How Do We Build Our Freshwater Supply And Increase Our Future?

The current global population of 7.6 billion people is expected to reach 11.2 billion in 2100 (UN DESA), and as the Earth’s population continues to grow exponentially, the topic of environmental sustainability is being debated with increased urgency. In the past few years, many large-scale environmental issues have emerged due to human activities: climate change, air and water pollution, rising sea levels, habitat loss, species extinction, and worsening natural disasters are all becoming more and more prevalent. But perhaps our most immediate concern should be whether or not we will be able to continue feeding this ever-increasing population.

Over seven billion people live on the planet Earth. That is four billion more people on Earth today than around 57 years ago (Smith 1). Over time, humans have had many technological advancements which increased the rapid depletion of renewable and non renewable resources such as water, food, and space. This, causes scientists to believe that the more people on the earth, the more we are going to run out of our resources. Although, many believe that Earth is quickly reaching its carrying capacity from the depletion of resources, that capacity is not within reach because the Earth has enough resources to sustain a much larger population than what is prevalent today.

We are running out of land, today we are using 40 percent of Earth's land surface for crops and pastures. In the future we are going increase our usage and this is also going to deplete our water resources. Agriculture uses 70 percent of our water.

In a recent research, it is found that in every corner of the globe, we are polluting, diverting, pumping, and wasting our limited supply of fresh water at an exponential level as population and technology grows, resulting in the desertification of the earth.

Water is the main source of life on the Earth. It is vital for normal existence and functioning of organisms. Earth is sometimes called “water planet.” But, in fact, the number of freshwater is limited. “Only about 2 percent of the planet's water is fresh.” (How much water is there on Earth?) This water is not enough even to meet daily needs of mankind. According to World Health Organization, “a lack of water to meet daily needs is a reality today for one in three people around the world.” (2009) In the Middle East the situation is especially hard. This region is thought to be one of the droughtiest places in the world, most of it’s territory is deserted. Freshwater accounts to 1 percent of the world’s supplies, while the population comes

Drastic changes in the management of the world`s water supply is necessary to prevent a severe global water deficit. According to the World Water Development Report, 70 percent of the water used today goes to agriculture. To meet future demands, it is estimated that agricultural production must increase by 60 percent in 2050, worldwide.

This precious resource is essential for survival of all species on earth as it provides necessary hydration and allows for the creation of food. Unfortunately, many countries worldwide are facing a crisis concerning the quality and quantity of fresh water. Overpopulation, poor maintenance, and overuse by industries lead to the water crisis; malnourishment and political conflicts result (action verbs). Planting water intensive crops on farms and expanding the use of food and water trade systems globally, in addition to increasing effectiveness of government regulation can minimize the issue at hand.

Water stress, an insufficient water supply on a worldwide scale, is “considered by many scientists as one of the biggest challenges facing humanity and struggling ecosystems in a world increasingly affected by climate change.” Even though water conveys the impression of being an interminable provision, only 3% of the Earth’s water is fresh. The preponderance of areas currently suffer from inutile freshwater. For instance, 68% of fresh water is frozen in the form of of icecaps and glaciers. Roughly 30% is groundwater, and the remainder of freshwater is .3%, located on surfaces of lakes, rivers, and swamps. Moreover, avaricious humans are not the only organisms that depend upon freshwater for survival. This leaves less than 1% of water to share with over millions of species. On the Principle of Population, by Thomas Malthus, mentions that the sustainable resource correlation to exponential population growth implies “a strong and constantly operating check on population from the difficulty of subsistence.”

As the world’s population grows, the demand for water mounts and pressure on finite water resources intensifies (PAI, 2011). The global water consumption rate doubles every twenty years, a pace that is double the rate of population growth. The global population is expanding by 80 million people annually, increasing the demand for freshwater by about 64 billion m3 a year. In fact, water withdrawals tripled over the last 50 years due to population growth. This rapid growth rate also caused the potential global availability of water to decline from 12,900 m3 per

Water is essential to food security. Food production to a great extend is depending on water. Water can be a great use of irrigation to the agriculture. Not only for the food crop, non-food crop like cotton and rubber also count on water in order for its growth. About 70% of freshwater are now for irrigation use. “According to the united nations, 1.2 billion people already live in areas experiencing a lack of physical access to water.” (purt, 2013)

Stan Bernstein, a senior research advisor for the United Nations Population Fund, predicted that the global population is said to reach 7.2 billion people by 2015 and almost 9.3 billion by 2050. However, more than 96 percent of the Earth’s water is unable to be consumed by the human population, only 2.5% is fresh water and only found in 0.5% of it accessible groundwater or surface water. (Bernstein, p. 150). This had led to an undeniable water crisis that is now plaguing the global community. Millions die each year because they do not have adequate clean water or sanitation. The water crisis is not something that can be fixed quickly, but rather slowly with many solutions. We can begin to fix the water crisis by recycling wastewater, capturing and storing rainwater, and desalination technology.

Water is the most important substances on Earth as it is essential for the survival of all species. Water covers seventy-six percent of our planet, and it is easy to think that it will always be plentiful (Girard). However, the way society misuse the substance makes freshwater start to become incredibly rare. The global water supply is becoming more of an issue every day. Water is a resource that much of the developed world takes for granted, but that many in the developing world struggles to find enough of everyday and even in developed nations, where a plentiful supply of water is sometimes taken for granted. The struggle for fresh water could spread as climate change and other manmade pressures change the availability of water around the globe, and as Earth 's population grows ever larger. If we continue to misuse the Earth’s water supply, society will be at war over water because of the high rise in pollution, climate change, and the privatization surrounding the topic.

Water and food security are closely linked together. It is an important resource for the maintenance of food production and agriculture. And with the effects of climate change becoming more apparent the natural recharge of aquifers are being affected thus straining the availability of water supply which turn affects food production process and energy needed to extract and distribute the water. And as global population levels increase past the planets ability to support it there will be food shortages in the future. But that’s only if the same business as usual trend is continued. Agriculture

Irrigation accounts for two thirds of global water use, but less than half that water reaches the roots of plants. "Without increasing water productivity in irrigation, major food-producing regions will not have enough water to sustain crop production," said Sandra Postel, author of Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last? The book was funded by the Wallace Genetic Foundation and by the Pew Fellows Program of the Pew Charitable Trusts.

We all have heard that 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is water-covered – most of it in the form of oceans. Though it may sound like a lot, the fact that most of them are not fresh water. According to Jay Kimball 's calculation, it shows that freshwater in the world is only 10.7 billion cubic kilometers. It means clean water represents 0.77 percent of total volume of water in the Earth. In addition, we also have 1.74 percent of clean water which can be seen in different places such as the ice, glaciers, and permanent snow, but these resources are almost untouchable. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) projects that two-thirds of the planet will be water stressed by 2025 (Kimball). So are you ready for