How much water
do you use every day? Think about it. I will give you a minute. I mean you need
water for brushing teeth, watering plants, showers, and a multitude of other
purposes. Oops I left the hose on for too long. No problem, right? Wrong. In
the United States especially, it feels as though water comes out of a faucet on
command, an indispensible source. Many people fail to realize that freshwater
sources are diminishing, fleeting, and will soon be all gone. What then? According
to The Science American in 2025 the amount of usable water on Earth
will be so small that wars will be fought over it. The best thing to do is not
to go to the store and buy every bottle in sight, but to conserve the water we
already have today.
Conservation
sounds like an abstract concept, but in reality it is quite simple. Opponents
may claim that we should wait until there is no water to start worrying.
However, what they do not realize is that, by then, it will be too late. The
battles over water will begin, the bloodshed, the casualties, all because of
the carelessness of humans. Prevention always trumps clean up. Water
conservation also promotes community collectiveness, because citizens can work
together to preserve a precious resource. Simple adjustments to bad habits can do
so much more than one can possible imagine; for example, taking shorter
showers, not letting the water run while brushing teeth, or watering the lawn
in the evening to minimize evaporation. According to Living in the Environment the average American
uses 295 liters of water per day. Let
that sink in. Per day. There is no need for such uneconomical waste. The worst
part is that 41% of water is used for agriculture, there are children dying of
thirst in developing countries and the majority of our fresh water is being
wasted on crops. Crops possess the capability of being watered with recycled
water, simply switching to using recycled water on plants conserves this valuable
resource. Once people comprehend the magnitude of water scarcity, maybe then
they can become proactive in the community. Conservation is something everyone
should be a part of, something everyone should want to be a part of.
Only .024% of all water on earth remains available to
us (USGS.gov). That sounds like a good a reason as any to maybe
remember to turn off the hose. We humans need water to survive, and for this
reason we should treasure it, we should protect it.
Works Cited:
Capelli, Kara. "How Much Water Is Available?" USGS.gov. U.S Department of Interior, 30 May 2012. Web. 02 May 2013.
Green, Emily. "Politics and Water Conservation." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2010. Web. 02 May 2013.
Moyer, Micheal. "How Much Is Left? The Limits of Earth's Resources: Scientific American." Scientific American. Scientific American Inc., 24 Aug. 2010. Web. 02 May 2013.
I agree with you in the we must begin preserving water. Most people take advantage of such resources as they see these luxuries as "unlimited." However, what most people fail to realize is that simple fact that such resources are, as you've said, fleeting. Simple changes in our lifestyles could significantly alter the ways our futures are steered.
ReplyDeleteI agree! It's scary to think about how bad off we could be in a few years if we don't get it together. We all need to make some small sacrifices to save our environment.
ReplyDeleteI was watching a show about how we could eventually run out of water and I was getting a little bit freaked out. I agree with Emma that we need to make small sacrifices in order to save our precious environment.
ReplyDeleteWater conservation is extremely important, and should be taken very seriously. The threat of running out of water is imminent; we need to take action to sustain our resources.
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