If you think back to your days as a kindergartner, you may remember the first time you learned the water cycle. Equipped with a blue crayon, you replicated what your teacher described in a simple picture: rain falls, people drink it, the water evaporates and the whole thing repeats. You learned that water is renewable.
But renewable does not mean unlimited, a fact constantly recognized by the 780 million people who lack access to clean drinking water.
Freshwater, the largest source of our drinking water, makes up only 2.5 percent of the planet’s water. Only 1 percent of freshwater is actually available, as most of it is frozen. This leaves 0.007 percent of the Earth’s water left for an ever-growing population that exceeds 7 billion. This is a water crisis.
“Why can’t we use ocean water?” one might ask. The answer is, well, we can.
Desalination, the removal of salt from saltwater, makes the use of ocean water possible. But breaking the strong bonds that salt forms with water molecules requires a lot of energy, and this energy is expensive.
As Peter Gleick, president of the environmental think-tank Pacific Institute, says, “It can cost from just under $1 to well over $2 to produce one cubic meter (264 gallons) of desalted water from the ocean.”
Considering that 99 percent of water-related illnesses occur in developing countries, desalination is simply an unrealistic option for most who suffer from the water crisis.
But what if there were some way to desalinate without such steep energy requirements?
A team of scientists believe they know how to do so.
Martin Bazant and Daosheng Deng of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a process that they believe will more efficiently and effectively desalinate water. They call it “shock electrodialysis.”
Today, the two cheapest methods of desalination are reverse osmosis and electrodialysis.
Reverse osmosis works by pumping water through a membrane that does not allow salts to pass. Although it requires less energy than older methods, it works too slowly.
Building on reverse osmosis, electrodialysis tried the opposite: pumping salts through an electrified membrane until only pure water is left. This process is significantly cheaper than reverse osmosis but is not without shortcomings. It fails to decontaminate water of dirt and bacteria without additional filtration methods.
Bazant and Deng say that shock electrodialysis can produce clean, bacteria-free drinking water in one step. How? They placed an additional filter made of porous glass near the electrified membrane. Based on Bazant and Deng’s observations, dirt particles and bacteria are unable to fit through the tiny pores in the glass material.
If it turns out that this MIT development can be produced at a low cost on a large scale, shock electrodialysis could provide millions of people with access to drinking water.
– Shehrose Mian
Sources: UNICEF, National Geographic, Scientific American, Technology Review
Photo: Technology Review
Katra and India’s Women’s Rights Problem
Two 12 and 15-year-old girls were lynched last week in western Uttar Pradesh in India after being abducted, gang raped and hanged by their attackers. The Indian village, known as Katra in the Badaun district, is one of the world’s most impoverished areas.
Most of its citizens work as tillers or take up small, part-time jobs in order to make a living. With hardly any money, most cannot afford a functioning toilet, so they relieve themselves in nearby fields.
Yet this is exactly what would lead to the death of two young cousins after being abducted by three men in the fields of their village. Their attackers hanged the two girls on a tree in the village, which would be on display for the entire community.
Thought by medical experts to have been hanged alive, many are wondering how and why these gruesome attacks could have taken place in a day and age where feminism is, in most parts of the world, on the rise.
India has had a history of women’s rights problems for years. After the gang rape case of a 23-year-old girl in Delhi in 2012, in which four men were all found guilty and given the death penalty, India has been making a concerted effort to tighten their rules regarding violence against women.
Yet this has by no means actually prevented or improved cases of violence against women in the country; in most cases, police insensitivity has been proliferated by patriarchal attitudes of those in governmental power.
The Samajwadi Party is just one example of misogyny’s power in Indian politics. The senior Samajwadi Party leader, Ram Gopal Yadav, spoke of the most recent incident, stating, “[In] many places, when the relationship between girls and boys come out in the open, it is termed as rape.”
Two months ago, party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav claimed that “boys will be boys” and vehemently opposed the death penalty as punishment for acts of rape.
The three men responsible for the two teenage girls’ deaths in Katra have been arrested, and two policemen are being held on suspicion for trying to cover up the crimes.
