Key Points
The article is an outline for how governments, authorities and policymakers worldwide can manage and conserve our freshwater better. If we continue not containing freshwater, 3/4 of population could face scarcities of it. This article shows solutions and problems in regards to the care of freshwater. A problem with conserving freshwater is that the world would have to spend $1 trillion a year for technologies, maintaining and replacing infrastructure, and designing sanitation systems. A solution for conserving water is to hold some of it that is not used for irrigation underground. Detaining it in dams would leave it defenseless against evaporation. Holding it in underground tanks would decrease the rate of evaporation by a lot. A reason responsible for people not caring for water is the price. The solution to that problem would be to raise prices. Raising prices would show people that wasting water should not be an option. Solving the problem of water conservation will take a while, but it is better late than never.
MY THOUGHTS:
Water conservation is one of the primary way to settle arguments around the world. One of the many reasons there are wars occurring between countries is because of water. If wealthier nations could find the heart to fund poorer countries, they could use that money to get water which. Also, people should be educated about this issue. Education could compel the public to care for the freshwater that they account for. It could also compel wealthier individuals to use their money to help other countries that are short on money for water. It would cost much to get water now, but the conservation effort will assist the decrease of that cost and will assist other countries receive the water to sustain populations in that area.
So what?
There is a need to conserve water. If we don't, the world will someday have water to sustain only a small population.
What if?
There was an abundant supply of water? Would there still be wars going on?
Says who?
Peter Rodgers
What does this remind me of?
Depletion of forests. We have to conserve our forests. If we do, it could benefit us a lot.
- Policymakers worldwide wield great power over how water sources are managed.
- Use of power will be important as the years go by because the world's demand for freshwater is overtaking its ready supply in many places.
- 1/6 people suffer inadequate access to safe freshwater.
- By 2025, freshwater resources of more than half the countries across the globe will undergo stress or shortages.
- By midcentury, as much as 3/4 of population could face scarcities of freshwater.
- Scientists expect water scarcity to become more common because the world's population is rising and many people are getting richer and because global climate change is exacerbatering aridity and reducing supply in many regions
- Water sources threatened by faulty waste disposal, industrial pollutants, fertilizer runoff and coastal influxes of saltwater into aquifers as groundwater is depleted.
- Lack of water leads to starvation, disease, political instability and armed conflict.
- Technology required to conserve exists
- Governments and authorities have to formulate and execute concrete plans for implementing the political, economic and technological measures that can ensure water security.
- Solving water problems requires understanding how much freshwater each person requires along with knowledge of the factors that impede supply and increase demand in different parts of the world.
- Each person requires 1,000 cubic meters of water per year.
- Distribution of global water resources varies widely.
- Providing water is challenging in drier, underdeveloped and developing nations with large populations.
- Rivers are overtaxed and regularly peter out for long periods
- Levels of underground aquifers are falling
- Shortages of freshwater are growing more common in developed countries
- Droughts have left many cities and towns in the northern part of Georgia and the Southwest scrambling for water.
- Ability to pay for water plays a major role for availability of water
- Struggle for freshwater has contributed to civil and military disputes in the area
- Demand for water varies from places to place.
- Demand rise with population size and growth rate. Tends to go up with income level
- Richer groups consume more water.
- Water prices set extent of demand.
- If the income of poor nations continue to climb to levels of middle-income countries, would greatly intensify the pressures on water supply.
- Reasonable pricing policies promote greater conservation by domestic and industrial users are worth adopting.
- Cost of freshwater has been too low to encourage users to save water.
- Setting high prices can spur the adoption of measures such as systematic reuse of used water
- Raising prices can convince municipalities and others to reduce water losses by improving maintenance of water-delivery systems
- Major consequence of pricing water too low is that insufficient funds are generated for future development and preventive upkeep.
- Cost of repairing and modernizing the water infrastructures of the U.S and Canada to reduce losses and ensure continued operation will be high.
- When the goal is to save water, another key strategy should be to focus on the largest consumers.
- Conserving irrigation flows would conserve dramatically more freshwater. To meet world food requirements, farmers will need a substantial rise in irrigation water supplies.
- 10% rise in irrigation efficiency would free up more water than is evaporated off by all other users.
- Goal could be achieved by stopping leaks in water-delivery infrastructure.
- Additional approach to saving irrigation water involves channeling water that is eventually intended for crop fields to underground storage in nongrowing season.
- Common solution is to hold surface water behind dams until the growing season.
- Underground storage would limit evaporation loss.
- Use of drip-irrigation systems minimize consumption by allowing water to seep in slowly either from the soil surface or directly into the root zone, would also do much to stem demand for irrigation water.
- Keeping the demand for irrigation water in arid areas down while still meeting the world's food requirements can be supported by supplying virtual water.
- Virtual water relates to the amount of water expended in producing food or commercial goods.
- Products are exported to a dry region, then that area will not have to use its own water to create them.
- Items represent a transfer of water to the recipient locale and supply them with so-called virtual water.
- Virtual water concept and expanded trade have also led to resolution of many international disputes caused by water scarcity.
- Imports of virtual water have reduced chance of water conflict
- Staving off future water shortages means spending money. Analysts at Booz Allen Hamilton have estimated that to provide water needed for all uses through 2030, the world will need to invest as much as $1 trillion a year
- Money for existing technologies for conserving water, maintaining and replacing infrastructure, and constructing sanitation systems.
- Sum is 1.5% of annual global GDP
- Investment in water facilities as a percentage of GDP has dropped by half in most countries since 1990s.
- Crucial for wealthy nations to provide funds to assist effort for getting more water in poor countries.
- International community can reduce the chances of a global water crisis if it puts its collective mind to the challenge
- We must accelerate the adoption of existing techniques to conserve and enhance water supply.
- Solving the water problem will not be easy, but we can succeed if we start right away and stick to it.
The article is an outline for how governments, authorities and policymakers worldwide can manage and conserve our freshwater better. If we continue not containing freshwater, 3/4 of population could face scarcities of it. This article shows solutions and problems in regards to the care of freshwater. A problem with conserving freshwater is that the world would have to spend $1 trillion a year for technologies, maintaining and replacing infrastructure, and designing sanitation systems. A solution for conserving water is to hold some of it that is not used for irrigation underground. Detaining it in dams would leave it defenseless against evaporation. Holding it in underground tanks would decrease the rate of evaporation by a lot. A reason responsible for people not caring for water is the price. The solution to that problem would be to raise prices. Raising prices would show people that wasting water should not be an option. Solving the problem of water conservation will take a while, but it is better late than never.
MY THOUGHTS:
Water conservation is one of the primary way to settle arguments around the world. One of the many reasons there are wars occurring between countries is because of water. If wealthier nations could find the heart to fund poorer countries, they could use that money to get water which. Also, people should be educated about this issue. Education could compel the public to care for the freshwater that they account for. It could also compel wealthier individuals to use their money to help other countries that are short on money for water. It would cost much to get water now, but the conservation effort will assist the decrease of that cost and will assist other countries receive the water to sustain populations in that area.
So what?
There is a need to conserve water. If we don't, the world will someday have water to sustain only a small population.
What if?
There was an abundant supply of water? Would there still be wars going on?
Says who?
Peter Rodgers
What does this remind me of?
Depletion of forests. We have to conserve our forests. If we do, it could benefit us a lot.