Spreading Knowledge of Sustainable Water Purifiers in Third World Countries Affected by Natural Disasters

A glimpse into my background... a paper I wrote during my undergrad in Bioenvironmental Science...

Spreading Knowledge of Sustainable Water Purifiers in Third World Countries Affected by Natural Disasters

Water Invention by MissEcoChic

Many countries in South Asia were devastated when the Tsunamis hit the region and destroyed much infrastructure in addition to taking many lives. Those who survived the tsunamis were left with difficult prospects. Although there was water everywhere, very little of it was clean enough for human consumption. Due to this shortage of drinkable water, many people died not only due to injuries sustained from the natural disaster but due to dehydration and the onslaught of diseases which often occurred due to water related lack of sanitation.

In order to combat this problem, my cousin, along with a team of engineers from Intel Corporation spent a summer in India developing water purifiers to be placed in rural areas, such as villages, which had much difficulty in gaining clean water. These water purifiers were composed of locally found products in their design and utilized the sun’s various angles to build a solar powered boiling mechanism to purify rain or collected water. Implementing these in areas which often had no other access to pure water allowed many individuals the source of a vital human need.

While creating these sustainable water purifiers and implementing them in areas of need is a commendable effort, I believe that a policy change must take place in order to properly provide clean water. Alongside providing much needed aid in the form of supplies and purifiers, knowledge of how to create, build and repair this technology should be taught to the inhabitants of third world countries who often are unable to procure clean water. We learned in Professor DeWitt’s BESC 201 class: when education levels are increased in third world countries, the standard of living rises considerably. I propose that we implement this philosophy and provide the tools with which to construct the needed technology by sending people dedicated to teaching alongside tangible forms of aid such as food, water, blankets, etc. to the areas (and its people) which are most in need. In this case, it would be the people affected by natural disasters and who require sources of clean water.

Works Cited: http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/tsunami_qa/en/; [Name Retracted]; BESC 201