This is not an uncommon occurrence: while a rape is reported every 21 minutes in India, law enforcement failure often results in crimes not being reported or investigated fully. Yet as the case rises in power, world officials are continuing to speak out against these acts of misogyny.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who stated that he was “appalled” by these recent acts, is just one of many to have spoken out. “We say no to the dismissive, destructive attitude of ‘boys will be boys,’” he said. As the government continues to crack down on these acts, many hope its citizens will listen.
— Nick Magnanti
Sources: The Diplomat, ODT, Scroll, Times of India 1, Times of India 2
Photo: The Story Exchange
Gold-Mining in Zimbabwe: Poverty Alleviation
Artisanal gold-mining is nothing new to Zimbabwe; in fact, it’s a practice that is centuries old. What is especially interesting about the practice today, though, is how innovative Zimbabweans are using mining as a means of supporting their families in difficult economic times.
The correlation between economic strain and accelerated entry into the mining sector is strong. Zimbabwe has undergone a decade and a half of economic turmoil that began in 2000 with the collapse of its agricultural economy when the government forced out large farms only to replace them with much smaller ones run by inexperienced staff.
As a result, swaths of the population were forced to seek alternative employment, such as small-scale mining. By 2018, it is estimated that so many Zimbabweans will have adopted artisanal gold-mining that Zimbabwe’s gold output will double.
As an industry, gold-mining has the power to support thousands of hard-working Zimbabweans. According to the South African Institute of International Affairs, which in May 2014 published a comprehensive policy briefing on the topic, “artisanal gold-mining has emerged as one of the few means of poverty alleviation for poverty-stricken people in mineral-rich communities.”
Despite this, however, the government of Zimbabwe has yet to support the industry – in fact, it has criminalized small-scale mining altogether.
Government opposition to mining is a result of concerns that mining leads to environmental degradation and political instability. To some extent, these concerns are legitimate – mining relies not only on the use of dangerous chemicals but can also lead to water pollution and landscape erosion, as well as result in community tensions when workers of differing ethnicities and ideologies flood into mining towns.
Traditionally, Zimbabwe has enforced the criminalization of artisanal mining, arresting those who are caught engaging in the practice. However, because artisanal miners move between gold mines very quickly, law enforcement alone has not managed to end non-commercial mining in Zimbabwe.
The government of Zimbabwe would be smart to regulate rather than criminalize artisanal mining, as it benefits the country as a whole. Increased gold output over the past several years has earned Zimbabwe a reputation for being mineral-rich, and in turn, has led to increased international investment.
Mining gives individuals who would otherwise face unemployment an income, allowing them to participate in local economies, perhaps put down roots and in some cases, even undertake their own entrepreneurial ventures.
Lacking the violence with which it is often associated, supporting mining would be a no-brainer for Zimbabwe. Regulation (including environmental regulation) as a means of “formalizing” the mining industry could be incredibly effective in reducing its social costs and in turn, make the industry even more productive. Zimbabweans have found a way to ward off poverty – their government should listen.
— Elise L. Riley
Sources: Eldris, Info Please
Photo: The Zimbabwe Mail
Europe’s Unwanted Migrants
Recently, conflicts in Africa and the Middle East have resulted in an influx of unwanted migrants into Europe. Thousands have found their way into the continent looking for a better life, but after they arrive, they often find themselves unwelcome.
Leaving their native countries affected by war and violence, they come to Europe in hopes of a better future. For many, their lives end before they are even able to experience the bleak future many migrants find themselves thrown into.
Traffickers and criminal gangs take advantage of migrants by charging exorbitant rates to be shoved and crammed onto boats. Hundreds of migrants lose their lives at sea. The overcrowding on boats combined with dangerous weather often ends in tragedy.
Although the loss of life has been reduced by rescue operations, the U.N. estimates that over 170 people have lost their lives from the beginning of this year to May while attempting to reach Europe.
While the majority of the migrants are men, the increased number of migrants has brought more women and children to Europe. On May 20, Italy rescued approximately 500 migrants, 100 of which were children.
