Where Is the Most Dangerous Drinking Water?
What could be simpler than drinking a glass of water? In the UK, when you turn on the tap, you assume what comes out will be drinkable. Indeed, the UN General Assembly recognises access to safe drinking water as a human right. And yet, more than a quarter of the world's population lives in water-stressed countries, and a similar number use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces, according to the World Health Organization. Unfortunately, national wealth can be a deciding factor in whether a person can pour a safe glass of water to drink. According to the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), "good [environmental health] policy results are associated with wealth (GDP per capita), meaning that economic prosperity makes it possible for nations to invest in policies and programs that lead to desirable outcomes." To make matters worse, the heavy industry poorer countries employ in the attempt to level up can further compromise the local water. The EPI index is de