in high amounts, regardless of form, thus posing a risk to consumers.  This is dangerous and very irresponsible for the companies to brush the results off so lightly without undergoing an investigation themselves.

Response #11: Dam Salmon

In the article, “REUNITING A RIVER”, the author, Rymer, Russ, illustrates the situation with the Klamath River.  The river that runs through California and Oregon is in dire situations, as the health of the river erodes.  Infections plague the salmon that swim in the river and the water levels have steadily decreased, both due to the hydroelectric dams and the farmers that tap the river for water.  The long time inhabitants, Yurok Indians, have expressed fears and doubts for the condition that the river is in.  The river has fared worse since the installation of the hydroelectric power plants, which disrupt the salmon returning to spawn upriver.  This is an unacceptable condition for the salmon reproduction, and the fault lies with the dam company, as it is obvious no fish can travel past dams.  Salmon are an integral part of human diet, and moreover n excellent food source that is high in protein.  The farmers that are tapping the river for water are lowering the water levels significantly, and this problem is one faced all around the world.  The farmers are in reconciliation with the fishermen as they try to reduce the amount of water they use both by decreasing waste and reusing water.  The issue with the hydroelectric power plants is far more difficult to reconcile, as the dams will cost large amounts of capital to remove.  It remains to be seen what will occur, but hopefully the salmon will survive the delegation.