Italy in particular has felt the pressure of migration. Over 62,000 migrants have arrived in Italy this year. Calls for aid from other countries to help manage the situation have largely gone unheeded. Slovenia offered one ship to help last year.
Bureaucrats in European countries receiving all these migrants struggle to process the requests for asylum or refugee status. Almost 435,000 people applied for asylum in Europe last year.
Increasing migrant numbers has caused right-wing political parties to make real gains in European elections and consequently, anti-immigration policies have been put into place and the borders of the European countries have tightened.
Unwanted migrants are left wandering Europe and left wondering if the destruction they left behind is any different from their experiences in Europe. Once discovered huddled in camps, migrants are forced to disband on any number of charges and are forced to find another place to rest.
The European Union’s home affairs commissioner, Cecilia Malmstroem, is pushing for a change in Europe’s approach to the situation. She is calling for a plan to resettle “refugees directly from the camps outside the EU” and to open new legal channels so that refugees can come legally.
Until a larger joint effort is made to handle the migrants, the issue will continue to fester and radicalize politicians in Europe. The increased levels of migration have caused tensions between the European countries and made a larger effort unlikely. Ultimately, as European countries individually attempt to solve the refugee issue, unwanted migrants suffer as they leave one desolate place for another.
— William Ying
Sources: Aljazeera 1, Aljazeera 2, LA Times, NPR, The New York Times, Reuters, The Verge
Photo: Deutsche Welle
Food Security in Syria
The ongoing civil war in Syria continues to raise fresh concerns about food security in the nation.
For over three years Syrian rebels have battled government forces throughout the country. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported last month that over 160,000 people have died since the beginning of the conflict. The number includes civilians, rebel forces and government military personnel.
To date, the conflict has seen 6.5 million Syrians become Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and another 2.7 million Syrian refugees flee to neighboring countries.
Yet, the impact of the conflict combined with a recent drought raises questions about food security in the country and its neighboring regions.
Since last year, much of the Middle East, including parts of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, has witnessed a drier than average weather pattern. Syria itself has experienced rainfall deficits during this time.
Farmers and others associated with the nation’s agricultural sector have felt the brunt of the deficit. Wheat — the national staple food crop in the country — as well as barley, have seen production declines since the beginning of the conflict. The civil war has also hampered the country’s production of cereal.
A recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concluded that continued and strengthened assistance is required “for food and the agricultural sector to support livelihoods” in the war-torn country.
Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, such as Lebanon and Turkey, are seen by some as a burden to these countries’ food supplies. However, a May 2014 report by the World Food Programme (WFP) indicates food consumption in these countries appears to be considerably stable given the amount of refugees entering bordering countries.
To the relief of both Syrians and observers of the crisis, the region has experienced some positive news during the past month.
Several weeks ago, the Red Cross pledged to donate food rations to 60,000 people in Aleppo in both rebel and government areas of the city.
Last week, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the United States will pledge more than $290 million to the country in humanitarian aid. The aid package includes $135 million dedicated to providing food assistance through the WFP.
With the civil war continuing to impact the nation’s economy, an improvement in drought conditions may not be enough to stabilize food security within the region. A more sustained international effort by wealthy nations to provide food aid is the most likely immediate answer to the crisis.
— Ethan Safran
Sources: World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Syria HR, U.S. Department of State, British Broadcasting Corporation
Photo: Eco Watch
Farmers Hungry for Land
For years it has been a common idea that providing impoverished communities with farmland could be a key strategy in fighting global poverty. After all, if these communities are given the land, are taught how to properly grow crops and are then left to tend to the land themselves, the cycle of poverty might finally be broken.
Unfortunately, the opposite is occurring, which only serves to increase world hunger.
According to a recent report released by the nonprofit organization GRAIN, small farmers are losing farmland at an alarming rate. It is difficult to determine who exactly owns the farmland in many countries since there is no set definition of a small or family farm, but GRAIN was able to determine that small farmers own approximately 25 percent of the world’s farmland using various measurements. If the farmland in China and India is excluded, however, then this approximation is decreased to only 17 percent.
