Water Scarcity, And For Good Reason

Climate change is arguably the greatest threat to humanity and the worst of it’s effects are fast approaching. It is the basis of a myriad of problems, one of which is water scarcity. As the world population grows and the climate warms, demand for fresh water has surged-- with water scarcity affecting more than 40 percent of the global population (United Nations, 2010). Conversely, the world’s fresh water supplies are dropping. Water is indispensable to biotic existence. While it aided in humankind's creation, it can also aid in its downfall. Bearing these elements in mind, one can consider the implications of this water crisis: What are the threats to its quality? Who will it affect? Is water a right or a commodity? What are the social, economic, and political variables and how do they connect? And ultimately, how can we fix this? Throughout my research I seek the answers to these critical questions.

Among all of the resources in the world, there is one that we do not often consider to be diminishing. The masses take this resource, water, for granted. When the average person takes a single look at a world map, they see multiple blue oceans covering the Earth. But, although we are surrounded by water, our clean water reserves dwindle rapidly. In her article, “Water Works”, Cynthia Barnett attempts to bring this issue to greater light and offers her own solutions. While I agree with many of Barnett’s points, she fails to look at the arguments of her detractors to the detriment of her already flawed case.

any countries in the world are short of precious water. Given that water is so essential to everyday activities, such as cooking,washing, and growing crops, without the quality of water can affect our nation, even causing economic or social instability. The cdc estimates 780 million people around the world,more than 1 in 10, do not have access to an improved water source one that is protected from outside contaminants.

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.

The commodification of water is driven by fears of water scarcity, accessibility and cleanliness. Water is recognized a basic human “the human right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses” (UN, 2002). But despite this it estimated approximately a billion people do not have access to clean drinking water.

Across the globe there are approximately six hundred and sixty three million people who lack access to clean, safe drinking water. Water is essential to life and a basic human right that everyone, regardless of status or location, should have. Water scarcity has begun to increase with the growth of population and agricultural industry. This scarcity is affecting humans across the globe, even in wealthy industrialized countries. The overuse of water in homes, on farms, and in the workplace has put a burden on the natural environmental systems that keep civilizations going, forcing people to take action. Water scarcity continues to be a modern tragedy worldwide; however, global efforts provide hope for many through their continued outreach programs to bring water to people in need and fix the broken system that has been adopted.

According to Unicef, “Two out of every ten children do not make it to their fifth birthday due to a water related illness.” This crisis is preventable and 39% of Western and Central African people should not be living like this. Life is difficult for the people that do not have clean water. ¨Women and children walk up to three hours a day to get water,¨(Unicef). “Women spend more time collecting water than anything else,” stated by Water Changes Everything. “Women and children also carry up to 40 pounds of water every trip they make to get water,” states Water and Sanitation. The information is important because they do not have a good chance to get a job or education and therefore they live in poverty with no chance of having a productive life outside of their village. There are many global problems about this crisis. “The woman and children collecting the water do not get an education because they spend all day getting the water” (Water Changes Everything). “They still do not have proper sanitation water to drink or clean water,” states the The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “On an average year 1.5 million children die a year due to a water related disease,” states Water and Sanitation. This problem is solvable, and we can not allow 1.5 million children to die a year and not get an education. Research must continue in order to solve this

All across the world no living creature exist without water and to the naked eye it appears infinite. Vast oceans currently cover around 70% of the earth and rest of the water fills up lakes, streams, and rivers or falls from the sky. However, only around three percent of the water on earth is fresh water, and only one percent of the earth’s fresh water is accessible to humans and usable. Due to this, more than one billion people cannot obtain enough drinking water to keep them healthy and around five million die yearly for this reason. Sadly water scarcity isn’t due to a “shortage” of water, but rather politics, economics, and infrastructure. This begs the question of whether

Fresh drinking water makes up a small portion of the total water that is on Earth. Only 2.5 percent of all the water on Earth can be classified as fresh drinking water, while the rest of the water on Earth is saline. On top of only being a very small amount of fresh drinking water available on Earth, less than half of this water is accessible. Because of human’s inefficient use of water coupled with our exploding population the amount of water available to humans has continued to decrease. Water needs to be conserved, managed, and distributed effectively and water privatization is not the solution.

