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Friday, October 21st, 2016

For These Americans, Clean Water Is a Luxury

Author:     GEORGE McGRAW
Source:     The New York Times
Publication Date:     OCT. 20, 2016
 Link: For These Americans, Clean Water Is a Luxury
Stephan:   Yesterday as I was doing SR  I felt pretty good about things; today not so much. In the United States we spend trillions on war and weapons -- essentially dead end dollars, since their function is to be blown up.  Yet, as this report lays out, "About a half a million American households lack basic plumbing amenities like hot water, a tap or toilet, according to the Census Bureau. As in Flint, they are disproportionately poor and minority." Did you know that? Neither did I, and I find it unutterably depressing. Our priorities are totally out of whack. As you read this, please note the tiny sums of money that would be required to fix this situation. And may I suggest you consider making a donation to the foundation Digdeep mentioned in this article, Ronlyn and I will be doing so. Water is destiny.
Navajo Reservation family in the doorway of their house. Credit: Daily Mail

Navajo Reservation family in the doorway of their house.
Credit: Daily MailLOS ANGELES — Most Americans take safe water for granted: Turn the tap, and there it is. But recent protests against the Dakota Access pipeline on the Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota are a reminder that some Americans still worry every day about having enough clean water to survive.

As events in Standing Rock and Flint, Mich., capture national attention, long-running water emergencies fester in near-total obscurity elsewhere across the country, many of them on native reservations.

Nearly 24,000 Native American and Alaska Native households somehow manage without access to running water or basic sanitation, according to 2015 figures from the Indian Health Service, living in what my organization calls “water poverty.” About 188,000 such households were in need of some form of water and sanitation facilities improvement.

Perhaps the worst case is on the sprawling Navajo reservation in the Southwest, home […]

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