When traveling to China, there are many attractions to see and different varieties of food to eat. However, one of the places in China that does not attract tourists is the Gobi Desert. The Gobi Desert is located in northwestern China and part of southern Mongolia. Temperatures in the Gobi are extremely cold and can range from negative forty degrees Farenheit in the winter to one hundred degrees Farenheit in the summer (Sternberg 64). However, the Gobi Desert causes variations of issues for the people living in and near the desert. People that live in southern Mongolia and northern China struggle with the water quality and quantity being affected by desertification, lack of water quantity, and climate change (Ray).
Desertification, the process
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Around 2013, mining in the Gobi Desert had begun. The mine is named Oyu Tolgoi and is located in the southern part of the Gobi Desert (“Conserving the Gobi’s Most Precious Resource”). The Gobi Desert needed to be mined for farmers to receive water for crops and cattle. Droughts for farmers and herders are major issues because it resulted in their cattle dying. Farmers that live in the desert have turned small parts of the desert into farms and have collected groundwater as well (Sternberg 64). Thankfully for the Oyu Tolgoi, farmers and herders could receive the water they needed for their animals and cattle. Only problem is, cattle is an issue for the other cities that need water. The cattle slosh in the water and make it dirty (Ray). Many people that live near the Gobi Desert receive bad water from the mine. Some mining has resulted in pollution, which makes it difficult for the herder to fetch water for their cattle (Ray). “And in 2013, out of all the water used for production at Oyu Tolgoi, 84 per cent was reused” (“Conserving the Gobi’s Most Precious Resource”). Which is another reason why the water can sometimes become polluted (“Conserving the Gobi’s Most Precious
o Has created more sanitary water but less is available. Goats have also destroyed the grass. And each cattle post now has a permanent population of houseflies.
In Southern China, the Yangzi River provides transportation and irrigation throughout China. The Yangzi River, also referred to as “China’s blessing,” rarely floods and creates a warm, long growing season. The land around the river is lush and ideal conditions to grow vegetables, fruits, and grains. In contrast, the Yellow River of the North is essentially opposite. The river is often referred to as “China’s sorrow.” The weather is cold and dry and it leads to harsh seasons with drought, flooding, and frost.
On the heart (center) of California is a flat area with miles and miles of farms and up to 230 different crops. The central valley agriculture is essential to the United States; it not only delivers almost half of the produce but also helps the economy by also giving more job opportunities (California Department of food and agriculture, 2014). Many families depend on the central valley agriculture to survive economically in the United States. It is a well-known fact that rain and snows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains are a very important element in the central valley. No rain in the central valley can cause many devastating issues to occur quickly. Recently in the year of 2013 California received less rainfall than years before. The small amount of water the central valley is receiving is harming not only to the land but humans and animals as well. It’s destroying the habitats of animals with forest fires caused from the dry spells occurring. The central valley is going through a drought, so much that around this time of year the central valley usually accumulates enough rain for the necessities in the valley, agriculture for example. This year, however, has been different, the central valley hasn’t received enough water and this has caused a drought in the valley. Water is an important element in this world for not only human life, but for the environment in general, a shortage of water supply can bring issues to the environment and those living in it. The central valley holds the largest percent of class one soil, not only that, the valley grows a third of all the produce being grown in the United States, that’s more than 230 crops that are being grown in the central valley. However, this drought isn’t only affecting the resident...
... upon solution to water access disagreements, social and political powers must be willing to compromise since the risks associated with disagreements regarding water allocation may be too great. As stated by Shiyyab (2004), “If sustained over a period of time, these problems will directly affect social harmony, domestic stability and eventually, regional peace.” (p. 30). Investments must be made by industry as well as local and national governments for purification of wastewater so that clean water, when needed, will be available. The necessity of obtaining water is a fundamental human right and,
The day have broken dry and bright in the Gobi Desert, extraordinarily dry and bright, the young girl walked through the trail that the elders have pointed her to. It must be over 45 degrees. The elders of the nomadic tribe have once said never to travel if the temperature exceeds 40 degrees but the young girl was to prove them wrong. This trail leads to the southeast edge of the desert, China. She had always imagine and dreamt what China would look like under the golden ray of sunshine, would it shine bright like a ruby, reflecting it’s breath taking architect or would it be a rusty old country fill with 500 years of history, 500 years worth of knowledge and culture. The young girl had beg and yearn to go to China, to see the great wall, the Forbidden City and other great architect within the mysterious, Sino country. She have stopped on top of a slope, staring at the sky, it was about ten o’clock, two more hours until she will have to find a shade or shelter to hide from the boiling heat of the midday sun. She had looked down from the slope and the nomadic village is now just a mere dot, next to her was a dog with the fur of gold. It was a gift from the elders before she set off to a journey longer than she will ever imagine. She peered through the sunray and saw a thin line; this hairline is the trail that was build for the villagers to travel.