I chose water because it is a problem on a global scope, and with the current climate shifts and world population numbers continuing to grow, water is and will only become more of a problem as resources continue to lower. The number of people who suffer from the scarcity of water is alarmingly big, about one- third of the humanity doesn’t have an access to water supply. As a world, we are finally grasping the truth that water is and will remain one of the most valuable resources the planet has provided. Without it, life would not exist. Some of the largest lakes and rivers on the globe are depleting at a very frightening pace. Approximately 40 percent of the entire population of the planet has little or no access to clean water and it is

The global demand for water has vastly increased in the past few decades, making demand exceed what is available for direct use. Nearly 768 Million of the human population, roughly 1 in 10 people, does not have access

The whole world has an essential role in trying to protect the resource of water. Water is a major necessity that everyone needs in order to stay alive. Without water, people may possibly be able to only go a few weeks to a few months before having serious health complications or even death in the worst case scenario. One of the many concerns on the subject of water is if there will be enough water for the populations to come within the next twenty to seventy years. The lack of water is often taken for grant by everyone who has it but

The Global Water Institute stated that “approximately 700 million people in 43 countries are currently suffering from water stress and scarcity in 2013”, by 2025 2.8 billion people will face water stress and scarcity (Hameeteman, 2013, p.3). The global water supply is approximately 2.5% freshwater and 97.5% is saltwater (Hameeteman, 2013, p.4). Hence, it is crucial that the Earth’s population tries to manage the water stress and scarcity. There are many causes of water stress and scarcity, for instance: overuse of water due to economic reasons, pollution of water, drought, governmental access and policies, and many more. In Africa, many children and women are responsible in collecting water, thus, traveling large distances to collect clean or unclean water. In addition, sanitation facilities are inadequate causing “half the population” to suffer from waterborne diseases (Hameeteman, 2013, p.6). As a result, unclean water and poor sanitation are a leading cause of illness and death in this region. There are a few approaches to providing clean water to the African population, for example: piped water, stand posts and wells. Moreover, poor sanitation can be alleviated with pit latrines, urine diversion dry toilets and pour flush toilets (Septien, 2015). However, such methods can be expensive. Hence, it is important to understand the household’s income and the economic situation of the country. Contrary, different strategies are needed to provide clean water in the developed

Water covers approximately seventy percent of the Earth surface, but less than one percent of that is available for human use. The world must share this small amount for agricultural, domestic, commercial industrial and environment needs. Across the globe, water consumption has tripled in the last fifty years. Managing the supply and availability of water is one of the most critical natural resource issues facing the United States and

As the world’s population is continually increasing, the amount of resources that humans are exploiting is creating an unstainable future that presents a challenging endeavor for the world’s people. Currently, the world has a population of 7.1 billion inhabitants, and by the year 2050, the world’s population is expected to reach 9 billion (Population Institute, 2010, page 2). If the estimates are correct, how can the earth supply its inhabitants with the limited amount of resources needed for life? Perhaps it is impossible, as the world is already experiencing a water crisis. Only 20% of the world’s inhabitants have access to clean running water, while over one billion people do not have access to clean drinking water (Population Institute, 2010, page 2). In public health, 21 of the 37 leading diseases in developing countries are related to unstable water sanitation (Population Institute, 2010, page 1). As a result, nearly 1.2 billion people inherent a greater probability to obtain a health problem by consuming unclean water (Population Institute, 2010, page 2). Currently, the water crisis is found in developing and developed countries. However, water sanitation and water scarcity is predominantly evident in developing states. To combat such issues, many developing countries have adopted public utilities that privatize water.