Due to the fact that there are so many droughts occurring due to climate change, and the water stress is getting worse due to rampant over-population, especially with all of the migration to cities, there are those prophets of doom that are saying that the world is about to run out of fresh water, but how true is this really?
Given that around 70% of the Earth’s surface is water, and that volume remains constant at 1,386,000,000 cubic kilometres, is this possible? Well, let’s just take a look at some pertinent facts – the most important being that although 70% of earth is water, a mere 2.5% of that is fresh water, with the remainder being salt water that is unfit for human consumption.
The global demand for fresh water is projected to increase by 55% by 2050. Much of this increased demand is driven by the agriculture sector, which uses about 70% of the earth’s freshwater, and with demand for food production predicted to grow by around 69% by 2035.
Add to this the fact that water for energy, used for cooling power stations, is also expected to increase by over 20% and the expected increase for water from other production industries, and you can see how this is going to pose a huge problem.
All is not lost though – if we pay heed to what is happening and change our treatment of this our most precious resource, by not abusing it and by reusing and recycling whenever we can, we will be fine.
Water is life, so make sure that you do not waste it and that you make sure that you fix all your broken water pipes and leaky taps – and make sure that your local water company or municipality do the same. Be innovative, reuse, recycle and repurpose!
