While many outside of the Caribbean see it as a place of beaches and blue waters, the latter doesn’t reflect its reality. Thirty of the Caribbean’s territories critically need water for drinking and washing. Islands such as Saint Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, and Jamaica are comparable to parts of the Middle East in terms of water scarcity. Desalination, the process of turning sea water into drinkable water, is a solution, but can heavily impact the environment. This creates a conundrum.

While drinkable water should be a right for all people, the greenhouse gases and environmental impact of desalination could just be a patch on a bigger issue. Other solutions must be researched so we don’t have to choose between depriving people of a necessity to live or hurting the planet in such a way that it could cause bigger problems later on. For more on the Caribbean’s water plight, click here:: Desalination: how Caribbean islands are ensuring long-term water security