Think Before You Drink Syauqi Darussalam Lutfi, Muhammad Arham Harun, Andi Asyura Alikha, Andi Tiara S. Adam Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia
Short Description
Water is essential for our life. Living without water for more than 3 days is impossible. But the painful truth is that, we are unconsciously changing our source of life into the cause of death of millions of people by doing simple actions. As we drive our car or even charge our gadgets, we give constant contribution to climate change which apparently is the cause of water contamination.
Water contamination has worsen due to climate change. Climate change has risen the temperature, creating a warm and more hospitable environment for harmful microbes to grow in water. It has also led to heavier downpours and floods which often contain contaminants that can overwhelm water sources, and later increase the risk of exposure to microbes and other unhealthy pollutants. This contaminated water comes out of our taps everyday, known as‘ clean water’. It proves that our tap water is not always safe to drink. In fact in Indonesia,‘ clean water’ received by 1 of 5 does not meet WHO’ s criteria for safe drinking water. As a result, consuming contaminated water has become the leading cause of numerous water-related diseases. According to WHO, 3.4 million people, mostly children, die from water-related diseases like diarrhea and thyphoid. While in Indonesia, diarrhea kills more than 100.000 children under five annually.
The best way to prevent those water-borne diseases is by preventing the contamination of the water we consume. We can start by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimalizing the release of hazardous chemicals and materials. But tackling water pollution issues is not enough, we should also combat climate change as the main contributor. Simply adopting anti-climate change behaviors like reducing the use of motor vehicles and unpluging unsued electrical devices can help reducing harmful gas emissions. Act now, protect our water, secure our future.
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