If we don’t conserve, yes we will be looking at shortages and health issues but we will also be looking at water wars. Once we run out we won’t be fighting over oil or land, we will be fighting over water sources. There are many rivers that cross or mark international boundaries and with the depletion of these it will cause conflict. For example Julian Borger, who is the Guardian's diplomatic editor and writer, states that in 2003 Darfur, Sudan began killing as many as 400,000 Africans over access to a diminishing water supply. Although this problem is more likely to happen internationally, because of how close they are to each other, it can still happen in the US. In October 2007 disputes over water rights flared up between Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. The conflict was over Atlanta’s water supply, which supply’s about 4.5 million residents as well as parts of Alabama and Florida. Their water source began to disappear due to a severe drought. Although no bullets were exchanged the governors engaged in a publicity war (qtd. by Clark). As water becomes scarce it will become valuable and seen as a luxury item, in result conflicts over water supply will increase. This will come down to the haves and the have not’s. If we each take steps personally and globally we can overcome these problems.
“A whole lot of people doing a little bit adds up to a whole lot. We must all make changes in our lifestyles that will change the course of our water and its quality” as stated by Marni Evans, who is a sustainability educator, consultant, and mentor with eleven years of professional sustainability experience. Water conservation starts with us and if we all take personal steps in our home, business and lives we will be able to save our water. I...
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...risis." World Water Council. Web. 27 Feb 2014.
This websites shows a lot of facts about how much water we consume and the outcomes of it. I used this information to show how much water we use.
"Water Facts." Orange County Water District. Web. 4 Mar 2014.
This websites shows just how much water is need to create the products we use every day. I used this information to show how important water is not only for drinking but for eating as well as the clothes we like to wear.
Water Resources Research Center. The University of Arizona. Web. 27 Feb 2014.
This website shows the water situation compared to population growth. I used this information to show how fast our population is growing.
"Water Security." Savewater!. Web. 27 Feb 2014.
This website explains how long we have to fix our water issue. I used this information to emphasize how long we have to take action.
Regardless of what someone’s standing is on the water crisis debate, it is very apparent that there isn’t going to be any short term solution to this problem. As stated by Steve Kandra and another speaker, the way I understood it was that the current biological order is in place for ten years. This doesn’t leave any room for improvement. Another factor to consider is that there is 70% less rain fall this year compared to the average. This is going to be very difficult for them to keep the water levels stable without the irrigators even taking any water. On MSNBC, a reporter discussed the current conditions around the Klamath Basis as well as a number of other places throughout the west. Many states involved with the problem of dramatically less rain fall have already declared a drought for summer.
California is going through a water crisis. Some of the main problems that led to the water crisis
Two fundamental and closely related problems confront our present ecosystems: overpopulation and the destruction or exhaustion of natural resources.Some natural resources are so abundant that they still seem infinite, such as the planet’s stock of air and water.“At this stage of our technological development, we are learning that our powers extend to such heights and depths that we can even destroy the near-infinite resources” (Al Gore). Scientists predicted in the end of last century, that fresh water would be the “new oil” — the global strategic resource for the twenty-first century. This means that control over sources of fresh water will be one of, if not the, most important sources of conflict in the future. The last few years many books have been written about this issue, with titles like “Water Wars, Blue Gold, Last Oasis, Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource, and Thirsty Planet” (Maude Barlow, Tony Clarke)(1), as well as in press articles with the same alarmist titles. In this essay i will use this book, statistics, press articles and examples to discuss this issue. How come Population density, economy and politics affect water pollution?
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.
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
This is because only a small part of the population, particularly in developing countries, have access to water of acceptable quality. It is estimated that in some countries only 20% of the rural population has water of satisfactory quality. Based on these statistics, it is clear the urgent need for awareness about caring for water use. Almost without realizing it, we are seriously jeopardizing this essential resource, not for us but for our children's children and their generations, aware that in other parts o...
For Shiva, the roots of her argument come from a conflict over two different ideological beliefs. One sees water as a common resource that should be freely available and conscientiously conserved; the other sees water as a market good to be possessed, bought and sold. The market proponents argue that the water crisis can be alleviated by privatizing water: places with more water can sell to places with less water and the higher prices will lead to conservation even though those who control the water.
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.
Tie to the Introduction: Many organizations are working to spread awareness of the issue so that people will conserve water in small ways in their own life. If each of us just takes a few minutes less in the shower or doesn’t just poor old water down the drain, imagine how much water we could be saving.
Freshwater is quite scarce, but it is even scarcer than one might think: about seventy percent of all freshwater is frozen in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland and is unavailable to humans. Most of the remainder is present as soil moisture or lies in deep underground aquifers as groundwater. It is not economically feasible to extract this waster for use as drinking water. This leaves less than one percent of the world’s fresh water that is available to humans. It includes the water found in lakes, reservoirs, groundwater that is shallow enough to be tapped at an affordable cost. These freshwater sources are the only sources that are frequently replenished by rain and snowfall, and therefore are renewable. At the current rates of consumption, however, this supply of fresh water will not last. Pollution and contamination of freshwater sources exacerbate the problem, further reducing the amount of freshwater available for human consumption. Something must be done if humans want to even survive in the near future: the lack of clean drinking water is already the number one cause of disease in the world today. The first step is worldwide awareness of the water crisis: governments and the citizens they govern worldwide need to know about this problem and be actively involved in solving this problem.
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
70% of this demand derives from agriculture which shows the influence of water on food supply globally as well as 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 a UN report, recent estimates suggest that climate change will account for about 20 percent of the increase in global water scarcity in coming decades. One of the main causes of water scarcity is water mismanagement worldwide.
Water is our main source of our life. We need it to live, drink, bathe,
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:
Water is one of the most essential non-renewable natural resources on the Earth. Technically, an un-hydrated human being can live no more than three days. In the United States, people consume water mainly from tap water and bottled water. However, the consumption between these two sources is not even, but lean to one side heavily. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, people consume from 240 to over 10,000 times more per gallon of bottled water than they usually do for tap water.