MDG 7 Athalie Kaye L.

Tan 2009-11870 Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability One of the targets of the Millennium Development Goals is to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2015. To achieve this, a lot of laws and regulations have been imposed that even households can perform. However, not all countries including our own are being strict about these. Fortunately, there were experiments that have been done by other countries which may be practiced by the government. A really helpful way to provide clean water, as they say, is the nanotechnology. This kind of technology makes use of the smallest parts of matter that humans can deal with. There are several approaches that can be done through nanotechnology. One is nanofiltration. Nanofiltration membranes are being applied to serve as a barrier to dissolved salts and micro-pollutants. This helps in separating unwanted microorganisms. Another is the use of nanocatalysts. Because of their catalytic properties, pollutants are chemically degraded instead of simply putting them aside to another location. Third, through combining micro and nanofabrication, scientists have also developed nanomaterials which serve as sensors that are told to be accurate. They are used to detect single cells of biochemical or chemical substances in water. Fourth are magnetic nanoparticles. They can easily bind with contaminants and chemicals and would later be separated from water with the use of a magnet. It is also said that there are times that these same nanoparticles could be recycled though water treatment after having been removed from the harmful materials. Given all these ways, it cant be denied that nanotechnology may really be a big help to one of the worlds problems today. However, this technology is really expensive as it may seem. Because of this, scientists tried to find out if there are alternatives that can be offered to other countries that do not have the ability to afford really expensive technologies. They have disclosed that titanium dioxide nanoparticles can be an alternative to serve as catalysts. Moreover, some researchers argue that the use of nanotechnology may also have its own risks. They say that the improved sensitivity of these nanoparticles might have harmful effects specifically to the lungs. As to how it may cause damage, no one has found out yet. Part of the previous target is to also halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to basic sanitation. Aside from having simplified sewerage system for informal settlements and composting toilets for peri-urban areas, a recommended solution to attain the said target is to have collection and processing centers that can turn waste into energy and valuable products. This is what others call the waste gasification process. Presently, there are already plants that can perform this. This process converts the energy that come from most of the waste that we get rid of every day. They can be converted into electrical power, biogas, transportation fuels, and fertilizers. Obviously, not only can this process help households especially slum dwellers but also the environment itself. In other countries, on the other hand,

they create jobs and profit from collecting and processing of wastes which they would use to help address social needs later on. Summary: A big part of the world today still doesnt have sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Millinenium Development Goal 7 addresses this problem by setting specific targets for 2015 in order to achieve environmental stability. In order to reduce the number of people experiencing this, numerous helpful processes have been developed. One of these is nanotechnology which covers a lot of different approaches which may be used even by the developing countries. Another solution is the waste gasification process wherein energy from wastes are being converted into electrical power, biogas, transportation fuels, fertilizers and other valuable products.

References: State of water in the Philippines < http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/seasia/en/press/reports/the-state-ofwater-in-the-phil.pdf>. Accessed October 2011. Treating the Public Water Supply: What Is In Your Water, and How Is It Made Safe to Drink? <http://www.chemistry.wustl.edu/~edudev/LabTutorials/Water/PublicWaterSupply/PublicWater Supply.html>. Accessed October 2011. Elimination of Pollutants through Nanomaterials. <http://www.ehow.com/about_6436160_elimination-pollutants-through-nanomaterials.html> Accessed October 2011. Nanotechnology for clean water: Facts and figures <http://www.scidev.net/en/features/nanotechnology-for-clean-water-facts-and-figures.html>. Accessed October 2011. Waste Gastification.<http://wppenergy.com/waste-gasification.html>. Accessed October 2011.