Water Resources free essay sample

But what happens if mankind doesn’t do anything about this and lets the situation escalate. How can we solve this problem, and what can we do to use less water? Many years of research shows us that a human needs 50 liters of water a day to do everything: Cook, wash, drink, †¦ The average American uses 329 liter water a day and a European uses 122 liter water a day, while in some parts of Africa and Asia they only use 20 liters a day per person. The water crisis has a great impact on the world. And the main problem is that there is too much contaminated and not safe water. People get sick or ie because of this. But also animals and food need clean water! Everything is linked to water. According to the article by Peter Gleick , â€Å"†¦more than one billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation† But how can we conserve and protect our water supply? Water conservation is a big thing, but if everyone does a little bit, at the end the result will be worth working for. We will write a custom essay sample on Water Resources or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page We all have to make a change in the way we live which will change the course of our water and it’s quality. It is a way of life, not something that you do for once and than never think about it again. Water conservation means that you have to use water in a wise and responsible way. Since we all depend on water, we have to take responsibility to learn how to conserve water and how we have to keep it clean for ourselves and the next generation. Water conservation is not a job that is just for the technician, soil scientist, hydrologist, forester, wildlife manager, plant scientist, city planner, park manager, farmer, rancher, or mine owner alone. It is a job for the every day person who just likes to have access to the life sustaining resource of water. The world’s water supply is not endless. This means we have to start to take responsibility for it. Ninety-seven percent of all the water on earth is salt water, which we cannot drink. The other three percent of the water is fresh water, only one percent of that is suitable for drinking. The other 2 percent are ice caps and glaciers. But the problem with ice caps and glaciers is that they float in the sea, which is salt water. With 7 billion people all over the world, we have to live of the one percent of water that is available.. Since water is the foundation of food and life, we cannot live without water. Saving water now makes us preserve our environment. Because we don’t save our water and waste it, less-developed countries hardly have enough water to survive. â€Å"†¦the average family in Sydney, Australia uses more than 1000 liters of water a day compares to 300 to 400 liters for an American, while some less-developed countries barely exceed a few liters a day. † Out of scientific research we can conclude that only 55% of all the water that is produced is really used. Which means that 45% of our water is wasted, vaporized or drained away. As stated in an article in State of the Planet by Peter Glick, â€Å"The most serious unresolved water problem is the continued failure to meet the basic human need for water. † This underscores the fact that there is not going to be water forever if we don’t start doing something about it. It means that parts of the world could run out of water in less than 30 years from now. As futile as it sounds, it is only a matter of time. There are several causes for all the water that goes to waste. According to an article in Business Credit the three main reasons are: distribution, pollution and the expansion of drought and floods. Globally water distribution is not the same everywhere. There are many places who are in need of water but don’t get it. And in the areas where there is enough water, they take it for granted. The second cause, pollution, affects almost the whole world, but it is the worst in the underdeveloped countries. Some countries and villages in particular sometimes have to drink, bath and wash from the same water. , often coming from rivers. These rivers may consist of animal waste from farms or other houses. Who knows how contaminated the water is. The third and major issue is droughts and floods. Some of the droughts are already under control of mankind, but some of them aren’t. It depends on how much rain there will be and how the climate changes. Research shows us that in areas where the average temperature is normally low, they now experience higher temperatures. There are some places where the rivers were flooding, while now, 30 years later they cannot even put their boats in the river because the water level is too low. The leading reason of water waste is irrigation. 70% of the water use goes to irrigation, 20% to industry and the remaining 10% is used for residential purposes.. Lester Brown who is an American environmental analyst describes the growing problem. â€Å"Globally, demand for water had triples over the last half century, millions of irrigation wells have been drilled, pushing water withdrawals beyond recharge rates. † In conclusion we have to realize that we cannot waste any more water today so that we will still have water in the future for us and for the next generation. We have to think about how the next generation will not have enough water if we don’t start saving water today! There are several things that we can do to preserve and conserve water. It takes a little bit of time every day, but in the end everyone helped for a better world. We have to save the water now we still can. But in my opinion the governments also have to change things. It is a global issue, which has to concern everyone because it will affect every one of us. Water is one our planets greatest recourse and we have to conserve and respect this. If we want that our children, the next generation and ourselves have enough water to survive, we should start working on this today. Water is the source of life! Cossi, Olga. Water Wars: The Fight to Control and Conserve Nature’s Most Precious Resource. New York: Simon amp; Schuster Childrens, 1993. Gleick, Peter H. Thirsty word: Desperate quest for water. Excerpt from What Matters: The Worlds Preeminent Photojournalists and Thinkers Depict Essential Issues of Our Time. 20 Oct. 2008. CNN. com. 12 Feb. 2009 . Gleick, Peter H. Water in Crisis: Paths to Sustainable Water Use. Ecological Applications 8 (1998): 571-79. Globalwater. org. Water Management, Water Scarcity Solutions in Rural Areas: lt;http://www. globalwater. org/background. tm. gt; Accessed March 26, 2009. Hoekstra, Arjen and Ashok K. Chapagain. â€Å"Globalization of Water: Sharing the Planet’s Freshwater Resources. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2008. READING AND RESEARCH JOURNAL Name: Catharina Monstrey Topic: Water | Date | Reading source done in APA end of text referencing style! | Summary of key relative points | Week | | | 16/04| Cossi, Olga. Water Wars: The Fight to Control and Conserve Nature’s Most Precious Resource| Water is our most precious resource| | | We have to save| | | | Week | | | 18/04| Gleick, Peter H. Thirsty word: Desperate quest for water. | What can we do | | | What is the cause| | | | Week | | | 20/04| Gleick, Peter H. Water in Crisis| We have to start saving| | | It is becoming dramatic| | | | | Date | Reading source done in APA end of text referencing style! | Summary of key relative points | Week | | | 03/05| Hoekstra, Arjen and Ashok K. Chapagain. â€Å"Globalization of Water: Sharing the Planet’s Freshwater Resources. | We have to do something| | | What can we do| | | | This statement must appear on the first page and be signed: â€Å"I confirm that this work is my own. Additionally, I confirm that no part of this coursework, except where clearly quoted and referenced, has been copied from material belonging to any other person e. g. from a book, handout, another student. I am aware that it is a breach of GIHE regulations to copy the work of another without clear acknowledgement and that attempting to do so renders me liable to disciplinary procedures. To this effect, I have uploaded my work onto Turnitin and have ensured that I have made any relevant corrections to my work prior to submission. _________________________________________ Writer’s signature [ 1 ]. (60). Gleick, Peter H.. Water in crisis: a guide to the worlds fresh water resources. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Print. [ 2 ]. Dalgleish, Sharon. Saving water. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2003. Print. [ 3 ]. Brown, Lester Russell, Christopher Flavin, and Sandra Postel. Saving the planet: how to shape an environmentally sustainable global economy. New York: W. W. Norton, 1991. Print.