According to the International Water Management Institute environmental research organisation global water stress is increasing, and a third of all people face some sort of water scarcity. Where demand exceeds supply and no effective management operates, there will be conflicts between the various players involved.
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.
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.
Every summer for the past few years, I have been constantly on the gorgeous glittering waters of Lake Allatoona. I have experienced everything from boating to tubing and even jumping off of double decker docks. It’s hard to say goodbye to the waters for another year until Memorial Day. Even though I only see a small but beautiful portion of Lake Allatoona, the “Tri-State Water Wars” are still a large problem for this blossoming community surrounding Lake Allatoona.
Lack of water and conflict with water rights have instigated wars and political tension especially in the Middle East and Africa, as well as promoting unlikely cooperation to ensure its availability. Also, natural water bodies like lakes mark international
In recent years not only is the complex issue of water scarcity a widespread issue but
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.
A new comprehensive study conducted by Dr Arjen Hoestra of the Netherlands’ University of Twente, demonstrates that water scarcity around the world is a getting worst than ever. Water shortage is becoming a global issue that may result in regional conflicts, economic losses and environmental risks.
For centuries people have sailed the rough, dangerous seas, risking their lives to reach this place we call home. In the near future, people may not be seeking to migrate here, but rather us migrate out if we continue on the path we currently are on. The rate at which we purchase unneeded expenditures is about the same that we overuse our survival resources. I’m here to talk about the over use of one particular resource that could end mankind and cause a global extinction. It’s called water.
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.
“Water has always been man’s most indispensable natural resource” (Solomon 3). Despite its substantial nature, water has frequently been misallocated, mismanaged, misused and undervalued by a great number of societies in the civilized world. In accordance with Solomon, the civilization has reached a global crisis point in terms of both quality of water and its quantity. Both in water-poor and water-rich communities, people are now directly positioned in water scarcity age. Although, the book “Water: the Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power and Civilization” ensures a timely warning for modern societies that all would receive benefit from a less careless water treatment, but the author argues that “while the risk of water war in this most thirsty and politically combustible of regions is high, it is not inevitable. The existential threat posed by water scarcity is so palpable that it generates opposing cooperative instincts for mutual survival as well” (Solomon 412), but it is hard to agree with the position of the author on this question, as it is well-known fact that the Middle East area is an extremely conflict war zone, where water may become one of the apples of discord and initiate a new war.
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.
Many people know that water is essential for human-being and it is not only valuable for health and life, but water is also important for industry and agriculture. Furthermore, use of water has a spiritual, cultural and recreational dimension. However, water resources are not infinite. Wide and inefficient use of water resources can lead to irreversible consequences, such as water shortage. This essay will firstly discuss the problem of water shortage on examples of developed and developing countries and include the diversification of the same issue in the different parts of the world. It will also identify causes and effects of this environmental problem on society and other spheres of life. Moreover, in this essay I am going to propose
Water is probably the most important resource we as people have. Humans can survive without food for several weeks, but without water we would die in less than a week. On a slightly less dramatic note, millions of liters of water are needed every day worldwide for washing, irrigating crops, and cooling industrial processes, not to mention leisure industries such as swimming pools and water-sports centers. Despite our dependence on water, we use it as a dumping ground for all sorts of waste, and do very little to protect the water supplies we have.
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.