Reading “Inundation” in the Annual Editions Anthropology book caused me to realize that I completely take resources around me for granted, like water. After reading the article a couple of days ago, I passed by this water fountain and decided to take a picture. Water is essential for daily living, and is readily available wherever I turn—-sinks, showers, toilets, water fountains, and even refrigerators are sources of clean water. It is available for purchase in any store I walk into, or any vending machine I approach. I can take a 15 minute shower with warm water and drink some whenever I am thirsty. This all seems obvious, but the thought behind this is, what if we didn't have clean water in the US for daily living? In contrast, the Kiribati people are having a hard time surviving with their subsistence lifestyle, which is being affected by climate change. Blair and Beck wrote, “As ever-higher high tides penetrate these atolls’ porous coral foundations, they foul the only reliable source of fresh water” (p179). I can’t imagine living among a population where over 95% of the children have intestinal worms due to bacteria in their water, let alone having only brackish water to drink when I am thirsty! Life for me has been very easy, and I have never had to deal with actual hunger or thirst. It is always a punch in the face to realize that I have all the basic nutrition and resources that I need to survive, while others are completely struggling to get by.
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