Since 1990, 2.6 billion people have benefitted from improved drinking water, but 663 million people worldwide are still without appropriate access to such sources1. According to the United Nations, each day nearly 1,000 children die owing to preventable water- and sanitation-related diseases.
As one of its Sustainable Development Goals, the UN aims to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030. How will this transformation be possible? In this Annual Reviews article collection, experts address the impact clean water has on the environment, our society, and global public health.
1http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation
Clean Water: Public Health Impact
On January 30, 2017, a $722 million class action lawsuit was filed against the Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of more than 1,700 residents impacted by the water crisis in Flint, Michigan2. This is not an isolated problem. Millions of people worldwide depend on water supplies that are contaminated. These articles review the scale of the challenge and discuss research covering improved toxicity screening.
Deregulation and the Assault on Science and the Environment
Jonathan M. Samet and Thomas A. Burke, Annual Review of Public Health
Impacts of Coal Use on Health
Michael Hendryx, Keith J. Zullig, and Thomas A. Burke, Annual Review of Public Health
The Health Effects of Low Level Exposure to Lead
Herbert L. Needleman and David Bellinger, Annual Review of Public Health
Global Water Pollution and Human Health
René P. Schwarzenbach, Thomas Egli, Thomas B. Hofstetter, Urs von Gunten, and Bernhard Wehrli, Annual Review of Environment and Resources
Future Challenges to Protecting Public Health from Drinking-Water Contaminants
Eileen A. Murphy, Gloria B. Post, Brian T. Buckley, Robert L. Lippincott, and Mark G. Robson, Annual Review of Public Health
Cyanobacterial Toxins in Freshwater and Food: Important Sources of Exposure to Humans
Jiyuoung Lee, Seungjun Lee, and Xuewen Jiang, Annual Review of Food Science and Technology
2http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/04/us/flint-water-crisis-fast-facts/index.html
Clean Water: A Sustainable Development Goal
These articles review the socioeconomic factors correlating with the health of various populations worldwide. Evidence suggests that people from less developed countries experience greater challenges in accessing clean water. They are also less able to mitigate risks to their water supply through integrated resources management.
Global Groundwater Sustainability, Resources, and Systems in the Anthropocene
Tom Gleeson, Mark Cuthbert, Grant Ferguson, and Debra Perrone, Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences
China's Environment on a Metacoupled Planet
Jianguo Liu, Andrés Viña, Wu Yang, Shuxin Li, Weihua Xu, and Hua Zheng, Annual Review of Environment and Resources
Clean Water for Developing Countries
Aniruddha B. Pandit and Jyoti Kishen Kumar, Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Climate Change and Water and Sanitation: Likely Impacts and Emerging Trends for Action
Guy Howard, Roger Calow, Alan Macdonald, and Jamie Bartram, Annual Review of Environment and Resources
Water Security and Society: Risks, Metrics, and Pathways
Dustin Garrick and Jim W. Hall, Annual Review of Environment and Resources
Water Sustainability: Anthropological Approaches and Prospects
Ben Orlove and Steven C. Caton, Annual Review of Anthropology
Integrated Assessment Models of the Food, Energy, and Water Nexus: A Review and an Outline of Research Needs
Catherine L. Kling, Raymond W. Arritt, Gray Calhoun, and David A. Keiser, Annual Review of Resource Economics
The Haves, the Have-Nots, and the Health of Everyone: The Relationship Between Social Inequality and Environmental Quality
Lara Cushing, Rachel Morello-Frosch, Madeline Wander, and Manuel Pastor, Annual Review of Public Health
Clean Water: Conflict in the 21st Century
Our global dependency on clean water leads to increased vulnerability when sources are compromised, whether deliberately or otherwise. These articles review two risks: restricted access to clean water owing to conflict over transboundary resources, and deliberate, malicious contamination to water sources.
Water and Bioterrorism: Preparing for the Potential Threat to U.S. Water Supplies and Public Health
Patricia L. Meinhardt, Annual Review of Public Health
Shared Waters: Conflict and Cooperation
Aaron T. Wolf, Annual Review of Environment and Resources
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