Introduction on Water
It covers 70% of our planet, makes up 75% of our body, it is necessary for survival and it is declining at a rapid rate (http://www.sscwd.org). It is water. Unfortunately, clean water is rare, almost 1 billion people in developing countries do not have access to water everyday. “Yet, we take it for granted, we waste it, and we even pay too much to drink it from little plastic bottles” (The Water Project). Use of earth’s natural resources should be seen as prosperity, although it is taken for granted, every aspect of daily life revolves around the environment, forcing water conservation to be necessary for future on this planet. Many people grab a water bottle to go as they head to life as normal, others in developing countries spend their lives searching for water that is rarely found. Even if they do obtain water, it is seldom clean and usually comes with the risk of disease. As more developed countries pay a dollar or so for a bottle of water, others in less fortunate places worship water as if it is gold.
As many children around the world attend a privileged school everyday, the idea of missing school due to water-borne illness never crosses their mind, yet for those in less fortunate countries, it is a gift to have the strength and health to attend school on a regular basis. Sickness there is common and many times, water is the cause. “Education is lost to sickness. Economic development is lost while people merely try to survive” (The World Project).
Americans go to the sink knowing with a simple flip of the nosil, clean water will magically appear. It is often presumed that clean water is a given and it is never acknowledged that saving water in one country could evidently help another country's water...
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Although inside the house, there is clearly a heavy water usage, it is scary to learn that the majority of water wasted is in the yard. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “of the 26 billion gallons of water consumed daily in the United States, approximately 7.8 billion gallons, or 30 percent, is devoted to outdoor uses.” An average lawn will be watered with over 10,000 gallons of water per year (Erie 203). Although a lot of water is used to keep these lawns green, the sad truth is that many of these gallons will never even water the lawn due to evaporation and direct runoff.
To avoid these costly and wasteful water practices outdoors, there are more simply solutions. The most effective change is to cut down on the amount of green space by replacing grass and water reliant plants with drought tolerant solutions or turf grass areas.
Landscaping techniques, such as drip irrigation and xeriscaping can reduce California's use of water immensely. Eighty Percent of the state’s developed water supply is used on agriculture, but much of that eighty percent is wasted because of sprinkler systems. The water sprayed from sprinkler systems often evaporates, and more water is wasted to water the plants. A drip system is specifically placed at each plant and lets the water seep into the roots, so no water can be wasted through evaporation. This would require less water to be used on plants, because more is actually reaching the roots, saving the rest of the water for California. Xeriscaping is a type of “dry landscaping.” This means that materials and plants, such as native plants, succulents, gravel, and water flowers are used to design a beautiful outdoor space, instead of using grass which consumes an average of about fifty-seven inches of rain per year. Grass needs to be watered frequently, using up California’s water supply, but a dry landscape would use little to no water, benefiting California. Farmers and Homeowners can employ these landscaping techniques to reduce the use of California...
We often hear the saying that water is the source of life so how can mankind waste this precious source that God has given us. A fine example was mentioned in the film about India’s new green agricultural system where 30 times more water is been use than the actual amount required. It is really hard to see how these farmers are spitefully wasting water when it is really needed in the neighboring communities. This goes to show that people only do things to benefit themselves not considering the needs of other people. Not only is water being wasted in developing countries but there is also water wastage in developed countries we often take our water sources for granted here in the US such as not turning off the pipes when brushing our teeth or washing our hands and the list goes on. Water conservation is the key to saving our planet because soon it will become extinct to us human beings.
This is not a problem which is limited to the developing world either, as even the United States has also been experiencing the effects of water shortages in recent years. In the US, the average citizen uses more than three times the amount of water as many European countries (Data 360). A key difference between the US and the European continent is the geographical variation. A majority of the large cities in America where water is becoming more scarce are located in the West and are surrounded by arid landscapes, although it should be noted that shortages are not limited to this area alone (The Atlantic). Most water usage in the country is reserved for irrigation of farmland, general landscaping, and home use (EPA). It is estimated by the EPA that the average family uses over 400 gallons of water every day, and that the cumulative volume of water used in homes is much less than the former two greatest uses. Not only is extreme overuse a problem, but seasonal droughts have become increasingly frequent throughout the US. Here, we will look more closely at the causes, effects, and implications of water shortages across the United States and beyond.
Water is a very important resource we use and need. Clean and safe drinking water is scarce though. There are many places in the world that don’t even have clean water and then there are some countries like America that have plenty and yet take it for granted.
