The planet earth’s surface is composed of 71% water, it surrounds all landmasses, and contributes heavily to life on earth. All living creatures on earth depend on water, it is needed fundamentally to live, and mankind is most certainly not exempt from that need. However only a small percent of that is available as fresh water, even smaller still is the amount of fresh water that is accessible to mankind. And Unfortunately due to its perceived abundance, many tend to over use and even waste water on a daily basis. And while water is often hailed as a renewable resource, this is only true depending on circumstances, as the water cycle is a slow process and can lead to lapses with little or no water depending on the region. The consumption rate …show more content…
This can cause problems when it comes to estimating, and predicting the water that is available for use, which directly ties into figuring out how much one person should use daily. Currently the figured show that “we each drink on average nearly four liters of water per day in one form or another, while 500 times as much water is required to produce our daily food totals. Seventy percent of all water use is for irrigation, compared with 20% used by industry and 10% used for residential purposes” (Brown, 16). However the percentage used for residential use varies largely on where it is globally, American’s in particular tend to use more, which is supported by the statement “Americans use approximately 400 liters of water per person per day for drinking, cooking, washing, disposing of wastes, and other personal use. This use is much higher than the average world personal use of 90 liters per person per day” (Pimentel et al., 99). Although this doesn’t dismiss the fact that the process of agriculture does tend to use a majority of the water available, which is further supported by the statement “the problem is the quantity of water required for food production. People will need more and more water for more and more agriculture. Yet the way people use water in …show more content…
Be it in Africa, where fresh water scarcity has been a thing for ages, to India, where farming has had to adjust due to the lack of fresh water, or California where wells have already begun to run dry in certain counties, fresh water scarcity is spreading and fast. Many argue about what to do about it, some call for policy changes as well as production changes. One suggestion was that “Water professionals need to communicate these concerns better, and policymakers need to be more water-aware”. (Molden, De Fraiture, Rijbermen, 39) Another suggested changes to farming, claiming that while irrigation farming is generally the favored choice when it comes to growing crops, this method of farming is exactly why so much water is needed, as irrigation farming tends to use a lot of water and energy, this supported by the face that “Intensive irrigation has led to closed basins where all water is allocated to specific uses, including water for the environment. In fact, irrigation has been the single most important reason for closing river basins and creating physical water scarcity” (Molden, De Fraiture, Rijbermen, 45). It must also be taken into account that water is often used to create energy in the first place, leading to a very intense compounding of the situation. Some have even suggested dry land farming as a solution, as dry land farming tends to support water
Farmers and ranchers who own water rights should have their water amount filled earlier in order to facilitate themselves with the proper amount of water. They should not be restricted to a smaller prearranged amount of water each year. Water us...
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.
Renee Cho of state of the planet Blog, a blogs from the Earth Institute says in the opening of his article entitled From Wastewater to Drinking Water, that “Across the globe, 2 out of 10 people do not have access to safe drinking water.” To bring it closer to home, right here, in the U.S, many states and cities are suffering from water shortages and droughts. Robert Glennon in his book Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What to Do About It reports “Americans use 24 gallons of water each day to flush their toilets—approximately 5.8 billion gallons.” Most of this wastewater will not be reused for drinking but instead cleaned to EPA standards of Drinking and then used for other reasons. Cho reports that most of the wastewater is released into rivers and lakes, and some is reused and recycled for” irrigation, landscaping, industry and toilet flushing.” While it may be good to replenish sensitive ecosystems that sustain wildlife, fish and plants who are left vulnerable after water is diverted for the needs of urban and rural communities. It is also important to limit the amount we take from these sources in the first...
