A survey across 141 countries found that more than 52 percent of respondents “anticipate serious harm from drinking water in the next two years,” according to a recent study. Researchers from Northwestern University and UNC found that in the United States, despite over 97 percent of the population having access to clean water, around 40 percent of people anticipated harm. The lowest rate was reported in Singapore (0.
9 percent) and the highest was reported in Zambia (54.3 percent). The findings showed that having clean water access is not about building more infrastructure, “but a lot more about public perceptions of safety and trust,” the study’s lead author, Joshua D.
Miller, a postdoctoral student at the University of North Carolina, told The Epoch Times. “We had originally thought it was around maybe about 2.2 billion, but as people started to aggregate more data and try to make some new water quality estimates .
.. it’s now doubled .
.. So that suggests to me that people’s perceptions are already ahead of where we are in the water quality world,” Miller said.
“People have a good sense through taste and smell and historical experiences of experiencing harm from water knowing whether it’s safe or not to drink water.” On the other hand, Miller highlighted that people’s perceptions drive behaviors that shape their health decisions and outcomes. Several factors may explain why different countries have different rates of anticipation of harm.
Among these.