...management than scarcity of that resource. In some cases up to 50% water in urban areas, and 60% of the water used for agriculture is wasted through evaporation and loss. Logging and land conversion to yield to the demands of human beings have been reduced to half the world's forests, which has increased soil erosion and water scarcity.
One out of five children suffer from starvation and thirst all around the world. But suffering from thirst isn 't so common in the U.S because one way or another water is easy to find. Many people all over the world take purified water for granted and see it as something they will always have. In Africa the people dream of having drinking water in their daily lives. Contaminated water affects many people from Africa. Such as health issues, pollution, and starvation. Africa civilians are one of the top countries in the world that suffer the most from starvation and dehydration.
65-70 percent of water is wasted throughout the world. We can reduce water loss by wasting less water, subsidizing
“Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans” (Jacques-Yves Cousteau). Africa is a continent surrounded by water, yet many African villages suffer from lack of clean water. With the earth holding more than 7 billion people, water pollution is one of the major causes of human infection and death from such diseases. Because there are so many possible ways to become infected, many humans die from water pollution. In Africa, population is increasing so rapidly, it is forcing more people to live an unsafe life due to the unsanitary waters, such as the Nile River that surrounds them, affecting their education, health, and poverty. Charity: Water and UNICEF are two organizations trying to find a solution to this issue by eliminating and decreasing the amount of unsanitary water infecting the African people today.
First it explains that water conservation can be found in common activities in the home like doing the dishes, laundry, showering, brushing teeth, and watering the lawn. Then it explores the amount of fresh water that can be saved each year by using low-flowing fixtures and appliances in the home. It then identifies that every household has the responsibility to save fresh water and if done by every household in America, gallons of fresh water and money can be saved to help everyone each year. They are many ways to start saving water, and no matter what society may say, each individual has the responsibility to start saving fresh water today. Saving water is simple, from fixing leaks to installing low-flow water units on all household appliances. Remember, every time the shower is used, the dishes are done, the lawn is watered, or the laundry is done all could have been done using less fresh
I will need to water the plants less often, change the watering time during night so as to avoid evaporation on the daytime, invest on plants which need less water and be alert not to forget to turn off the sprinkler on time. I used to convince myself thinking that I save water on dishwashing as I used to accumulate the dishes for a day and run it only at night. After reading this week reading assignment I realize that I can bring my water usage down for this purpose too. I tend to use lot of utensils due to kids, I feel that I can really reduce my utensils use to half because I have a habit of using a fresh plate for everything I serve. The minor change in lifestyles such as the habit of not running the tap continuously while brushing unless it is needed for rinsing can lower the wastage of water resource. I see my neighbors wash their cars or have their sprinkle overflow many of the times and I hesitate to speak up. Probably, I should bring these things up in next neighborhood meeting or print and distribute the article that I read about the importance of water and things we can do in our neighborhood to bring a better change in environment for our kids in
"The United States Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that one third of all water use is used on grass, and some experts estimate that as much as 50% of that that water is wasted to evaporation, wind and runoff" (Outdoor Water Use)
Developed countries struggle with managing water consumption. Our high demand in agriculture, industry, and domestic use further complicates this issue. With increasing urbanization and extravagant changes in lifestyle, our use and wasting of water will only increase. As of this year, nearly 1.1 billion people live without clean drinking water and 2.6 billion live without adequate water sanitation. The McDonald's down the street, however, will sell you a 1/3 pounder burger for only 150 gallons. Changes in lifestyle can easily reduce this number and help not only save water, but money as well. Currently, with our diminishing water supply, one of the main goals of humanitarian organizations is ensuring that everyone has t...
Clean water is needed for good human and animal health, but as DoSomething.org states, over 1 billion people worldwide don’t have a means of getting clean drinking water, an...
Water is the most vital part of life. Water is needed from humans, to plants and other organisms, and to do basically everything. Water allows our bodily functions to work and to remove waste from our bodies. Plants need water to grow, and humans need plants to gr...
“Water is the lifeblood of this planet. Every time a good is bought or sold there is a virtual exchange of water. Every time we interact with water, we change it, redirect it, or otherwise alter its state. We have never learned how to efficiently manage water.”(Cluckie, 2009) Ian Cluckie, Professor of Hydrology and Water Management, emphasizes the fact that humans can’t survive without water. Although water is a renewable resource that can replenish under hydrological cycles, our intervention has interrupted its natural cycle causing its supply to decrease.(Cluckie, 2009)