By Peter Rogers
Notes
- As in New Delhi and Phoenix, policymakers worldwide wield great power over how water resources are managed
- By 2025, according to data released by the United Nations, the freshwater resources of more than half the centuries across the globe will undergo either stress-for example, when people increasingly demand more water than is available or safe for use-or outright shortages
- Scientists expect water scarcity to become more common in large part because the world's population is rising and many people are getting richer (thus expanding demand) and because global climate change is exacerbating aridity and reducing supply in many regions
- Governments and authorities at every level have to formulate and execute concrete plans for implementing the political, economic, and technological measures that can ensure water security now and in the coming decades
- Providing adequate water is especially challenging in drier, underdeveloped and developing nations with large populations, because demand in those areas is high and supply is low
- Shortages of freshwater are meanwhile growing more common in developed countries as well
- Such arrangements often leave poor people and nonhuman consumers of water-the flora and fauna of the adjacent ecosystems- with insufficient allocations
- The struggle for freshwater has contributed to civil and military disputes in the area
- Not only does demand rise with population size and growth rate, it also tends to go up with income level: richer groups generally consume more water, especially in urban and industrial areas
- In addition to income levels, water prices help to set the extent of demand
- Setting higher prices for water where possible is therefore near the top of my prescription list
- Raising prices can in addition convince municipalities and others to reduce water losses by improving maintenance of water-delivery systems
- The 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
- An agreement between municipal water suppliers in southern California and nearby irrigators in the Imperial Irrigation District illustrates one creative conservation effort
- Keeping the demand for irrigation water in arid and semiarid areas down while still meeting the world's future food requirements can be supported by supplying "virtual water" to those places
- Beyond constraining demand for freshwater, the opposite approach, increasing its supply, will be a critical component of the solution to water shortages
- During reverse osmosis, salty water flows into the first of two chambers that are seperated by a semipermeable (water-passing) membrane
Summary
Policymakers worldwide were given the power over how water resources are managed and by 2025 according to data from the United Nations, freshwater resources will go through a stress. For later years to come, the scientists believe that they expect water scarcity to become more common in large part because the world's population is rising and many people are getting richer and because global climate change is exacerbating aridity and reducing supply in many regions. Governments are putting in effort in order to create plans for implementing the political, economic, and technological measures that can ensure water security now and in the coming decades. Being able to provide adequate water is very important as it is one of the key essentials in living for both developed and undeveloped nations with demand in those areas high but with low supply. Shortages of low fresh water is starting to become more common which is a serious issue as this can lead to a struggling future.
Opinion
In my opinion I believe that this is a very big issue as water is one the essential needs in every organisms life. Every nation is dependent on the quality of the freshwater as we all need it in order to survive this world. According to scientist with the amount of water becoming more difficult to have, I believe that it won't be too long now til many nations are going to see a decrease in population and increase in death rate. This is a very big issue as lives will now be on the line if we don't figure out more methods to help prevent future harm with this cause. It is very scary to know that shortages of freshwater is becoming common in developed countries as they'll have a harder time as they struggle with being able to maintain a good standard of living at all.