Analysis Of The Article ' Water Works '

Water is the single most important commodity that every organism needs to survive. When astronomers look for other inhabitable planets, one of the primary features they look for is the presence of water. It would then logically be inferred that water is essential to modern human society, but as seen with the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, it seems that isn’t the case. Thousands of people have encountered serious health problems and millions of dollars in damages have occurred, and all of this has been a result an ignorant and irresponsible government switching water sources in an effort to save money. In doing so, the government of Michigan ultimately caused adverse and destructive effects on the city of Flint and its inhabitants.

Water is probably the most important resource we as people have. Humans can survive without food for several weeks, but without water we would die in less than a week. On a slightly less dramatic note, millions of liters of water are needed every day worldwide for washing, irrigating crops, and cooling industrial processes, not to mention leisure industries such as swimming pools and water-sports centers. Despite our dependence on water, we use it as a dumping ground for all sorts of waste, and do very little to protect the water supplies we have.

For this paper water structures and infrastructures were selected as focus points because the longer we wait to fix issues with them, the more expensive it will get, in other words, we are in a race against time. Studying the past it is easy to see how water availability made population explode in an area such as Southern California, where savvy marketing and great politics made it happen. Particularly, for Los Angeles and for the purposes of public narrative, Marc Reisner’s Cadillac Desert does a great job at understanding and identifying the politics and key figures in getting water to Los Angeles. Great hydrologic structures were created using both manpower and water politics. It is important to state that there are connections between water, politics, environment, and geography when analyzing what the biggest problems involving water structures and infrastructures (Reisner.) We must think of water as both a socio-political issue and a natural resource, whose fate is molded by the understanding of its connectivity to itself, man-made structures, geography, environment, and society. The classes taken in this program have taught us ideals that in order to become a great water resource manager, one must master the political and scientific knowledge to make decisions that are prosperous for society and the environment. Furthermore, one must know the United States’ hydrological history in order to gain manipulation upon the system that makes it both thrive and deteriorate.

The world’s supply of water is in steep decline as more and more is being used each year by more and more people around the globe. Currently, 800 million people do not have access to a drinking source. At the current rate, 1.8 billion people could be living in areas of absolute water scarcity by 2025.

The op-ed Get ready for a new normal: Dry and Drier is a very insightful article and comes from a rhetorical standpoint that is heavily laced with reasoning, scientific evidence, and emotion inducing claims. It illustrates to us how current conditions are and the projected trajectory if there is nothing done to help conserve water. Furthermore, it also demonstrates how certain governments are taking action right now, through laws and policies. Along with colorful commentary of political parties stance on the issue. Using all the information put forth, the author William Debuys effectively does drum up a sense of urgency to anyone who would read the article

The article “Water Works”, published by Orion Magazine and written by environmental specialist Cynthia Barnett intends to inform the reader anyone can make water an important factor. Overlooking it has become common many people in the United States have adapted to through the changes that have occurred in society over time. At the beginning of her article, she describes an area that does not make water care a priority, whereas in another location they make it very evident water is important. The location she describes is gloomy, grey, and is a populated area that has old water systems that are damaging environmental factors. Barnett continuously emphasizes that people are the ones who can help restore nature. This is at a less cost than

The documentary, Blue Gold, World Water Wars, was a dramatic depiction of the prognosis of our ability to sustain life on the earth if we don’t take very seriously the natural resource of water. The movie by Sam Bozzo was released in 2008 and is based on the book Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World’s Water by Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke. The movie opens with a dramatic display of what happened to Pablo Valencia who in 1906 walked from Mexico to California in search of gold. He survived without water for 7 days and documented the experience. One of the most compelling statements from his experience was the statement, “who ever goes without water for a week, cries blood.” That statement was riveting and came to mind often during the course of viewing the movie. The filmmaker succeeded in galvanizing my attention with that opening frame. Bozzo highlights how extensively our ecosystem is being impacted by our seemingly lackluster regard for the water we have been given on earth. It seems as though some think water is an infinite resource. Contrarily the movie shows that our abuse of water is deteriorating water flows and threatening the sustainability of our ecosystem. The planet, human beings, plants, animals, fish, etc. all need water to survive.

In many cases water is a needed substance to live, but in some cases it is not. The writer of, The Wrong Way to Think about California Water, states that some of us think that individually we are causing a drought but in reality we are not. We think we cause the drought by taking a long shower, leaving the sink running, and watering our plants excessively. The writer shows how the golf course and not having turf causes problems, and he is right. A golf course uses excess water, and even if they do recycle, they don't need it all. Also, there is no shame of having turf, it is not right for some people to manage their water supply while farmers get to use it as they want.

Each day, our homes receive gallons upon gallons of water for our living necessities to live a comfortable life. In the article Fisher explains that “at least in the developed world, we have gradually been able to stop thinking about water”. This is due to being around water all our lives. We have been conditioned from day one to believe fresh water will never run out. “Even our emotional connections to water have become submerged and camouflaged”, for example when a person in America sees someone spilling a cup of water on the ground they do not even care to tell them they are being wasteful, which

The environmental issue discussed in “Blue Gold: World Water Wars” is water scarcity, a broad term that refers to the notion that water is a finite resource subject to be exhausted if it is abused. According to the film, Earth has two different types of water. Salt water is mostly unusable to humans and constitutes about 97% of the water on Earth. Fresh water is where the world’s drinking water comes from and constitutes only 3% of the water on Earth. After explaining these statistics, Maude Barlow brings up the point that, until very recently, humans saw water as something that would constantly replenish itself as long as the

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

Water covers 70% of our planet, and it is easy to think that it will always be plentiful. However, freshwater, what we drink, bathe in, irrigate our farm fields with makes up only 3% of the world’s water, and two-thirds of that is stored in frozen glaciers or unavailable for our use. Many of the water systems that keep ecosystems thriving and feed a growing human population have become stressed. Rivers, lakes and aquifers are drying up or becoming too polluted to use. Already, 80 countries suffer from water shortages that threaten health and economies while 40 percent of the world—more than 2 billion people—does not have access to clean water or sanitation

Currently, “only 2.5 to 3 percent of all the natural water sources available on Earth are composed of fresh water” as written by Paul Alois, a researcher and writer for The World Bank. Alois continues, “less than 1 percent is easily accessible for human use” due to most of the natural water sources being unaccessible. As the global population grows, the environment keeps changing, and over usage of water sources continues, freshwater sources are only going to deplete even further. Consequently, “2 billion people lack access to clean water” and more than 80 countries are presently suffering from water scarcity as reported

In today’s society, the idea of a limited resource is not a foreign concept. Most people understand that eventually humans will use up many of these resources, such as fossil fuels, and they will cease to exist. However, very rarely does a conversation about limited resources get started over the water. While water itself is not a limited resource, clean drinkable water is becoming scarcer as people continue to use excess water. The documentary “Last Call at the Oasis” highlights how precious water is to survival and just how much miss use of water occurs in the United States alone. Even though the United States has gone down the wrong path with its water consumption methods, it may not be too late to recover. With the proper systems and education in place, the chances of delaying a water crisis increase exponentially.

There is a balloon the shape and size of a beach ball. A string keeps it tethered to the ground. Someone in a white lab coat stands about eight feet away with a rod about as