"Fouling Our Nest" From Unquenchable: America's Water Crisis Essay

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The New River in California is so polluted that border patrol agents will not venture in, even when undocumented workers are crossing (Glennon 68). Another source of contamination is the use of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in gasoline, which significantly worsens the risks posed by gasoline spills. Gas spills with MTBE are much worse than regular gas spills because they penetrate the surface rather than hovering above -- it is more difficult to clean up and more difficult to go below the surface to find a clean source of water (Glennon 71). Without greater regulation of this contaminant, people have little ability to limit its use, other than limiting fuel use in general.

There have been attempts to improve government regulation and oversight of the water supply. For example, the Safe Drinking Water Act requires that all municipalities regularly test their local water supplies for a series of chemicals. This, however, does not protect individuals who rely upon private well sources for water (Glennon 71). Only New Jersey mandates that upon the sale of a house the well water be tested for safety; a recent California study found that in a single county, more than 40% of all well water had the presence of the potentially deadline e. coli bacteria (Glennon 71). AU.S. Geological Survey test of well waters found the presence of toxic herbicides: MTBE, arsenic, and chloroform in 11% of the wells surveyed (Glennon 71). While Glennon's critics might note that well water is still not the predominant source of drinking water for most Americans and that it is within the responsibility of a home owner to get his or her own water tested to ensure that it is safe, regardless, such statistical evidence are a refutation of the idea that well water is 'healthier' than public supplies of water.

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All sources of human drinking water are being exposed to increased sources of contaminants.

The risks do not end there. Volatile Organic Compounds such as TCEs found in the water have been linked to an increase in cancer (Glennon 74). Financial cutbacks have limited the EPA's ability to clean up such toxic chemicals (Glennon 75). And buying home filtration devices, argues Glennon, are not feasible solutions given that economically disenfranchised individuals lack the means to do so and such systems also generate waste. Even bottled water is not necessarily safe and free of contaminants (Glennon 75). Glennon argues that a larger societal solution is demanded which means making meaningful changes in terms of how chemicals are regulated and how modern agriculture and industry governs itself in regards to the ecosystem. Our current network of regulations allows for too many loopholes and is overly sensitive to the needs of large businesses, not to the health of ordinary consumers.….....

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