Preventing the Last Drop: Facing the Water Crisis 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 an essential need for every human, without it the body goes through many changes and struggles that will unfortunately lead to death. Two –thirds or 60 percent of the human body consists of water that we need for circulation, respiration, and converting food to energy. You must replace all of the water that you lose through everyday things such as sweating, urinating, or even breathing for all of your organs to function properly. On average, if you are not exerting any energy, you can live from three to five days without water, this time is much shorter however if you are doing anything that requires a large amount of
Comprising over seventy percent of the Earth's surface, water is undeniably the most valuable natural resource. Life on Earth would be non-existent without water because it is essential for everything on our planet to grow. The human body is composed of 50-80% water. Blood and muscles contain significant amounts, and approximately 95% of the brain is water. All body systems and organs need water to function properly, and will shut down without it. Most of the chemical reactions that take place in our body need water as their medium. We can live without food for a few weeks, but can survive only a few days without water. It's essential because unlike other nutrients, water isn't stored in the body. Typically, everyday, we lose around 10
Along with food, water has always been one of life's essentials. Humans can survive up to three weeks without food but only a matter of three days without water and the adverse effects of dehydration can be noticed within hours. Despite the risks involved with obesity and its enormous hold on the American population, individuals have a tendency to forget about the importance of water when trying to maintain a healthy diet. Water is the single most
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.
Clean water is essential to our basic needs as human beings and has been acknowledged as a basic human right according to the UN as of July 28, 2010. Still, 1 in 9 (782 million) people don’t have access to clean water, 1 in 3 (2.5 billion) don’t have access to adequate sanitation which results in the spread of often fatal and preventable disease. In a world where 2 in 5 people own a smartphone, it’s easy to forget that for some people even the most basic necessities are hard to come by. Approximately 3.5 million people die every year due to inadequate water supplies. Access to sanitation and safe drinking water could save the lives of 1.5 million children each year.
There is a water crisis which faces many parts of the world and it is a threat to survival of human beings since humans are primarily dependent on water. Shortage in drinking water is beginning to show its effects in first world countries, but is a current major problem facing lesser developed countries which have not taken drastic steps to harvest water and purify it to make it safe for human consumption. In developed countries the population growth has strained available water resources and stretched the ability of governments and private firms to provide safe drinking water to the vast majority of the population. Seventy one percent of
Water is a fundamental resource necessary for all life on Earth. Humanity would be extinct without it. People think there is an unlimited supply of water, however there is not. The overuse of water is a problem that needs to be stopped. Society needs to learn to live in a more sustainable way. If humanity continues to overuse Earth’s natural resources the way it does today, the Earth will run dry. To prevent the depletion of water, people need to be aware of their impact on the environment and live sustainably. By controlling the population, limiting fossil fuel usage, and stopping greed, the depletion of water can be prevented.
Water is one of the most important elements on Earth and also for our body. We need water to work and function properly and well. Without enough supply of water, our body will grind to a halt and collapse.
Water is considered as an essential for human existence. We all can survive without food for some day but no one can live without water at least two days. Human body consists of 70% percent of water and our globe is covered by 69.9% percent of water. But unfortunately the useable fresh water is just 2.5% out of it. Water is a social good, water is an economic good, water has ecological value and water has religious, moral and cultural value.
And by drinking water to ensure you stay living well, you will have some extra money to spend on things in your life that you can enjoy.
Water is essential not only for our daily household uses such as drinking, cooking, and washing, but also for a range of economic and ecological purposes such as food production, manufacturing, tourism, and the preservation of water-related ecosystems and biodiversity. However, a menacing vision of a “global water crisis,” in addition to the global crisis of climate change, has been stirred up by the media over recent years, and is particularly relevant for current or looming water shortages in some regions of the world, while some even see the danger of a real global water related crisis through extensive droughts or the spreading of waterborne diseases.
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
What is the one thing that all humans can agree on? Clean water. Then why are roughly 844 million people around the world living without access to clean water? (UN Water) As simple as it may seem, there are complex layers that have overlapped for generations, leading to an endless cycle of poverty. The scarcity of water contributes to issues in health, education, and poverty. Water impacts nearly every aspect of life; however, the most shocking fact is that we already have the solutions to provide safe water. The first obstacle that we must overcome is the allocation of resources. Now, more than ever, we have access to the world’s finest research and technology that could very easily end the water crisis. The solution to the water crisis starts with spreading awareness and reaching out to generous donors. Proper funding can be raised to reach the goals of charities across the globe. Sustainable clean water technology can be distributed to some of the most poverty-stricken countries in the world, such as Ethiopia, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which all have populations of over fifty percent living without improved drink water sources. (Africa Development Information) I believe we have the means to provide solutions to put an end to the water crisis, but it will require effort from donors and local communities alike. It is possible within the decade that no one will need to drink unsafe water again if we are united by this cause.
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.
It is an essential resource for sustaining life as well as central to agriculture and rural development, and is intrinsically linked to global challenges of food insecurity and poverty, climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as degradation and depletion of natural resources that affect the livelihoods of millions of people across the world. According to the World Bank, (2010) report, water is a scarce resource with multiple interwoven uses that range from drinking water, energy, irrigation, manufacturing things, transport of people and goods among others. The report further states that, more than one-sixth of the Worlds’ population does not have access to safe drinking water, with 80% living in rural areas thus access to water cannot not be guaranteed globally.