Ironically, even though these small farmers occupy that small portion of farmland, they are actually responsible for providing most of the world’s food. According to Frederic Mousseau at the Oakland Institute, these small farmers have the ability to produce food for 9 billion people, showing that these farmers, rather than large corporate farms, should be given the farmland.
Not only are these small farms more productive, but GRAIN also argues that they are better for the environment. Along with producing more food, these farmers tend to practice agro-ecological farming, meaning that they show more care for the soil and do not emit as much carbon dioxide in comparison to large corporate farms.
As an international nonprofit organization, GRAIN works to support small farmers, specifically those in Latin America, Africa and Asia. In the early 1980s, this organization was formed with the goal of bringing back genetic diversity on farms, and GRAIN has since then formed partnerships with both local and national groups to complete research, advocacy and other collaborative projects, such as its new report “Hungry for Land.”
To gather enough comprehensive information, GRAIN not only used data from every country, but also statistics from the U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization.
Despite differences that exist in approximations of the amount of small farms that occupy farmland, the key issue of small farmers losing farmland remains. Small farms not only play an essential role in feeding the world, but also in the fight against global poverty, which is why this land reform movement needs to get back on track.
— Meghan Orner
Sources: GRAIN, Oakland Institute, Inter Press Service
Breakthrough Discovered in the Treatment of TB in Children
New findings in tuberculosis among children could mean that diagnosing the disease could be faster, cheaper and more effective for the millions of people infected by the disease each year.
Tuberculosis (TB) is the second largest killer due to a single infectious agent worldwide, only following HIV/AIDS, and is the leading killer of people with HIV. The ones most affected by the disease are low to middle-income countries, where upwards of 95 percent of TB deaths occur.
Developing countries where malnutrition and compromised immune systems affect the overwhelming majority see the most cases of TB. Even though all groups are at risk, children and young adults are at a greater risk of contracting the disease.
The disease is very difficult to diagnose in children — the early symptoms of TB are also present in dozens of other illnesses — and by the time a positive diagnosis is reached, the disease has already spread throughout the lungs, brain and other organs.
In 2012 alone, there were 530,000 cases of TB in children, and out of the children who were HIV-negative, 74,000 died of the disease because of late and improper diagnosis.
A better diagnosis is needed so that doctors can start treating TB earlier (in its early stages) for better chances of overcoming the disease and so children who show false positives for TB do not need to go through unnecessary treatment.
Health staff in several poor countries have been using a standard test for TB which has failed 93 percent of the time, showing false negatives, leaving thousands of infected children untreated.
Recently, after seven years of study and examining the blood of 2,800 children, an international team of researchers discovered that TB can be positively identified by examining 51 genes.
Over 80 percent of cases were discovered positive for TB by examining this specific gene signature. Researchers examined the blood samples to see which genes were activated or suppressed in samples testing positive.
It was found that TB could be distinguished from other diseases in 51 of the 30,000 genes that make up the human genome. A “risk score” was developed from the examination of this gene signature, and when tested, over 80 percent of the samples were accurately diagnosed positive for TB. Tests that were found negative ruled out TB as a diagnosis with just as much accuracy.
“Childhood TB is a major problem in African hospitals. An accurate test for childhood TB would be an enormous breakthrough, enabling earlier diagnosis, reducing long hospital admissions for investigation of TB suspects, and limiting the number of children treated inappropriately,” said head researcher Brian Eley. Eley is part of the University of Cape Town and lead the clinical study in South Africa.
Early, accurate diagnosis of TB would lead to reducing deaths related to TB in children. The discovery of what these 51 key genes demonstrate in relation to TB will help lead the way to a significant global decrease in the disease that currently affects millions.
— Jerilynn Haddow
Sources: WHO, IRIN Africa, Wellcome
Photo: Blogspot
NGO Under Investigation for Violating Anti-Homosexuality Act
LGBT rights seem to have a place in the politics of almost every nation in the world these days. The topic is one of the most polarizing as well. Some countries are spearheading the movement with full inclusiveness for LGBT citizens. Others, like the United States, seem to be floating somewhere in the middle. And then there are the countries pushing hard in the opposite direction, such as Russia.