An estimated 1.6 billion people around the world live in regions of economic water scarcity, with 780 million of these people living in areas with no basic water facilities. Economic water scarcity means that investments in water resources and relevant human labour forces are not substantial enough to meet water demands in an area where the population does not have the financial means to make use of an adequate water source on their own. Economic water scarcity is about an unequal distribution of resources for many reasons, including political and cultural conflict. Symptoms of economic water scarcity include lack of infrastructure development, causing people to have trouble getting enough water for agriculture or even basic sanitation and
Throughout the path of human and mammal history, there have been a small number of characteristics in life that are needed to maintain and facilitate survival. These necessities consists of water, nutrition, shelter and oxygen, which many historians, anthropologists and humans in general have began to realize. Through this realization, one apprehends the fact that out of the four requirements of life, water by far provides as the most important. Each year, the world population increases exponentially; today being over seven billion. Due to this increase human beings have begun to experience a serious crisis dealing with the loss of water. The world has become limited with its supply of water, due to its high demand. Humans believe water is a resource that is completely renewable and everlasting, but through many years water supply is becoming extremely scarce. Statistically proven there is only " 2.5 [percent] which is freshwater. Almost all of it is locked up in ice and in the ground. Only a bit more than 1.2 [percent] of all freshwater (which was only 2.5 [percent] of all water) is surface water, which serves most of life's needs (The World's Water). Water, on a daily basis, is wasted through many daily activities such as people utilizing water in their houses, at work and tremendously through gardening. People cannot live without water, but many do not understand how much water supply around the world is potable. Many countries around the world do not facilitate clean water, usually consisting of dirt and bacteria, which makes many people ill. The polluted water is usually in the rural and poor countries, that do not have enough money and technology to provide hygienic water. Contaminated water broadens the s...
UNDP, 2006. Human Development Report: Coping with water scarcity. Challenge of the twenty-first century., s.l.: UN-Water, FAO, 2007.
There are multiple instances of my lifestyle that impact the water cycle. I need water to drink, shower, cook, laundry, clean car and home, water the plants in the backyard, and for entertainment purposes like swimming. The list of things related to water is unlimited and I can feel a big impact
worried of the phenomenon that has led to the shortage of water for the agricultural and domestic
Every human in the world has a significant impact on the water cycle, as well as me. Every day I use resources and have a major impact in into this cycle. We often use resources without thinking much about it. It is simply normal to us, that enough of these resources are available for the people. Water is just always available for us.
Some people may not know this but wasting water affects our environment. Whenever water is wasted it ends up in treatment facilities. We need water to survive yet people still waste it because to their understanding there will always be water whenever they turn on a faucet. This is one of the main reasons that water is wasted. People often waste more water than they use. “Australia uses on average 500 litres per person per day, European countries using between 200 – 400 litres and the UK using about 150 litres.” This quote from the article, “Water Conservation” explains how not just in the US but all around the world people are wasting significant amounts of water every day.
The world’s total water supply is approximately 332.5 million cubic miles of water, which covers up about 70% of earth’s surface. With that much water inhabiting our planet, there obviously has to be a way to keep the water moving. We call this the water cycle, which has been around longer than we can know. The great thing about the water cycle is that it can never stop working because water will always be evaporated. In fact, we are now using the same water as we did during Earth’s beginning, thanks to the water cycle. Growing up, we all learned about the water cycle and its three simple stages. Those stages were evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Come to find out there is a lot more that goes into the cycle than we first learned.
Freshwater in the world makes up only a small portion of water on the planet. While the percentage of water in the world is nearly 70%, only 2.5% is consumable. Even further, only <1% is easily accessible to basic human needs. According to National Geographic, “by 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with two-thirds of the world's population living in water-stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change.” With this current trend, water will become more immersed in environmental, economic, political, and social changes. Many of these in later years shall need to be addressed as tension rises:
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.
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
Water is an integral part of not only human beings but all other creatures in the world. We use it every day for different purposes such as domestic, agricultural and industrial. Water has always been a prestigious resource. However, the majority of people do not appraise water’s worth since they do not face water scarcity; whereas, in third world countries it is one of the most serious problems. Nearly 2.4 billion people have a lack of water resources in the world, shows the investigation done by the Pacific Institute, an Oakland, California-based non-profit scientific research group. Moreover, every year this number is growing gradually and more people are suffering (Bloomberg News, 2010). There are certain causes which deteriorate current situation. The most influential reasons are global warming, pollution by human-beings and overpopulation. It is known that India is one of the countries which face water scarcity so this essay will consider the possible ways of solutions of water shortage in India.