Drinking Water In The Twentieth Century

WATER SCARCITY Word Count 1519 Water scarcity is increasing worldwide and dramatically affecting first world nations such as Spain, Australia, and the United States. All nations are now starting to recognize that the world's water is a finite resource, and that resource is being drastically altered in both availability and quality by development, climate change and population growth. In the United States, the Colorado River is experiencing rapid declines in volume. Recent studies and data suggest that the changes in frequency, intensity, and timing of the availability of water will have substantial impact on the way we live our lives in the 21st century and beyond. As Letmathe Brakeck said, “I am confident that, under present

THE WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SECRET TO: POTUS FROM: APSNA DATE: 10/25/2014 RE: WATER CRISIS UPDATE Summary Mr. President, 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.

"Perrier got rich off the pretensions of small minded people who thought it set them apart from the unwashed masses. They ordered it in restaurants for the same reason they read books they don't like and go to operas they don't understand. They say to the waiter, "Perrier," to

Drink Water Speech How many of you, when you go to a restaurant and the waiter/waitress asks you what you want to drink ask for water?

“Infrastructure is the four-syllable jawbreaker that governments use to describe the concrete, stone, steel, wires and wood that Americans rely on every day but barely notice until something goes awry (Kelderman).” Due to the state of the economy many lawmakers put the money need to keep infrastructure properly taken care of into things like defense. The federal Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which makes low interest loans to clean up or protect water supplies, has shrunk from more than $3 billion in 1990 to roughly $1 billion in 2007 (Kelderman). The report also suggests that there is an $11 billion dollar shortfall annually needed to bring facilities up to current federal water regulations. As stated in the article “ The State of the Union-Crumbling’, the nation is spending less than 40 percent of the $225 billion needed annually for the next 50 years to maintain the current system of roads, rails and bridges and build enough transportation capacity for a growing population.

Everyday, billions of people use water all over the world. They use water in drinks and food. They use water for bathing and hygiene. They use water in agriculture and industry. They use water for so many things. However, there are many problems with the usage of water around the

Snow falls gracefully from the sky, landing atop the beautiful Rocky Mountains. When that snow melts into water, it collects into streams, which run into rivers, and low down into the plains and further into different states. That water that originally fell as snow will be collected and pumped into thousands of homes, businesses, and farmlands in order to supply thousands of people with safe drinking water. One thing people generally do not concern themselves with, is water usage, and so in the United States alone, approximately 3580,000 million gallons of water was used, with 70 percent of that coming from surface water (Price 1). With so much water usage, the demand has already outgrown supply, and new ways of providing that supply have been

Americans consume far more water on average than people in other countries. This means there is significant room for making lifestyle changes and reducing our per capita water usage. However,

Standing in the middle of the crowd, holding water jars in my hands, I turn my head to see the endless wave of people coming towards my way. With dry lips and desperation on their faces, they quickly join the crowd heading towards the water station. The crowd includes high school students, working adults, and elders. The goal was unanimous: make sure that fresh drinking water would be supplied in their household for this dry and extremely sunny day. This activity has become the most important routine of our daily lives the day after the water fountains dried up in the mountains of Southern California. Receiving clean drinking water from the water station became the most important daily activity, and getting in line before the crowd approaches

Bottled water is one of the heroes of the 21st century. After all, one of the best feelings in the world is cracking the seal of an ice cold bottled water and drinking it without worrying about contaminants and diseases. Bottled water is one of the most accessible resources Americans have today. Elizabeth Royte states, “bottled water can pretty easily be dated back to 1977 when Perrier was introduced to urban areas.” This green glass is not what most Americans associate with bottled water today. Instead, our country views the portable plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate, more commonly known as PET plastic, as the modern day water bottle. With recycling rates on the rise, there is no need to worry about the “waste” water bottles are creating. Bottled water is the clear choice over tap water because it promotes marketing, enables Americans to recycle, and is portable. Loved by many for its sleek appearance bottled water has made its way into almost all American households.

In the United States, the available water resources is also under assault. Half of water collected and stored by existing infrastructure is usually used in the production of electricity. This forces the population to use and divide what little there is left. This has always been a “good enough” approach until now, when water prices and population is on the rise.(3) There are already calls for charging water resources in order to increase efficiency of use.(3) Water protection is already being carried out and has been for years, but there is still water pollution occurring within the United States. After the Civil war, America strived to provide its population with clean water

As the worlds population grows, it is forced by circumstances that it has created to face the limitations of the worlds resources. Most people in the US have always been fortunate enough to have enough of whatever they wanted. When something they like breaks or wears out, they throw it away or buy a new one, and they often don’t even make an attempt to repair an item. They neglect basic maintenance until they damage their belongings beyond repair, and expect that they’ll always have enough. But some things are beyond their control, beyond there power or financial ability to replace or repair. The world’s drinking water supply is one of these without concern, without attention, without preventative maintenance and reclamation and

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.

Every day Americans depend on public water systems to treat and deliver over 44 billion gallons of water to homes daily (“Importance of Clean Water”). However, Americans

Western civilization treats water as a commodity rather than a fundamental human need. We in Canada, our fortunate enough to be able to turn on our taps and have a surplus of water run through them. Paying for water is not necessarily a strain for us in North America but for many in the world we live in, water is unaffordable and there is limited access.