However, when it comes to anti-gay legislation, the government of Uganda is in a league of its own. In February of this year, lawmakers in Uganda essentially made it illegal to be gay by passing the Anti-Homosexuality Act. The bill makes the promotion of homosexuality, in every general sense, punishable. The price to pay for the ultimate offense – actually being gay – is a life sentence.
The legislation also extends for interacting with LGBT people. Failure to report homosexual suspicion to the government will earn time behind bars. Even knowingly housing or renting an apartment to a gay person could warrant up to five years in prison.
In recent history, societies across the world have met very significant ethical milestones that make Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act seem absurd. Doesn’t the Ugandan government, or any government for that matter, have more pressing issues than bedroom behavior that need attention? Would the Ugandan government actually spend the time and energy to enforce the law?
Apparently so.
The Refugee Law Project, a Uganda-based nongovernmental organization, recently came under investigation by the government over allegations of “promoting homosexuality and lesbianism.” Whether or not the NGO actually violated the Anti-Homosexuality Act is still being disputed as the investigation takes place.
The RLP operates at the School of Law of Makerere University in Uganda. Its aim is to enhance the mental health and psychosocial well-being of refugees and displaced people. The organization also explicitly states its intention to enforce sexuality and gender rights for those in need, which may have been a cause for government scrutiny.
The Refugee Law Project has taken to social media to inform the public that its operations are still running despite some interference. The organization has halted its one-on-one work with refugees at the moment, however. Some say that this inherently threatens the Refugee Law Project’s ability to accomplish its mission.
The standing of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda is debated on ethical grounds for human rights, but it has also been criticized as a scapegoat tool to target groups and individuals critical of President Yoweri Museveni’s regime. Regardless, the legislation takes significant time and energy to enact and reinforce – time and energy that could be better spent helping groups in need rather than ostracizing people further.
— Edward Heinrich
Sources: Advocate, BBC, Refugee Law Project
Photo: Al Jazeera American
Rape as a Weapon of War
Rape and sexual violence are used as weapons of war because they are inexpensive and have longer lasting effects than guns or other weapons. UNICEF has noted that sexual violence “erodes the fabric of a community in a way that few weapons can.” Sexual violence and rape not only have negative, long-term impacts on women, but also their children, their families and their communities.
The effects are far reaching. Women suffer both psychologically and physically, as well as socially and economically.
When women are victims of sexual violence, they often suffer physically from persistent pain, fistula and infertility. Women can also contract HIV or other STDs, that put them at a severely disadvantaged position for the rest of their lives. In instances where women are injured so severely that they are unable to work, they suffer economically as well.
Psychological effects can emerge years later and have a long lasting impact including depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), low self esteem and suicidal thoughts.
During conflict, women are at risk for being victims of sexual violence, and in post-conflict societies, women are at risk of the social impacts resulting from being raped or experiencing sexual violence. Using rape as a weapon of war causes long lasting impact on the lives of the victims.
Due to the stigma of rape, women are often forced from their families or divorced by their husbands. This can be extremely problematic in societies where a woman’s economic security depends on marriage. When women are isolated, they are often forced into a life of poverty.
In instances where women become pregnant after being raped, they are isolated from their communities for birthing an “enemy child.” This is detrimental to a woman’s well-being in a multitude of ways, as they are cut from communities that once helped support them. The mental impact is equally severe, while it is even further enhanced by the economic impact of having to raise a child.
On the other hand, societies where a woman’s value is dependent on her ability to have children, infertility as a result of being raped or a victim of sexual violence can seriously affect a woman’s social standing and perceived worth.
Sexual violence and rape as weapons of war damage entire families and communities whether women stay within them or are outcast. As women are isolated, communities are broken. If they stay, men are affected as they feel they have failed in their role as “protector.” The physical, mental, social and economic impacts felt by women, men and children can last decades and even multiple generations.
— Kim Tierney
Sources: Harvard, The International Campaign to Stop Rape and Gender Violence in Conflict, ODI
Photo: Woodmark
Chemists Develop Solution to Water Crisis
If you think back to your days as a kindergartner, you may remember the first time you learned the water cycle. Equipped with a blue crayon, you replicated what your teacher described in a simple picture: rain falls, people drink it, the water evaporates and the whole thing repeats. You learned that water is renewable.
