The Pollution and Misuse of Water
I have chosen to write my paper on the effects that we have on our most important resource, water. The article I chose to go along with my paper was out of The Detroit News 5-24-00. The article discussed the problems that Metro Detroit has had with their outbreaks of e. coli in many of the area beaches. After reading the article I thought that it would be a great idea to look further into the problems our country faces with water and the way we use it.
In the past fifty years nations have gone to war over oil. In the next fifty years we are going to go to war over water (Simon 18).
The current world population of approximately 5.9 Billion will double in the next forty -ninety years. To further compound the water shortages, human consumption of water is rising twice as fast as the population. The exponential population growth has a severe effect on the amount of water being used and the amount of pollutants that go back into it. Take for example the problems that people in California are having with water and trying to get it. California's current water use is unsustainable. In many areas, ground water is being used at a rate that exceeds the rate of natural replenishment. Fish and wildlife species are being destroyed by withdrawal of water, as well as by development. Official projections are that water demand will exceed available supplies in the year 2020 (Simon 18).
California is the nations most populated state with over 1,400 reservoirs and the most sophisticated water supply system in the world (Rosenbaum 167). However it appears from studies that they will be experiencing some severe water shortages in the years to come. Many things have led to the shortages in California especially over population and desiccation. Towards the beginning of the century, Los Angeles understood that they would have problems, so they purchased Owens Lake the third largest body of water in the state. Today it is called Owens Dry Lake because it was sucked dry by Los Angeles. Today The U.S. Environment Protection Agency considers it the most polluted area in the nation (Simon 22). On dry days the wind blows particulate matter from the dry lake as far as fifty miles making the air twenty times as high as the maximum safety standards for air pollution.
“How can you buy or sell the sky-the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. Yet we do not own the freshness of air or the sparkle of the water. How can you buy them from us? We will decide in our time” (Chief Seattle: 1855). In the Documentary “Flow – for the love of water” it visualizes the global crisis we face on Mother’s Earth as it pertains to the diminishing of fresh water. The Documentary portrays along with the help of experts that this global crises is affecting each and every one of us in today’s society including animals. The film shows us that water is constantly being wasted, polluted, and privatized by big co operations. Prime examples of these greedy companies were mentioned in the film such as Nestle, Thames, Suez, Vivendi, Coca Cola and Pepsi.
to think of different solutions to help with the water shortage. Many solutions that California has
Have you ever wondered if different authors writing about the same topic had different points of view. Comparing points of view of the authors of for the World's Poor ,Drinking Water can kill and After Pollution in Flint, Some finds Tap Waterś Benefits Hard to Swallow is the purpose of this response. In these pieces, there are many facts presented about the water crisis. The points of view represented in these two texts had more commonalities than variances. These readings explore the topic of water crisis.
We do not have any more fresh water in certain areas but in near future will be gone if we keep using the water the way we do. Most of the time we don’t appreciate water just see, in yourself when you are in the bathroom. How much water do you waste in just one day? Is the question I ask every time I go to the bathroom. And then I ask myself if I waste 20 gallons of water a day, how much do I waste in one year the answer is 7300 gallons of water that I used, just me without counting the world’s population water usage, if I count it, well I had do simple math 20 gallons of water times by 7,381,940,300 world’s population will be 147,638,806,000 gallons of water waste in just one single year only used by human beings in our daily needs. Without counting the other ways, we waste water, for example, cooking, drinking, and washing the dishes etc.. As well not counting even the industry, agricultural, and electrical power used and contaminated by the human begins. For instance, the authors of the blue gold acknowledges, “The biggest threat to fresh water is pollution from thousands and thousands of factories, industrial farms, and cities that pour or leak pesticides fertilizers, and herbicides(including nitrates and phosphates), bacteria, medical waste, chemicals, and radioactive wastes in our water.”(28) Given about information the scariest thing on
Initially, it is argued that increasing population may lead to environmental issues to the world by consuming nature resources and causing variable pollution at the same time. According to Hinrichsen and Robey (2000), with a rapid growth of population, the needs of most developing countries to improve living standards are urgent. To meet the demanded of developing, both developed and developing countries consume resources much faster than they can regenerate. That means humans are destroying resources needed for future to satisfy present needs. This is supported by Loucks (2005) who reports that with population tripled in the 20th century, the water withdrawals have increased by 6 times, that means water use inc...
