Note: The Peace Advocate is participating in the Blog Action Day of October 15 that is focusing on the issue of water. This is being posted a bit early.
On July 28, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing access to clean water and sanitation as a human right. According to the press release: The Assembly expressed deep concern that some 884 million people were without access to safe drinking water and more than 2.6 billion lacked access to basic sanitation. Bearing in mind the commitment to fully achieve the Millennium Development Goals, it expressed alarm that 1.5 million children under five years old died each year as a result of water- and sanitation-related diseases, acknowledging that safe, clean drinking water and sanitation were integral to the realization of all human rights. (For more on the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals and water go here.)
On October 1, 2010, the United Nations Human Rights Council confirmed that the right to water and sanitation is contained in international human rights treaties and is, therefore, legally binding.
In June, the Institute for War & Peace Reporting wrote about a water crisis in Iraq. It noted that a UNESCO report found that 100,000 Iraqis have fled their native communities since 2005 due to water shortages and it further noted that another United Nations report claimed the water levels in the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, Iraq’s primary sources of water, have fallen by more than two-thirds cautioning that they could completely dry up by 2040.
In July, the UK Guardian reported on a joint UK/US study echoing an Oxfam one showing that Kabul, Afghanistan and its surrounding area are facing a sever water crisis. The Oxfam policy officer, Ashley Jackson, said: ‘Thirty years of war has left sources of water co-opted, stolen and contaminated. ‘Oxfam research has found that water is now a major cause of local conflicts. Disputes over these scarce resources lead to violence and even, in some instances, fuel the greater conflict.’
Closer to home, central Kentucky, where I live, has been in pretty much of a drought since mid-summer and eastern Kentucky faces water problems due to its primary resource: coal.
The Environmental Protection Agency has said about the method of coal mining known as mountaintop removal including that often used in eastern Kentucky: Mining dries up an average of 100 wells a year and contaminates water in others. In many coalfield communities, the purity and availability of drinking water are keen concerns.
On October 6, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is blocking nearly a dozen water discharge permits sought by coal mines in Kentucky, saying they fail to protect eastern Kentucky waterways.”
On October 8, four groups ( Kentucky Riverkeeper, Appalachian Voices, the Waterkeeper Alliance and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth [KTFC] ) filed 60-day “notice of intent” letters alleging that three eastern Kentucky coal companies may have committed more than 20,000 Clean Water Act violations over the past few years. KFTC has a blog entry on this matter here as does Scott Edwards of the Waterkeeper Alliance have one on the Huffington Post.
Water is a precious and valuable resource. It is a gift of God and human life, as well as all life, is dependent on it. However, water can be at the root of conflicts and can escalate them. Military activities can worsen water as can industrial and mining activities. We often think of water scarcity and the unavailability of clean water as far away problems in undeveloped countries. However, as can be seen above there can be problems closer to home.
Please go to the widget in the sidebar of The Peace Advocate and sign Change.org's petition to Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in support of the UN's work to supply clean, safe drinkinng water especially to children. By 2015, the hope is to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.
On July 28, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing access to clean water and sanitation as a human right. According to the press release: The Assembly expressed deep concern that some 884 million people were without access to safe drinking water and more than 2.6 billion lacked access to basic sanitation. Bearing in mind the commitment to fully achieve the Millennium Development Goals, it expressed alarm that 1.5 million children under five years old died each year as a result of water- and sanitation-related diseases, acknowledging that safe, clean drinking water and sanitation were integral to the realization of all human rights. (For more on the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals and water go here.)
On October 1, 2010, the United Nations Human Rights Council confirmed that the right to water and sanitation is contained in international human rights treaties and is, therefore, legally binding.
In June, the Institute for War & Peace Reporting wrote about a water crisis in Iraq. It noted that a UNESCO report found that 100,000 Iraqis have fled their native communities since 2005 due to water shortages and it further noted that another United Nations report claimed the water levels in the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, Iraq’s primary sources of water, have fallen by more than two-thirds cautioning that they could completely dry up by 2040.
In July, the UK Guardian reported on a joint UK/US study echoing an Oxfam one showing that Kabul, Afghanistan and its surrounding area are facing a sever water crisis. The Oxfam policy officer, Ashley Jackson, said: ‘Thirty years of war has left sources of water co-opted, stolen and contaminated. ‘Oxfam research has found that water is now a major cause of local conflicts. Disputes over these scarce resources lead to violence and even, in some instances, fuel the greater conflict.’
Closer to home, central Kentucky, where I live, has been in pretty much of a drought since mid-summer and eastern Kentucky faces water problems due to its primary resource: coal.
The Environmental Protection Agency has said about the method of coal mining known as mountaintop removal including that often used in eastern Kentucky: Mining dries up an average of 100 wells a year and contaminates water in others. In many coalfield communities, the purity and availability of drinking water are keen concerns.
On October 6, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is blocking nearly a dozen water discharge permits sought by coal mines in Kentucky, saying they fail to protect eastern Kentucky waterways.”
On October 8, four groups ( Kentucky Riverkeeper, Appalachian Voices, the Waterkeeper Alliance and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth [KTFC] ) filed 60-day “notice of intent” letters alleging that three eastern Kentucky coal companies may have committed more than 20,000 Clean Water Act violations over the past few years. KFTC has a blog entry on this matter here as does Scott Edwards of the Waterkeeper Alliance have one on the Huffington Post.
Water is a precious and valuable resource. It is a gift of God and human life, as well as all life, is dependent on it. However, water can be at the root of conflicts and can escalate them. Military activities can worsen water as can industrial and mining activities. We often think of water scarcity and the unavailability of clean water as far away problems in undeveloped countries. However, as can be seen above there can be problems closer to home.
Please go to the widget in the sidebar of The Peace Advocate and sign Change.org's petition to Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in support of the UN's work to supply clean, safe drinkinng water especially to children. By 2015, the hope is to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.
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