Drinking water covers about three quarters of the surface of the Earth, but little thought of is the fact that 97.5% of this water is undrinkable sea drinking water and that a full 70% of drinkable h2o remains frozen in Artic glaciers. It is scientifically acknowledged that h2o is the very basis of life, as evidenced by the billions of dollars spent on the Mars rover Curiosity to find traces of water on Mars. Back on Earth, h2o is fast becoming such a scarce commodity that some people have declared drinking water to be the new gold, and the worlds water disaster just seems to worsen by the day.
A recent study coming out of the Netherlands estimates that agriculture alone accounts for 92% of drinking water use and as the world’s population continues to expand, the demand for food can only grow exponentially, further depleting h2o resources. The cost of technology to purify water in order to make it potable is still quite considerable, although progress is being made. The Combined Nations has contended that 80 countries are currently suffering from severe water shortages and fully expects that by 2025, an astounding 67% of the global population will be stressed by drinking water issues.
To put things in perspective, let us look at how much h2o is needed to produce daily consumer products:
* A single cup of coffee requires 71 gallons
* 160 gallons are expended for that one pound of shredded wheat
* The average pair of jeans consumes 2,906 gallons of drinking water, mostly in the form of growing cotton
* The rubber in the typical car demands a whopping 104,000 gallons
* And the list just keeps going.
The recent acceptance in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is further compounding the dilemma of the worlds h2o disaster, as this technology requires just absolutely huge amounts of drinking water to crack rocks and provide oil or gas to the surface.
In all honesty, there is almost nothing new about the worlds h2o disaster, as history all through the ages has shown that water provide administration has always been the driver of humanity, with dire consequences when it is mismanaged. Intricate irrigation systems and canal proliferation have been the hallmarks of rising civilizations, and the same holds true from the western hemisphere to ancient China.
Fast forward to the 21st century, and we can find Jean Chretien, the Prime Minister from Canada co chairing the Interaction Council, comprised of current and former world leaders, issuing a warning that the worlds h2o disaster threatens both political stability and economic development around the globe. A discussion is to be be held toward the latter part of September 2012 below the united Nations normal Assembly auspices. With a different Billion people expected to be added to the global population by 2025, an additional Trillion cubic meters of drinking water will be needed annually, and unless the technology needed to deliver that water is in place, the consequences will be severe indeed.
The worlds h2o disaster has even prompted observers to speculate that this situation may even lead to military conflict, with one prominent area being watched closely, as Egypt is still embroiled in political unease, and Ethiopia and Burundi stepping into the breach to lay claims on the all important h2o from the Nile.
Darren Bradley is a firm believer of clean water projects and peoplewaters.com drop for drop initiative plan.
