What is the future for today’s grandchildren if we do not address this issue at once — lots of internal disorder, rampant diarrhea and a multitude of skin problems? Education and understanding are needed to solve these problems, unfortunately most people over 30 are not aware of what can be done, or how.

Take advice from the teenagers; they have to be aware as it is their future. Do not blame the poor because they do not know, for the majority does not know. When you mention grey water you can see the blank look you receive as they ask what it is — they seem to think it is colored water.

Think about the solutions and try to resolve them so you can say to your grandchildren we were educated.

Do you need four cars to impress the neighbors and to use precious water keeping them clean; show your children you are thinking of their future?

Take a shower instead of a bath; it’s cleaner and conserves water.

Use all washing water to feed your garden; do not let the maid pump out liters of water from the hosepipe. Do it yourself; it will keep you fit and show people you care about the future.

So many simple things, but in Jakarta we seem incapable of comprehending them, or we are not really child-friendly and not worried about their future. Remember technology cannot solve everything.

We all know Jakarta is sinking, and the lower it gets, the more we suck up pollutants. How many people run out of water because their wells run dry? Diarrhea and skin problems are already with us.

We tend to blame the pollution to avoid the real issue which is already here and will not get better.

Water will become the most expensive commodity on earth, and wealth will not guarantee a supply.

Asri Latifah
Jakarta

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