Disappearing Jordan

http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/6473/

This is a picture of how little water the Jordan River has left. It is decreasing from its water being used for farming.


The water of the Jordan River is slowly being used up. This is from the Israel’s project “make the desert bloom” which provides the surrounding area with water "This diversion of water may be a technical marvel, but it’s emptying rivers and leaving critical aquifers dangerously susceptible to the intrusion of salt water and raw sewage." Stephan Faris. One of they causes of this crises is the scarcity of water in the middle east that caused all the surrounding county's to dam up there their water to keep it in their respective country's. this water hording is hurting more than just ecosystems though, they are hurting many poor Palestine towns ability to produce food. And now the dead seas water is being affected because the Jordan River has decreased so much its barley producing a trickle into the sea. Once a grand river the Jordan has petered into just a small stream


I feel that this is awful. People should have more respect for the environment than this. I feel that    politics shouldn't be involved with the distribution of water. I know that they have to get the water for somewhere but the system can get dangerous very quickly and thousands could die if this continues.  
1. what other rivers are being largely drained.
2. what could the governments to to improve this situation.
3. are people in Israel dying from lack of water.
4. what county has the least water per person.
5. do they have any ground water left.

EPA Bill Allows Arsenic in Water

This picture shows the worst case scenario for drinking water, which is that there is so many pollutants that it can be set on fire.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/10/bill-prevents-epa-coal-ash-oversight-vote.php?campaign=th_rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+treehuggersite+%28Treehugger%29

Summary:

The Safe Drinking Water Act, or HR 2273, was passed by the House of Congress and allows corporations to pollute drinking water without any consequences because the bill does not allow the EPA to control or mandate the dumping of coal ash, lead, arsenic and other toxins. If this bill was not passed, it was thought about 28,000 new jobs would be created per year, but the government decided "to put the interests of corporate polluters ahead of the American public." The bill also allows states to make the regulations on toxins in drinking water instead of the EPA. Many states have already conducted programs to stop pollution, but now they can allow the pollution of drinking water because they cannot recieve any consequences. One of the bill's sponsers has recieved a number of mining company's donations and checks from other polluting companies. This bill not only affects humans, but it also destroys environments and habitats by poisoning water, food and even the air we breathe. HR 2273 was even based on an old standard of drinking water which states that 50 micrograms of toxins per liter is a safe amount to ingest. Now, the new standard is 10 micrograms of toxins per liter of water is safe to drink. The worst part of this bill is that once a decision is made by a state its "desicions cannot be reversed, even if they jeopordize public health."

Opinion:

I really cannot believe how the House allowed this to pass, and the votes were significantly in favor of the bill. It really makes me upset to see that the leaders of our country put themselves before the needs of the people they serve. HR 2273 is one of the worst bills past by Congress in my opinion because of the many effects it has on the environment and on humans' health. There is no way that drinking 50 micrograms of toxins per liter of water is healthy for any organism, and the fact that this bill was based on this old standard really makes this bill illegitimate. The ironic part of this bill is that it is called "The Safe Drinking Water Act" even though it is completely harmful to society and the environment.

Questions:

1. Make a list of toxins that are most prominent in drinking water.

2. Find areas that are most affected by coal ash, arsenic, lead, or other toxins.

3. Why do you think the composers of this bill based it around an old and outdated drinking water standard?

4. What are some ways to reduce toxins in drinking water?