But renewable does not mean unlimited, a fact constantly recognized by the 780 million people who lack access to clean drinking water.
Freshwater, the largest source of our drinking water, makes up only 2.5 percent of the planet’s water. Only 1 percent of freshwater is actually available, as most of it is frozen. This leaves 0.007 percent of the Earth’s water left for an ever-growing population that exceeds 7 billion. This is a water crisis.
“Why can’t we use ocean water?” one might ask. The answer is, well, we can.
Desalination, the removal of salt from saltwater, makes the use of ocean water possible. But breaking the strong bonds that salt forms with water molecules requires a lot of energy, and this energy is expensive.
As Peter Gleick, president of the environmental think-tank Pacific Institute, says, “It can cost from just under $1 to well over $2 to produce one cubic meter (264 gallons) of desalted water from the ocean.”
Considering that 99 percent of water-related illnesses occur in developing countries, desalination is simply an unrealistic option for most who suffer from the water crisis.
But what if there were some way to desalinate without such steep energy requirements?
A team of scientists believe they know how to do so.
Martin Bazant and Daosheng Deng of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a process that they believe will more efficiently and effectively desalinate water. They call it “shock electrodialysis.”
Today, the two cheapest methods of desalination are reverse osmosis and electrodialysis.
Reverse osmosis works by pumping water through a membrane that does not allow salts to pass. Although it requires less energy than older methods, it works too slowly.
Building on reverse osmosis, electrodialysis tried the opposite: pumping salts through an electrified membrane until only pure water is left. This process is significantly cheaper than reverse osmosis but is not without shortcomings. It fails to decontaminate water of dirt and bacteria without additional filtration methods.
Bazant and Deng say that shock electrodialysis can produce clean, bacteria-free drinking water in one step. How? They placed an additional filter made of porous glass near the electrified membrane. Based on Bazant and Deng’s observations, dirt particles and bacteria are unable to fit through the tiny pores in the glass material.
If it turns out that this MIT development can be produced at a low cost on a large scale, shock electrodialysis could provide millions of people with access to drinking water.
– Shehrose Mian
Sources: UNICEF, National Geographic, Scientific American, Technology Review
Photo: Technology Review
New High Commissioner For the UN
Prince Zeid al Hussein, longtime Jordan diplomat, ambassador and former U.N. peacekeeper, has been nominated to replace Navi Pillay as the new high commissioner for human rights for the U.N. Currently serving as the U.N. Ambassador for Jordan, Zeid has built a strong career rallying behind such issues as international justice and sexual violence. If appointed, many hope his position will help bring a voice to the Middle East, specifically at a time where many individual rights in the area are under strain.
Zeid will be replacing Navi Pillay, a South-African born woman who was the first female to have started a law practice in her home province of Natal in 1967. Pillay has additionally served on the South African High Court and for the U.N. General Assembly for a total of eight years.
Pillay, whose four-year term was extended for two years, has worked to fight against domestic violence, and to improve economic, social and cultural rights.
Many hope Zeid’s new position will work to give answers to some of the injustice happening in the Middle East, and Zeid seems to be obliging. Showing interest in addressing horrific abuses in the three-year conflict in Syria, Zeid’s future position may bring as many burdens as it does advantages.
“Obviously a challenge is that he has to be willing to speak frankly about the record of silencing civil society, crushing peaceful protests, which is endemic in that region at this stage,” said Peggy Hicks, global advocacy director for Human Rights Watch.
Jordan, with help from Luxembourg and Australia, has been working on a draft which would provide humanitarian aid into Syria through four border crossings without government approval. Hopeful that the new position will explore new possibilities for the U.N., fellow diplomats have continued to offer praise for Zeid’s nomination. “Great choice,” said France’s Gerard Araud, via Twitter. “A committed defender of human rights and international law.”
Zeid has appointed Dina Kawar as Jordan’s new representative to the U.N.
— Nicholas Magnanti
Sources: Fox News, DW, DNA India
Photo: Free Beacon