The meat industry consumes over half of all water used for all purposes in the United States. Most of this water is used to irrigate cattle feedlots. Water utilized to produce 1 pound of meat amounts to 2,500 gallons. In comparison, the water utilized to produce 1 pound of wheat amounts to 25 gallons. In Texas, a quarter of the groundwater has already been used to grow crops for the expanding cattle feedlots and wells are drying up across the northern part of the state. Also, cattle contribute to water pollution. Cows are routinely washed and the runoff containing manu...
2.1 billion people in countries that are undergoing a form of urbanization have inaccessibility to clean drinking water as a result of pollution, poverty and poor management of resources. Water resources are being depleted by agriculture and energy production
worried of the phenomenon that has led to the shortage of water for the agricultural and domestic
Residents of Southern or Coastal California may not realize the extensive issues that dry climate has caused on one of the state’s most profitable industries. Agriculture is not just a way of life in California’s Central Valley, it is the way of life for most, in some shape or form. For instance, the Central Valley accounts for just under two percent of the country’s cropland. However, money wise it produces nearly half of the nation’s fruit and nuts (Nijhuis 1). As a result of the drought, water given to farmers to water crops has been reduced. On the contrary, the water being taken from farmers is not going to city use but for environmental use. Water being directed for environmental use can be defined as water that is used to sustain certain ecosystems, national parks, forests, and wetlands. Up to 4.4 million acre-feet of water goes to environmental use annually, meanwhile farmers are being forced to sell dried up fields and find a new way of living. Another issue is that both the people and farms are receiving less water than the state has contracted that they would receive. The state has been truthful to environmentalists however, by providing them with the full amount of water contracted. While conditions have worsened for the agricultural aspect of California, farmers are finding relief in pumping groundwater
...es will have to reduce water use in agriculture in order to satisfy residential and industrial water needs. In both China and India, the two countries that together dominate world irrigated agriculture, substantial cutbacks in irrigation water supplies lie ahead” (Brown pg.1).
The distribution of water to the farmers should be managed properly by using some kind of rotation system such as wara bandi.
There are countless sources of water pollutions that exist today due to our industrious and technologically advanced lifestyles. However, the most vexing is caused by the most basic necessity for survival, Agricultural Pollution. Agricultural Pollution is defined as, “ liquid and solid wastes from all types of farming activities, including run-off from pesticide and fertilizer use, and from feedlots; erosion and dust from ploughing; animal manure and carcasses; and crop residues and debris. In essence Agricultural Pollution is a nonpoint source water pollutant since it comes from various locations and cannot be pinpointed” (EPA-web). Although there are many practices already in place that will decrease the pollution, increase productivity, and save farmers money in the long run, the farmers are careful to change practices.
People don’t appreciated the many advantages that comes with having clean potable water to use, taking it for granted. A lot of clean useful water is wasted by humans all the time that people don’t care about saving water because they have easy access to it. Clean and safe drinkable water resources are getting scarce as the population grows. The world is facing many problems, but the most important needed to survive, is water. Water is getting low in many countries, therefore habitants are suffering the misfortune of not having the reliable source of clean water. Today many countries are having water shortages; meaning rivers, lakes, streams and groundwater are not enough to rely on for supplying water demands. For example, California is facing a drastic water shortage, the natural water resources are not enough to fulfill their water demands. Water shortage affects the agricultural sector, so as a consequence the price for production
The problem of water scarcity has increasingly spread throughout the world as of yet, The UN reports that within the next half- century up to 7 billion people in 60 countries which is more than the whole present population will face water scarcity (Sawin “Water Scarcity could Overwhelm the Next Generation”). As well the demand for freshwater has tripled over the past 50 years, and is continuing to rise as a result of population growth and economic development. 70% of this demand derives from agriculture which shows the influence of water on food supply globally as well not just drinking water (Sawin “Water Scarcity could overwhelm the Next Generation”). But increasing water use is not just a matter of the greater number of people needing it to drink and eat; it also comes from pollution and misuse of water supplies, by either dumping or runoff of bacteria or chemicals into water. This also “causes other pollutions as well such as soil and air pollution, accelerating wetland damage and human caused global warming” (Smith and Thomassey 25). According to UN report, recent estimates suggest that climate change will account for about 20 percent of the increase in global water scarcity in coming decades.
Global warming is one of the main causes, which leads to the lack of water and drought. A drought-like condition exists in most of India’s part. Government of India states that 68% of the country is disposed to the drought, which (consequences are) leads to massive migration of people to more favorable places, famine, conflicts among inhabitants. India is known in the world as one of the biggest producers of water-intensive crops such as rice, sugarcane and wheat. According to a survey done by Grail Research, approximately 82% of total water is used for agricultural consumption and 90% of it is employed for irrigation of rice, wheat and sugarcane (Grail Research, LLC, 2009). There are several solutions which could lead to the decr...