Allport, Gordon. “The Language of Prejudice.” Language Awareness. Ed. Paul Eschholz. Alfred Rosa. Virginia Clark. Boston: Bedford St. Martin, 2013. 324-333. Print.

Language is arguably the most powerful tool in the world. Humans form certain stigmas to certain groups and is generally unintentional. Things like stereotypes are a common thing in our society. Even a name connected to a certain race, brings certain allegations about that person, may it be negative or positive. These negative allegations about a group of people eventually leads to prejudice. Prejudice can have enormous power over whole groups of people, like the social stigma of the Communist party. The author of this essay Gordon Allport graduated from Harvard College in 1919 and later became a full professor there. Allport is famous for his outspoken stances regarding racial prejudice and received the Gold Medal Award of the American Psychological Foundation in 1963.  I will use the bases of prejudice and discrimination discussed in this paper to help interpret the social aspects of the growing inequality of water between the rich and poor.

 

Barlow, Maude. "The Water Crisis Comes Home." The Nation. 2015. 2-14. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.

With the United Nations reporting that we have 15 years to avert a full blown water crisis, it is clear to everyone now that this water is no longer an issue for poor countries in the south. With growing poverty in rich countries, there is now a Third World in the First World. The majority of those living in poverty cannot pay water bills, and cutoffs are growing across the country. It is estimated that the United States has to spend $1 trillion in the coming years for water infrastructure. There is a growing fear that the government will not be able to spend that amount, so the responsibility will fall on the citizens, by them paying higher water rates. It’s happening even now, with water rates increasing by 40 percent since 2010 and no expectations of it decreasing. The pollution and over extraction of groundwater and water from rivers has caused great damage to developing countries as well as rich countries. The Nation was founded by abolitionists in 1865 and since then been considered a reputable. Maude Barlow, the author of this article is the National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians and chairs Food and Watch’s board. Barlow is also a bestselling co-author of 16 books, and is the recipient of eight honorary doctorates. I am planning to use the studies provided in this periodical of the ever increasing water rates across the United States to make my readers understand that the issues of water are already happening here and is no longer just a crisis for poor countries.

 

Pannu, Camille. "Drinking Water and Exclusion: A Case Study from California's Central Valley." California Law Review. 2012. 223-268. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.

Many people in the United States have the perception that water is distributed equally throughout the nation. However, a case study done in California’s Central Valley indicates to an increasing inequality of water. Unincorporated communities (communities that do not have a local government) lack basic infrastructure, including paved roads, sewage, and emergency services. These low-income communities also have the highest rates of water contamination exposure in the state. With the lack of basic utilities in these communities suffer from extreme poverty and racial discrimination. Even with these known issues in these communities, they receive very little funding to address the area’s water infrastructure, in turn, threatening their security and survival. The California Law Review is a reliable legal publication at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law which was founded in 1912. The publication publishes six times annually on a variety of topics in legal scholarship. The California Law Review is edited and published entirely by students at Berkeley Law.  I will use this source to show my readers that this inequality in accessible water is already occurring here in California.

 

Ram, F., Abhishek Singh, and Usha Ram. "Human Rights Approach To Maternal & Child Health: Has India Fared Well?". Indian Journal of Medical Research. 2013. 721-727.  Web. 7 Oct. 2015.

The United Nations has declared that human rights are “basic rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to, regardless of nationality, sex national or ethnic origin, race, religion, language, or other status” and that we must promote respect for these fundamental freedoms. The constitution of India makes it mandatory for the government to fulfill the right to quality health care and that it should be accessible and affordable to everyone. The ability to access to quality water is the most basic right to achieving good health care. However, data indicated that the richest household were the ones that had access to improved sources of drinking water. While the poor households get the short end of the stick. The Indian Journal of Medical Research is a reputable peer-reviewed medical journal. It is published on behalf of the Indian Council of Medical Research since 1977. I intend to use this article to support my thesis of this growing inequality of drinking water. Also, using the fact that India is also a democracy like our own country, with a constitution that ensures the rights of the people and how even then, the poor are being discriminated.

 

Salina, Irena. “Flow: For Love of Water.” Close Inspection Media. Youtube, 23 Jun 2015. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.

With the worlds depleting fresh water resources a handful of corporations have been in a race to own as much as possible. The privatization of water has brought devastating consequences everywhere. Developing countries are often times bullied into privatizing their water and with privatization, water prices soared. The poor cannot afford to pay for water, and resort to drinking out of contaminated sources. These corporations view water as an economic good to be distributed for profit. Privatization of water is happening throughout the globe, including the Unites States and Europe. These corporations disrupt the environment around them by polluting and pumping too much water. On December 10th, 2008 this award winning documentary investigation was screened at the United Nations 60th Anniversary of the Declaration Human Rights. Irena Salina, the director of this movie started her career at 15 as a radio journalist and since then has received several awards for her film works. This documentary provides information on the endangerments of the privatization of water, and I will use this to support my claim of the poor not having access to water simply because they cannot afford it.

 

Sultana, Farhana. "Water, Water Everywhere, but Not a Drop to Drink: Pani Politics (Water Politics) In Rural Bangladesh." International Feminist Journal of Politics. 2007. 494-502. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.

In rural Bangladesh the effects of arsenic contamination of drinking water have caused prejudice against those who have arsenic poisoning. Socially, women are tasked to collect water for their family. Unfortunately when their local water source has been found to contain high levels of arsenic they are forced to find a new farther source. Those who get poisoned from arsenic show symptoms through their skin and are segregated because they are considered contagious. The International Feminist Journal of Politics is a reputable source because it is an academic journal that covers international relations focusing on gender issues of global politics. The author of this article is Farhana Sultana, who is a Professor of Geography at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University. Farhana Sultana also has a book that focuses a lot on the issue of water and is called The Right to Water: Politics, Governance and Social Struggles. I will use this article in my essay by showing the hardships women have to go through just to get water to drink and also show how society segregates those who cannot afford to have safe drinking water.

 

Zakar, Muhammad Zakria, Rubeena Zakar, and Florian Fischer. "Climate Change-Induced Water Scarcity: A Threat to Human Health." South Asian Studies. 2012. 293-312. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.

Human caused climate change is one of the main factors to the increasing water scarcity worldwide. Countries will face many problems due to climate change and the capacity of a government to provide health care will be reduced dramatically. What water scarcity does not necessarily mean the availability of water, with the planet being 70 percent water, but the quality of water. Presently, poor countries are already being affected by water scarcity. It is reported that currently 1.2 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water and this figure will be 2.7 to 3.5 billion people by 2025 if effective steps are not taken to mitigate the water scarcity problem. Climate change causes different factors which may headway for political and social conflicts, so water scarcity will have major impacts on populations’ health. South Asian Studies is a reputable research journal out of the University of Punjab, which has been printed and available online since 1984. Muhammad Zakria Zakar, one of the three authors of this article is a professor at the University of Punjab. Rebeena Zakar, second of the three authors is the Chairman of the Public Health and Quantitative Social Research department at the University of Punjab. Third and final author of this paper is Florian Fischer, a professor at the University of Bielefeld in Germany. The evidence of human caused climate change affecting the entire world’s water resources I can use to support my argument on water scarcity and its effects on humans.