When referring to Arizona’s water Kris Mayes, chairwoman of the state’s utility regulatory panel once said, “How do you say just how valuable water is in an arid state like Arizona?” she said. “It’s like the credit-card commercial-it’s priceless” (McKinnon). She was right, because in a dry state like Arizona, water is pretty important. To say water is ‘pretty important’ for the world is an understatement. We use water to function. And when we think of water we think of saving it. Keep the faucets from dripping or turn off the water while brushing your teeth. There are numerous tips for water conservation, but people don’t often think of the damage that is already done. Damages like ‘dead zones’. Dead zones in the ocean have been around for years and have been steadily growing.
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...
Water is a precious natural resource which is essential for the survival of all living things; however, fresh water is becoming finite at an increasingly fast rate. Water is vital for the economic and social growth of a country; to generate energy, maintain health and grow food. However, a rising population, combined with the effects of climate change puts a strain on water availability. The United Nations Development (2006) states that around 700 million people suffer from water scarcity in 43 different countries and these numbers are predicted to rise to 1.8 billion people by the year 2025. Water shortage is a concerning issue and it could be argued that the effects could prove detrimental as the threat continues to rise. As well as the causes
Creative Conclusion Thought: Benjamin Franklin once said, “When the well is dry, we know the worth of the water.” Let’s all do our part to make sure that well is never dry.
Fresh, clean, and plentiful water provides the foundation for many communities all around the world. We depend on fresh water to survive, but currently we are heading towards a water crisis, even in California. The changing climate patterns are always threatening lakes, rivers, and even the ocean from melting ice caps, and the key sources that we need for drinking water are being overdrawn or polluted. From severe and frequent droughts to flooding across the world, many of the most profound and immediate and pressing impacts of climate change relates to water. More than one-third of all counties will face high risks of water shortages and problems by 2050 as a result of global warming if it is not stopped. Other serious impacts will include sea level rise, saltwater intrusion into freshwater banks, harm to fisheries because of lack of fish, and more frequent hurricanes and extreme storm events. Somalia, Mauritania, Sudan, and Niger are just some of the nations most heavily affected by the pollution of water and/or not being able to obtain such water. Because water is a necessity for life to be created and to exist, this alarms the international community. These people are forced to drink dirty water that carry diseases and infections and do not have access to fresh water.
Water is a source that humanity need for both domestic and industrial use and is utilized in a huge amount. Thus, there is a pressure on water. The increase of population and the industrial development of the majority of countries aggravate the problem. The excessive consumption of water coupled with the scarcity of this resource makes the issue even more critical. According to Lefort, water covers around 70 percent of the Earth, freshwater makes up only 3 percent of it, moreover, almost all of that is unattainable to use. (Lefort, R.,1996) Generally, only about 0.01 percent of the world’s total water supply is considered available for human use. What is more frustrating is that only a few sources of fresh water can be relied
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.
...cts us and everything around us, and what it takes to get clean drinking water. In addition I have also given examples of organizations that raise money to help people obtain clean water. We can’t take clean water for granted, because everything around us including us, needs clean water in order to survive and to work. I have talked about how if we are able to end the clean water crisis, we are able to focus on other global problems such as world hunger and economic problems. Once we are able to focus on other things we may be able to work on technology that will allow us to make more water in to clean drinking water to accumulate to our increasingly growing population. In conclusion clean drinking water and clean water in general is a very vital part of our lives and our world. We would not be here if it wasn’t for water, and we need to keep our water clean.
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