Educate Yourself in the Science of Clean Water at WMCC
We are blessed with an abundance of water here in the North Country. Our weather patterns here in New England usually include plenty of precipitation events, but even if we faced drought conditions, we would still have enough water that we could draw from the aquifers far beneath our feet to cover our basic needs. In the North Country, too, our sparse population has not put a strain on this liquid resource.
We can't take credit for our lovely fresh water, but we can take credit for keeping it clean. This has not always been the case, but with technological advances over the last fifty years, and tighter regulations, we have been able to take in, use, and discharge our water while maintaining its quality.
Not all the people in the world are so lucky. Looking at a globe of the Earth, you would think that, no matter how much the world's population increases, we could never run out of water. Most of the globe is covered in blue, with the oceans, lakes, and rivers taking up more space on the planet than the continents and islands.
You would think we would not have a problem keeping hydrated. That's not the case, because, even though 70 percent of the Earth is covered in water, only three percent of that water is fresh, fit for human consumption. Indeed, water is likely to be the number one problem facing the people of the Earth in the decades to come, long after we have "solved" the other challenges that face us, such as energy. Life as we know it is simply not possible without water.
The cities of the future are going to have to learn to use water much more wisely than they do now. There have been some steps in that direction. In the dry climate of Arizona many residents have finally given up on a green lawn as a remnant from other regions and instead have put in plants that are indigenous to desert regions. Public places, such as schools and restaurants, have already installed water sensors in their restrooms, so that the tap water can't inadvertently be left running.
But what more can we do? As a first step, we can educate ourselves in the science of clean water. As any grade school student who has taken a tour of a water treatment facility knows, there is a science to keeping our water supply clean. There are facilities that treat the water that comes through the taps of those on public water supplies, and treatment plants that rehabilitate the water that comes from the drains of our homes and businesses.
We do have water and wastewater courses here at White Mountains Community College, but you don't have to be pursuing a career in Water Quality Technology to have the issue relevant to your education, or to your life. Next time you're at our main campus building in Berlin, or at our academic centers in Conway, Littleton, and Woodsville, take note of the clean rivers flowing near those facilities. Those communities would not be the commercial centers of their regions today if they had not been settled by the greatest natural resource this is, clean water.
We are blessed with an abundance of water here in the North Country.
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