Water Conservation and the Drought in America

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As we all know, water is essential for mankind's survival. However, people seem to believe that our water supply is endless since there is more water than land on this Earth. Water regenerates and is redistributed through evaporation, making it seem endlessly renewable. So why worry?

Actually, only one percent of the world's water has the capability of being used by us. About ninety-seven percent is salty seawater, and two percent is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. That only leaves one percent of the precious water that is to be used by not only people, but used by animals, plants, and food. Dehydration, which is the lack of water, will kill us faster than starvation, which is the lack of food. Since the plants and animals we eat also depend on water, lack of it could cause both dehydration and starvation. Water that looks drinkable can contain harmful elements, which could cause illness and death if ingested (Eliasson, 2011).

To further deplete our water scarce supply, natural disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, and tornadoes, pose a great peril. However, one natural disaster stands above the rest. This natural disaster is called a drought. Drought, in my opinion, is the worst natural disaster of all. It not only affects us with a dry weather and uncomfortable heat waves, it also affects agriculture, and even drastically change the way we live about (Eliasson, 2011).

That is why I, as a fellow inhabitant of Earth, urge people today to conserve water to combat the evils of drought. We, as people, must think of not only how this will affect us. But how it will affect our children- and even grandchildren. I would not like to merely “ask” people to conserve water, I would like to enforce them to d...

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Eliasson, Jan, and Susan Blumenthal. “Dying for A Drink of Clean Water.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 20 Sept. 2011. Web. 3 Nov. 2014. .

Gleick, Peter. "The U.S. Is Years Behind the Rest of the World on Water Issues" Alternet. N.p., 20 Aug. 2009. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

"How Does Drought Affect Our Lives?" National Drought Mitigation Center. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

Postel, Sandra. “History of Drought and Water Conservation.” University of Nebraska , n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

Smith, Gar. “Water Wars,. Water Cures.” 1 May 2013: 24-25. Earth Island Journal. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

"Tennessee Valley Authority." Tennessee Valley Authority. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.

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