Water: Where Will We Be in 25 Years?

There are many aspects of the world around us that humans need to exist. The earth under our feet grows the crops that we eat, and the sky gives us the air that we breathe. The third side to this triangle of nature, water, is absolutely essential.

Seventy-five percent of the planet is covered to some depth with water, and yet there are so many ways that this substance is being wasted or mismanaged. Because of overpopulation, mass consumption, misuse, and water pollution, the availability of drinking water is inadequate and shrinking. UNESCO’s World Water Development report from its World Water Assessment Program indicates that the quantity of water available now sits at just 30 percent. Water has even become a strategic resource and has led many to predict that water will become the “next oil.”

Fresh water has become more precious than ever for its extensive use in everything from agriculture to energy production. The United States leads the world in water consumption with Canada in second. While 95 percent of the United States’ water resources are underground, these aquifers were created over centuries and could dry up in as little as twenty-five years. There are many disputes forming in Asia between countries that both rely on the same water sources, as in the situation occurring between India and Bangladesh over the Ganges River.

Even with all of these problems, there are signs that the world is beginning to see the light. Many charities, including Charity:, Oxfam, and Unicef are all working to drill wells and lay the piping to bring clean drinking water to people who have never had it. The changes that come from this work are absolutely huge to both their day-to-day existence and their future as emerging countries.

There are also things that we can do in our own home to help conserve water. The easiest thing to do is just to check all of your indoor water-using appliances for leaks. Studies have shown homes can waste more than 10 percent due to leaking, both indoors and outdoors, within irrigation systems. Many companies are now making low-flow devices that reduce the amount of water wasted through things like toilets, showerheads, and clothes washers. All of these mechanical adjustments can lead to a side benefit, namely the reduction in your monthly water bill.

Water is an important part of the world around us, and the human race will not survive without it. The world is finding new ways to conserve our current sources of water, which will guarantee that it will still be available for future generations. Along with conservation, finding sources of clean drinking water can provide an impoverished population with the ability to improve both its health and the stability of its people. This should be something that we all strive for; it will only bring benefits to all of us, no matter what country we live in.

What Can You Do?

• Use sites like H2ouse to find ways to reduce the wasted water in your home.

• Donate money and time to charities that help bring fresh drinking water to people who have never had it before.

• Choose representatives in all levels of government who believe in both the conservation of the current sources and the delivery of new water sources to the people who need them.