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9 Nw. U. J. Int'l Hum. Rts. 103 (2010-2011)
Water Scarcity and the Recognition of the Human Right to Safe Freshwater

handle is hein.journals/jihr9 and id is 103 raw text is: Copyright 2010 by Northwestern University School of Law Volume 9, Number 1 (Fall 2010) Northwestern Journal of International Human Rights Water Scarcity and the Recognition of the Human Right to Safe Freshwater Elliot Curry I. INTRODUCTION: With constant media attention directed at the impending energy crisis and the search for sustainable solutions, a potentially more threatening issue looms in the background. Every year, millions of people die from a lack of clean, fresh drinking water. Beyond a few scientific journals and United Nations' (UN) summit publications,' major media outlets choose to ignore these staggering figures, focusing their scientific reporting instead on the impending obsolescence of fossil fuels. Water is an essential, life-giving force; its scarcity demands our attention. Even with the coordinated efforts of all nations, future water scarcity may result in a health and financial crisis of unparalleled magnitude. Because water is a contributing element to nearly every bodily function, the human body cannot survive for more than a few days without it.2 From waste disposal to the healthy functioning of the immune system, the body demands safe freshwater for survival. As used in this comment, fresh denotes desalinated water, sufficient suggests an adequate amount of water for personal needs, and both clean and safe refer to water free from harmful contaminates.4 Though arguably one of the greatest threats ever to the survival of our planet,5 nations remain unresponsive, and those who seek to raise awareness of the problem are called doomsayers. Water-related diseases, most commonly attributed to water scarcity, have taken more children's lives in the last ten years than the combined deaths of those lost in armed combat worldwide over the last sixty years.6 Yet water conservation policies rarely extend beyond reducing the frequency of watering lawns or washing cars. Current access to an abundance of water has permitted the western world to turn a deaf ear to the impending crisis. But the escalating issues associated with water scarcity-increasing prevalence of water-related illnesses, famine, and eventual fatalities-will prevent this area of the world from maintaining its apathy. * Elliot Curry is a 2011 J.D. Candidate at Northwestern University School of Law. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University, 2006. 1 GREGG EASTERBROOK, A MOMENT ON THE EARTH: THE COMING AGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL OPTIMISM 579 (Penguin Books 1995). 2 LINDsAY KNIGHT, THE RIGHT TO WATER 6 (Gregory Hartd ed., World Health Organization 2003). 3 Id. 4 ASHFAQ KHALFAN ET AL., MANUAL ON THE RIGHT TO WATER AND SANITATION 11 (Maria Katsabanis ed., COHRE, AAAS, SDC and UN-HABITAT 2007). s Maude Barlow & Tony Clarke, Who Owns Water?, The Nation, Aug. 15, 2002, http:// www.thenation.com/article/who-owns-water. 6 KNIGHT, supra note 2, at 7.

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