The Global Water Crisis

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.

Many populations, the majority being in Africa, face many water-borne diseases mainly due to pollution of water resources. The option then becomes to either drink polluted water or not have anything at all. Continual Human development such as population growth and industrial growth have further drained water resources, causing a shortage of drinking water. As a result, there are many conflicts over ownership of water resources and these lead to injuries or fatalities.(2) As mentioned before, this shows why it is so important to find a solution to the issue of water shortage.

Water, like food, is a necessity for human life that is used for many purposes such as agricultural, industrial, and domestic systems. While water is a common element around the world not all of it is clean and able to be consumed or used by humans. With only a percentage of the world’s water being clean and the use of water increasing, the availability of water around the world has become a common issue in the developing and even the developed world. This may be a smaller problem in areas close to clean water sources compared to areas far from a clean water source but, the availability of water is not strictly based on location, it also depends on the specific political and social needs and issues of the area as well. These all become issues that must be accounted for when deciphering whether water is a basic human right or a commodity and what action must be taken to aid the developing water systems in community’s that lack them.

A fifth of the world’s population (1.2 billion people) lack access to safe water today.

The world’s population is growing. The need for water is rising with the birth of every child. Sooner than most people would want to admit, the water resources available in the world would be inadequate to cater for the needs of humanity. As developing countries seek to become industrialized, more water will be needed for their industries. The developed world is also not slowing down its water usage in its industries. Given the important part it plays in growth, the world is well in its path to facing its worse season yet: living without water. When one goes to a country where water problems are real, they find businesses have made water a prominent factor in determining whether or not to set up and run their businesses there. No one can afford to bury their head in the sand anymore. The water problem that is not far away in the future must be addressed now.

Earlier this year, an obscure United Nations document, the World Water Development Report, unexpectedly made headlines around the world. The report made the startling claim that the world would face a 40 percent shortfall in freshwater in as soon as 15 years. Crops would fail. Businesses dependent on water would fail. Illness would spread. A financial crash was likely, as was deepening poverty for those just getting by.

In the present world, water has become a highly contested resource. It is no secret that we are consuming much more water than humanity originally intended. Consumerism is such a prevalent factor in today 's society, which is why multi-billion dollar companies thrive at economic development. As a global population we are shackled by society, forced to conform to the materialistic viewpoints that were adapted from prior generations. The trend will inevitably continue if we do not begin to challenge our society, as well as economy. Water is one of the only resources that humanity is

Water can be considered the most important nonrenewable resource in the world. Every human across the world needs it in order to live and it carries a lot of value. The world is now at a stage where the scarcity of water is making people nervous because groundwater is at an all-time low. Several wars over the years have arisen in the Middle East for water. Desert is the many land condition that rules over the Middle East which means drier air, sand, and minimum water available. This is not a light issue since blood is being spilled over the control of certain rivers and dams within the area. Tension over control for water sources will only worsen as fresh water availability decreases.

Water is becoming a limited natural resource in the world. In an article published on National Geographic website about “Fresh Water Crisis” [1] it has mentioned that out of the 70% of water which is covering the earth, only 2.5% is suitable for drinking and just 1% of fresh water is easily accessible. In the same article the author talks about how people are wasting this limited resource. The growing scarcity of water is due to the rapid growth of population, rising demand for food and cash crops, increasing urbanization and rising standard of living. On the other hand people are writing articles and papers about how to solve this scarcity issue and all the resources presented about

Water is an essential resource to sustain life. From 50 - 90 percent of the weight of living organisms is water. Water is the major constituent of living matter. Water, essential for growth of all crops, is the natural resource in shortest supply. More than 20 countries lack sufficient water to grow enough food for their people. The situation is getting worse as needs for water rise along with population growth, urbanization and increases in household and industrial uses. According to a UN report two-thirds of mankind will suffer moderate to severe water crisis within next 30 years if remedial steps are not taken. World Bank report estimates 5 million deaths from unsafe drinking water and investments to the tune of $ 600 billion worldwide

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

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

Life springs up around water sources. It is no coincidence that some of the greatest civilizations have been build need fertile bodies of water. Known life relies on water to sustain that life. So it is no surprise when a debate arose in 2013 around comments made by Nestlé Chairman Peter Brabeck regarding privatization of water and the fundamental human right to survive from dehydration and illness from non-portal water consumption. Although the context of Brabeck’s comment was taken out of context, issues surrounding the access companies like Nestlé have been given to bottle their water when people do not have access to clean water and droughts are threatening crop production. Adding a price tag is not the answer. The market, both these companies and their consumers have a major role to play in the management of water; a role that requires a change in mindset of privilege many citizen of the United States, and other countries that do not see the direct effects that serious clean water issue have on people that do not have it.

Around the world there are many inequalities which can affect ones happiness, health and prosperity in life. One inequality affecting peoples well-being is the inequality of water. Water inequality is a result of many factors and indicators such as which has been impacted by multiple factors such as pollution, high population rates, geographical barriers and climate change. A massive factor in the inequalities of water is the pollution, up to 90% of waste water in developing countries flows untreated into rivers, lakes and highly productive coastal zones, threatening health, food security and access to safe drinking and bathing water. Another factor is high population rate, every year the demand for water has been increasing. Due to the increased