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Research Paper On World Water

Decent Essays

World Water Resources: Fractionally Becoming a Catastrophe
Water has always been -- and will always remain -- the basis of life on Earth. Scientists have yet to find a single living and breathing creature that is able to survive without the supply of such a powerful substance. Humans can live for a month without food, yet we can only survive a week without water (Ali Gold Robets). The importance of water has not been as truly appreciated as it should be until now. With water reservoirs shrinking, the global water crisis will only continue to grow. Within the next decade, humanity will begin to see a shift where water will replace oil as our most valuable resource.
The poet W.H. Auden, famously proclaimed, “Thousands have lived without …show more content…

Rivers, streams and lakes are drying up at alarming rates. In Europe, the Tagus river that runs through Spain and Portugal is at risk of drying up entirely. Millions of people depend on this river for their water supply. According to Stephen Burgen, The near collapse has been clear for a while after drought, climate change and human activity have left parts of the river drier than a desert. The problem is not with decreasing rainfall or melting snow because the water cycle continues to take place; the problem lies in human activity. Studies shows that half of water basins use forty percent more water than what should be. Since humanity knows how to do so, we need to fix the problem at hand.
In areas closer to home, similar problems are beginning to create equally devastating effects. Scientists have mapped soil moisture levels within the next one hundred years and it shows a general trend where the Canadian north becomes wetter, but southern areas become drier. Climate Central notes that in the United States, the west coast is already experiencing this. Downfalls are becoming more dispersed and causing a drier climate. It is common knowledge that California, the most western state, has been faced with drought for many years now. Brian Richter points out that Wildfires are becoming more common and, as the climate changes, invasive species are climbing up into the state and

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