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.
The California water drought has been declared a crisis by the governor of California. 2013 was the driest year on record, and California could be running out of water. Californians should be water wise, and their use, or no use, of water will have an enormous impact on this drought. They can use the techniques published in a recent Time article called, 5 Ways to Bust California’s Drought, to reduce their water use. Landscape techniques, alternate water sources, and the personal conservation of water can reduce the use of water, and can have a positive change on this water crisis.
The Great Basin of North America and Wyoming specifically, is known for its arid and semi-arid environment, as well as prolonged and sometimes severe droughts. Drought is the prolonged and abnormal deficiency of moisture with the concomitant decline in runoff to a level significantly lower than usual (Guldin 1989). The history of droughts in Wyoming has been uncertain in the past, but recent studies of tree rings in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming have given insight to droughts as far back as 1260A.D. (Gray et al. 2004). Looking at tree ring records in Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and limber pine (Pinus flexilis) trees, Stephen Gray and his colleagues discovered that droughts which have been experienced in Wyoming since the 1750's, are weak in severity and length when compared to those since. The most severe drought period in Wyoming’s history occurred from 1262 to 1281. The droughts of the 1930’s and 1950’s, which have been used as benchmarks for all other droughts in the United States in recent times (Woodhouse et al. 2002), are ranked 149th and 28th respectively in comparison (Gray et al. 2004). The five top ranking droughts for 10, 15, and 20 year periods are all prior to the 1800’s, with the four driest single years being 1263, 1274, 1278, and 1280 (Gray et al. 2004). This indicates a change in precipitation patterns in the Big Horn Basin area of Wyoming since the 18th century, as all recent droughts have been mild when compared to those of Wyoming’s past.
• Campbell E., Durisin M. (2014). California Farms Going Thirsty as Drought Burns $5 Billion Hole. Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-29/california-farms-going-thirsty-as-drought-burns-5-billion-hole.html
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...
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.
For example, then, drought is difficult to define in modern standards, it is typically classified as a shortage of water, usually associated with a deficit of rainfall. That is, drought occurs when the demand or use for water exceeds the current supply of water. It follows, then, the Colorado river drought does not solely affect one area, it’s grandeur has affected the whole southwestern United States. Additionally, the Colorado River Basin Water Management: Evaluating and Adjusting to Hydroclimatic provides information on the meager volume of rain fall. In theory, then, combined with increased temperatures from global warming, and a deficient of rainfall both circumstances have had a descending effect on most surrounding
5. Segerfeldt, Fredrik, “Private Water Saves Lives,” CATO INSTITUTE, 2005, web. 6 Dec. 2009 http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=4462
Drinking water is essential and indispensable to life itself possible on the face of the earth, it is much more than a well, a resource, a commodity, drinking water is specifically a human right of first order and an element essential national sovereignty itself and, most likely, whoever controls the water control the economy and life in the not so distant future.
Review: So today, I brought to light just how serious this water drought is, what we as individuals can do to reduce the problem, and what many organizations are doing to promote awareness and find more efficient ways of using water.
Clean and safe drinking water resources are becoming scarce as the population grows. The world is facing many problems, but the most important thing needed to survive, is water. Water is getting low in many countries, therefore residents 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.
(2009). The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Drought - a fact sheet. Retrieved from: http://www.ifad.org/lrkm/factsheet/cc.pdf The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, (2007).
"Water Crisis." World Water Council. 7th World Water Council, 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/library/archives/water-crisis/
There is a global shortage of drinking water. A person might wonder how this can be if seventy percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water. Most of the Earth’s water is unsuitable for human consumption. Ocean water is salt water, which makes up 97.5% of all water on the planet. Freshwater is only 3.5% of all the water on Earth.
Hennigan, Robert D. "Water Pollution." Oxford University Press 19.11 (1969): 976-78. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Water Scarcity is harmful to human life because when water is poorly managed throughout the world, those who need water are deprived of nutrients they truly need causing them to die. This eventually affects the global population. Therefore many experts have proposed several solutions such as the LifeSaver Bottle, TrojanUVPhox treatment system, and Waste Water Recycling.