Perhaps one of the most important flows of civilization would be water. Without water you cannot sustain life, grow crops, and in that case what's the point? Yes, you could bring in bottled water as they do in some places in the middle of nowhere, for instance some towns in the Middle East, but is that really sustainable? Since water is life, at least for humans, we need to take our freshwater supplies more serious. It seems there is always some sort of freshwater crisis somewhere in the world, yes, you can quote me on that. In fact, let's discuss this for a moment if we might.
This tiny fraction of freshwater is unevenly distributed throughout the world. So, some people have much, while others have almost none. In some countries like Nigeria and Mali, quantity is not a problem, but distribution and quality are. This is commonly so in developing nations. Each year, about 3.575 million people die from water-related disease. Million of people die globally from poor sanitation and contaminated water. Ninety per cent of the victims are children. Over a third of the world's population is seriously affected by water and sanitation crisis.
Before retirement, I was in the car wash business, and obviously water is quite important for work, and as cities hit Level II Droughts, generally the local municipalities, or county governments make car washes them severely ration the amount of water they get, and at Level III Drought, they are most often required to shut down. Imagine having your business shut down because there was no water, and you needed it to clean the cars? Indeed, that would be considered business disaster 101 crisis mode.
However, the over all supply of water has remained relatively static and is even declining as California's population increases. For example, snow pack levels have consistently been lower than predicted, which in turn reduces the amount of water available from runoff. More importantly, increasing population growth in other Southwestern states has reduced the amount of surplus Colorado River water available for California's use, aggravating the California water crisis.
Towards A Way to Improve the Situation The water crisis witness today is not about having too little water to satisfy our needs but rather a crisis of bad management of water. With the current state of affairs, corrective measures still can be taken to check the worsening situation. There is an increasing awareness that our freshwater resources are limited and need to be protected both in terms of quantity and quality. This water challenge affects not only the water community, but also decision-makers and every human being.
Whatever the use of freshwater (agriculture, industry, domestic use), huge saving of water and improving of water management is possible. Almost everywhere, water is wasted, and as long as people are not facing water scarcity, they believe access to water is an obvious and natural thing. With urbanization and changes in lifestyle and attitude, water consumption is bound to increase. However, changes in food habits, for example, may reduce the problem, knowing that growing 1kg of potatoes requires only 100 litres of water, whereas 1kg of beef requires 13 000 litres.
Creating a Sustainable Water Use Policy By avoiding the overuse of water, Californians can beat the California water crisis and ensure that the state retains sufficient reserves for its current and future needs. Creating a sustainable strategy for water usage and securing the state's future is a mission that requires the assistance of every California citizen.
This tiny fraction of freshwater is unevenly distributed throughout the world. So, some people have much, while others have almost none. In some countries like Nigeria and Mali, quantity is not a problem, but distribution and quality are. This is commonly so in developing nations. Each year, about 3.575 million people die from water-related disease. Million of people die globally from poor sanitation and contaminated water. Ninety per cent of the victims are children. Over a third of the world's population is seriously affected by water and sanitation crisis.
Before retirement, I was in the car wash business, and obviously water is quite important for work, and as cities hit Level II Droughts, generally the local municipalities, or county governments make car washes them severely ration the amount of water they get, and at Level III Drought, they are most often required to shut down. Imagine having your business shut down because there was no water, and you needed it to clean the cars? Indeed, that would be considered business disaster 101 crisis mode.
However, the over all supply of water has remained relatively static and is even declining as California's population increases. For example, snow pack levels have consistently been lower than predicted, which in turn reduces the amount of water available from runoff. More importantly, increasing population growth in other Southwestern states has reduced the amount of surplus Colorado River water available for California's use, aggravating the California water crisis.
Towards A Way to Improve the Situation The water crisis witness today is not about having too little water to satisfy our needs but rather a crisis of bad management of water. With the current state of affairs, corrective measures still can be taken to check the worsening situation. There is an increasing awareness that our freshwater resources are limited and need to be protected both in terms of quantity and quality. This water challenge affects not only the water community, but also decision-makers and every human being.
Whatever the use of freshwater (agriculture, industry, domestic use), huge saving of water and improving of water management is possible. Almost everywhere, water is wasted, and as long as people are not facing water scarcity, they believe access to water is an obvious and natural thing. With urbanization and changes in lifestyle and attitude, water consumption is bound to increase. However, changes in food habits, for example, may reduce the problem, knowing that growing 1kg of potatoes requires only 100 litres of water, whereas 1kg of beef requires 13 000 litres.
Creating a Sustainable Water Use Policy By avoiding the overuse of water, Californians can beat the California water crisis and ensure that the state retains sufficient reserves for its current and future needs. Creating a sustainable strategy for water usage and securing the state's future is a mission that requires the assistance of every California citizen.
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