What you should know about the water crisis

Taylor Anne Baranski
Guest Writer

Readers have heard of so many "end of the world" scenarios that they have become desensitized to the worry and distress it creates. We have heard of the oil crisis, the Mayan Prophecy, the financial crisis, the War on Terror, and so many others. But have you heard of the water crisis? It may not make the headlines, but the world is currently under the threat of running out of fresh water. One might think that the United States and other first world countries are exempt from this crisis. However, the issue does not stop with third world nations such as those in India and Africa. It is an international crisis that is only becoming more apparent.

The fact is, fresh water is a limited resource. It is a commodity currently valued at 400 billions dollars according to "FLOW," a new documentary film about the world's dwindling water supply. Water is fundamental to the planet. This issue will affect everyone because everyone needs water to survive. According to the UN, "by 2030, nearly half of the world's people will be living in areas of acute water shortage." If we keep up wasteful habits and continue to exploit our water resources, this theory will become truth.

Living in the United States, people care more about the price of gas than the always present issue of fresh water around the world. When was the last time you saw a headline about water? I'm sure it was the in connection to the BP Oil spill last summer. The reality of the current situation of fresh water is not its scarcity (yet), but its availability. People have polluted, contaminated, and wasted water thus making once accessible and clean water completely unusable.

It does not help that civilization is currently consuming more water than nature can replenish. That is a reality. There are currently plans being set about how we will live when we do run out of clean usable water. One alternative is desalination. It is the obvious choice to begin to use the salt water of our oceans but the point is we, as humans, should never get to that point in the first place. We have reached it with oil and observe how leaders are handling that crisis. As a species, we can live without oil but we cannot live without water. The back lash from people will be devastating in such a scenario.

Water is and should be a basic human right, but it being exploited all over the world. There are currently disputes in India and Pakistan over water that may very well evolve into a full-fledged war. Pakistan is currently suffering from agricultural failure and ruining livelihoods because India is monopolizing the water of the Indus River for its dams and hydroelectricity projects. This is between two countries, but what about the people living in the situations where clean water is unavailable.

There are approximately one billion people, most of them poor in developing countries, without access to drinkable water. This lack of sanitation contributes to more than 2 million deaths each year. Approximately 86% of that number are children according to Living Water International. In a poll conducted by the British Medical Journal, the most important medical advancement in the past 200 years was clean water and sanitation. Cities like Paris and London had child death rates as high as those in developing Africa 100 years ago. Reformation in sanitation has turned many cities' child mortality rates around for the better. With the right intervention, the same can occur in areas that lack the current sanitation and health standards.

The water crisis is a very real issue. It is an international problem that has always plagued humanity. Our species duty has always orbited around the need to find food and water so we can survive. However, our species has created technologies where those needs are a now a convenience. It is with ease that we can turn on a faucet and run water for an immediate return. In Africa, women spend over a quarter of their lives dedicated to retrieving water from miles away to support their family. As Americans, we do not know that struggle. That does not mean we should live in ignorance of others' plights.

There are many organizations dedicated to the crisis. They organize fundraisers, awareness, and trips to directly help those in need. Water.org is one such organization that dedicates its time to the issue of water. Feel free to visit the site to learn more about the facts and realities of the situation. Ignorance is not bliss. Use water wisely. One day, it will run dry.

Why aren't there suicide support groups in Calhoun County?

By Tiffany Thatcher
Guest writer

Indulge me for a moment; try typing suicide support groups in Michigan into your search engine. Instantly you will have access to some great online groups along with links to assorted groups located in Michigan's larger cities like Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Lansing. Now try narrowing your search to Battle Creek, Marshall, or smaller cities such as Coldwater or Union City. Instantly, the search results become only available online. If you are in the situation where you have lost a loved one to suicide, you are left floundering and looking for answers and support.

I experienced this myself in June of 2010, when my husband of 7 years took his own life. I was new to the area and had not yet developed a group of close friends to lean on. I desperately wanted to talk to someone that had experienced what I had. I had so many unanswered questions and fears concerning how I and my children would handle their father's death. I was hoping to find a group of people like myself that I could meet with and we could share our experiences. I really wanted and needed a shoulder to cry on. So, I set out to look for a local support group for those who had lost someone to suicide.

I typed in the same search I showed you above, and I was stunned. How could there be zero resources for people facing these issues? Suicide has been on the rise in the last few years with the evolution of cyber bullying, the problems with the economy, and returning troops from overseas. My question is this, if suicide is rising, why isn't the level of support rising as well? Kalamazoo has a great program called 211 created by Gryphon Place. Callers can dial 211 and receive support and help for a number of issues with suicide prevention at its core. When will areas like Calhoun or Branch County follow suit?

I found individual therapy through Pines Behavioral Health in Coldwater which offers low cost or free services depending on income. There are also services in the Battle Creek area through Behavioral Health Resources. It was not the group setting and support that I desired, but it was helpful. I urge anyone struggling with loss from a suicide or considering suicide to seek help through one of these services. Speak up, make your voice heard and maybe together we can create suicide support groups in our areas.

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The national debt: What does it have to do with college students?

TJ Kragt
Guest Writer

Many college students do not quite see what the national debt has to do with them. First, before addressing the deficit, people have to understand how it accumulated. There are multiple reasons that the debt has increased so dramatically over the past several years. It has increased mainly due to Bush Era tax cuts, health care entitlement, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the recession, and lastly Obama's stimulus package. The tax cuts lowered governmental money through federal taxes on top of increased spending in our wars against terrorism. When that is coupled with the health care entitlements and Obama's recent stimulus package, it equals an unparalleled amount of debt.

The younger generation has been dubbed the "millennials," and over sixty percent of them see the growing national debt as a threat to the future of the United States. Most of the foreign contribution to this escalating problem is communist China; they own more of the U.S.'s debt than any other country. In a recent poll, seventy-six percent of people between nineteen and twenty-nine years of age see China as a threat. Forty-eight percent view them as an economic threat and twenty-eight as a militaristic threat, also. The increasing debt will affect jobs, the United States' influence around the world, and cause goods to soar in price. The millennials will also be burdened with paying the substantial national debt. There are ways to resolve this matter; a large thing to stress is congress needs to compromise. The United States could cut the national budget by a significant amount and raise revenue.

They could let businesses manage themselves freely to give the economy more momentum and use much of the governmental profits to pay off the debt. Even more important than that, college students can get active so the government will change the policy pertaining to the national debt.

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