Perhaps the most important advancement in human health is access to safe drinking water. Water is an essential nutrient that must always be replaced, making up 60-70% of our bodies roughly. However, the quality of water makes a massive difference. The rise in North American life expectancy from 30 years in the 1850s to 60 years in 1950s is partly credited to safe water practices. The impact of safe water access is felt even today in countries that don’t have that luxury (http://www.schoolofpublicpolicy.sk.ca/_documents/_Tansley%20Lecture/2013%20/Life%20Expectancy_final2.pdf)
This website (http://www.historyofwaterfilters.com/) looks at how advances in water treatment has occured through the years. 4000 years ago, it was understood that pure water tasted better, so despite a lack of knowledge of microbial contamination, a persistent need for water filtration was present. This led to many strategies, such as using sand or coal filters to boiling water to remove impurities (Poor man’s distillation). A major gamechanger was the microscope, which revealed the presence of tiny lifeforms (microbes) in our water. This led to a concerted effort to achieve water purity and sophisticated sand filtration devices started to be installed in a cities water system in the mid-late 1800s. The final piece of the puzzle was the use of chlorine as a disinfectant, which resulted in drastic drops in very common pathogens (cholera, dysentary, typhoid).
I enjoyed going through the website as it talks about a very unappreciated aspect of our lives, which is access to clean drinking water. I always found the enhancement of water quality to be the greatest advance in society (tied with electrical grids). The website outlines the history of water treatment to get to today’s level. I feel that presenting a timeline is very important when talking about a scientific or technological advance. It allows readers to appreciate the work done to get to where we are now. It is important to realize that scientific solutions happen gradually over many generations, and is the effort of many great minds. The website was very complete, painting a picture of how today’s water management systems arose and what strategies are used to provide clean drinking water.
Hopefully I bestowed you with a profound respect for the liquid that comes out of our taps. What did you think about the website? Do you appreciate how they used a timeline to communicate the idea? Are timelines an effective way of presenting a concept, by building up to it gradually? Share your thoughts
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