ABSTRACT
Pollution, according to Lord Ritchie-Calder, is the result of avarice and ignorance (Symposium on the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 1979). Avarice, because our current economic system does not take into account the costs of environmental degradation – we profit by polluting. Ignorance, because highly centralized waste-water treatment and the invisible nature of much water pollution remove us from the impact of our actions. To tackle the problem of water pollution, we need to address these underlying causes.
