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The total amount of water on the Earth is estimated
to be 13.6 billion cubic kilometers (including oceans and polar ice caps). The oceans contain an estimated 1,000 billion,
billion, billion liters of water (estimated by Igor Shiklomanov in
World Fresh Water Resources in 1993). Yet of all the water in the
oceans, only 3% of the water on Earth is freshwater usable by humans.
Precipitation on land is estimated to be 113,000 cubic kilometers per
year, of which 72,000 cubic kilometers is lost to evaporation. The total
geographically available is thought to be about 34,000 cubic kilometers
(in rivers, lakes, and streams or as snow in the snow pack).
Actually a better question is whether there is
enough "clean, fresh" water for all of us on the Earth, and
how well is it distributed. The "Us"
includes the animals and plants that support the human population,
because without them we could not survive.
A recent newspaper article noted:
More
than half the world’s rivers in serious trouble
ASSOCIATED
PRESS
WASHINGTON,
Nov. 29 - More than half the world’s major rivers are going dry or are
polluted, a panel studying global water problems reported Sunday.
According to the United
Nations Review of World Population 2000, the world population was 6 billion in
2000, and is projected to be 9.3 billion in 2050.
A recent
international commission on water determined that by the middle of the next
century water problems will occur. With 8 billion in world population we will
have trouble meeting farming, economic development, and drinking water needs.
The same commission noted that the massive Yellow River in China dried up due to
over use for 226 days in 1997. A recent study by a Global Climate Center
noted that "new findings demonstrate that climate change will not only impact
the quantity of our water supply, but the quality as well".
Water Use
Water use is rising. In 1900, water use was 350
cubic meters per person per year. In 2000, water use was 642 cubic
meters per person per year. Food production is one major use of water.
The following illustrates this use:
| Food (1 kg) |
Water Use (liters) |
| Potatoes |
500 |
| Wheat |
900 |
| Sorghum |
1,100 |
| Soybeans |
1,650 |
| Rice |
1,900 |
| Poultry |
3,500 |
| Beef |
15,000 |
Only 17 percent of the world's crop land is
irrigated, but it produces more than one third of the world's food.
The Face of Drought 2002
Much of the United States has been in
drought during 2002. This has impacted virtually
all segments of our society, from industrial production and jobs to
recreation and tourism.
Do we
face increasing drought?
In the western United States, an arid region, experts
have discovered that "Over the last four hundred
years the average drought is between 5 and 15 years long." Droughts in
northern and central Africa in the Sahara region are getting worse.
What about Pollution?
Pollution is defined as:
Main Entry: pol·lu·tion
Pronunciation: p&-'lü-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : the action of
polluting especially by environmental contamination with
man-made waste; also : the condition of being
polluted From -
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
According to recent estimates, about 2.3 billion
people suffer from diseases linked to water. As much as 80% of all
illnesses in developing countries are water-related. Less than half the
population of Asia has access to improved sanitation.
Dirty water does kill. It is estimated that 1.7
million deaths per year are caused by unclean water. The major water
borne diseases are:
Cholera - an acute infection of the intestine
causing severe vomiting and diarrhea
Typhoid - a bacterial infection passed on in
drinking water, causing high fever
Guinea-Worm Disease - caused by a large
roundworm, the larvae of which may be present in drinking water.
Larvae develop inside people and emerge from the legs and feet.
Diarrhea - a symptom of bacterial, viral or
parasitic infection spread by contaminated water. Can cause death by
dehidration.
Polio - a virus passed on by water, food or
human contact. Caused irreversible paralysis.
Trachoma - produces blindness
Poor sanitation and lack of sewage treatment can
lead to surface water, ground water and soil contamination. Both human
and animal sanitation cause disease in water supplies. For example, farm
animals in the United States produce 130 times more waste than humans
do, much of which finds its way into the water system.
The Cost of Managing
Water Resources and Services Badly
The following keys costs are noted by Bjorn
Lomborg:
- Health Impacts of the lack of access to safe
and affordable water
- Damage and death due to water-related natural
hazards
- Poverty and malnourishment due, in part, to
lack of access to water for productive purposes
- Environmental impacts due to reduced water
availability and pollution
One of his conclusion is that "providing community
managed access to low-cost water supply and sanitation is a major
opportunity to increase global welfare."
Water is a very precious resource, critical to all
life, human, plant and animal. The moon is an example of a world without
water.
I want to help with the
solution to our water supply;
The more we, as individuals know about this resource, the better
and more creative the solutions to problems. Find out more about this
precious resource today.
Click HERE to
purchase Understanding Water Rights and Conflicts, Second Edition.
Sources:
The Water Atlas, Robin Clarke & Jannet King, 2004, The
New Press
Global Crises, Global Solutions, Bjorn Lomborg, 2004, Cambridge
University Press
Understanding Water Rights and Conflicts, Second Edition, 2003,
BurgYoung Publishing
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