A Surprising Barrier to Clean Water - Human Nature

Many times, the barriers to solving human problems and some of the challenges we face in the world is not lack of technical solutions or intellectual capacity or technological wherewithal but human nature itself. While this is saddening, it is also interesting in many ways - considering how people stand in the way of solutions to their problems (sometimes because they just don't understand).

Read this link http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/06/20/193587906/a-surprising-barrier-to-clean-water-human-nature to find an example of such human barrier to solutions.

2 Answers

1. You are right Dorji. Developing countries are grappling with so much more problem that access to clean water and sanitation sometimes does not feature high on the least, especially when you also have to fight hunger, employment and poverty etc... but the fact is that neglecting access to clean water and sanitation or lack of access to clean water for drinking and for sanitation often spawn other problems themselves, such and disease epidemics and other public health problems that reinforce poverty and hunger. This is a terrible fix in which many countries have found themselves which is also weighing down on them. To cap it all, like you said, poor people sometimes having adapted to, or formed the habit of, coping with poor sanitation and environment many times struggle to live up to the new standard and maintain new amenities when access to clean water, sanitation and a better environment is bestowed on them. Because they've never managed such before they might struggle with it. It is a self-reinforcing but vicious cycle.

2. Sadly development country people have so many other problems that the clean water and sanitation is always neglected. This question here is one of habit. Our daily activities are built around habits, 98% of our routine. And its hard to change the mind when they are linked with habits.