Your+World+Final+Project+2009+B+YoungQ

= = =Why is there a freshwater shortage? What problems is the world facing? = =What can we do to stop it? =



__ ***Water is the most precious resource on Earth*** __
**__Table of Contents__**
 * **Introduction/ Background Info**
 * **What problems is the world facing today? What about in the future?**
 * **Why is there a freshwater shortage?**
 * **What are some solutions?**
 * **Conclusion**
 * **Videos**
 * **Bibliography**

__**Introduction/ Background Information **__ Imagine the world with insufficient amount of freshwater to support over 6 billion people in the world. Imagine you turn on the tap water but no w ater comes out. Imagine you need to walk 5 km everyday to get freshwater for every day. All these may sound like it's never going to happen to us, but it is the reality to billions of people and it will soon be to us as well.

Freshwater Shortage? Freshwater shortage is a serious issue all around the world. The bigger problem however, is that not many people realize how serious the issue is. Think about it. Do you actually care about how much water you spend every day when you take a shower, wash your hands or wash the dishes? You probably would say 'no'.

Experts predict that by 2025, about 2.7 billion people will face serious problems due to lack of drinkable water (Early Warning On Fresh Water). **Here are some surprising facts about freshwater shortage to help you realize how serious this issue is:**
 * Did you know that in less than 25 years, about 5 billion people would be living in an area where there are insufficient amount of freshwater available? (Early Warning On Fresh Water)
 * Did you know that two - thirds of the world's population will suffer by 2025 due to lack of freshwater without a better management of water resources? (Early Warning On Fresh Water)
 * Did you know that today, there are about 1.1 billion people who have no access in obtaining freshwater and 5 million people die from diseases caused by drinking contaminated water? ( Early Warning On Fresh Water)
 * Did you know that only less than 3% of the water on earth is fresh? (Early Warning On Fresh Water)
 * Did you know that by 2011, the Korean Government will set a limit to the amount of running tap water that people can use each day?



**__What problems is the world facing today? What about in the future?__** About one - sixth of the world's p opulation do not have access to safe water today. That is, about 1 billion people suffering due to lack of water (Water Woes). These people are mostly villagers in a developing countries (Water Woes). However, in a few decades, experts believe that water shortage might even affect people in wealthy countries. Already, it is affecting some parts of United States, such as Florida and other dried regions (Tree Hugger).

Approximately 5 million people are dying due to water shortage and water related diseases such as diarrhea, schistosomiasis, trachoma etc (Water Woes).

In the future, the economic problems caused by the shortage of freshwater will also be a serious issue. As freshwater is becoming scarce, the prices of water will increase dramatically, leading people to drink not enough water required each day. People will get diseases due to lack of water consumption.

There are also going to be social conflicts between people as well as nations. People will struggle to get more freshwater and create some conflicts among the people. This will also be the same for nations all around the world. They will have conflicts to get as much as water possible to support its people. ==

<span style="font-size: 130%; color: rgb(128, 0, 128);">__**Why is there a freshwater shortage?**__ <span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Limited Resources & Increasing Demand The freshwater shortage, in my opinion, is basically caused by the two worst combination in terms of natural resources: **limited amounts of freshwater and rapidly increasing dem****and due to overpopulation**. It’s just an unavoidable fact that there are limited resources in the world. Especially for water, which is very insufficient yet, with high demands from billions of people, is the absolute necessity in every living creature on earth. Without water, there is no life. Without water earth cannot survive. That's why there are huge amounts of demand everyday. Due to this reason, our water is running out. The times where we can expect to find clean water anywhere, anytime are also running out.

<span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Wasting Water In addition, it is also caused by people's **careless actions and behaviors towards treating water**. Not many people appreciate how blessed they are to have access to clean, freshwater everyday, everywhere. Instead, most people do not care and always expect their tap water to be running 24/7. They waste so much water. They use water when it is not necessary. They turn on the tap water and keep them on even when it is not used. For instance, it is estimated that 2.5 billion gallons of water is used to regulate all the golf courses in the world, and the same amount is necessary to support 4.7 billion people per day (Problems - Water Shortages). Ridiculous amounts of water is wasted on places where it can be used for better purposes. We can save millions and even billions of gallons of water if people have a little care about water and realize the importance of it.



Furthermore, 70% of the water is used in agriculture (Global Water Shortage). Yet, large amounts of the water used in agriculture is wasted and those wasted water just flow straight down to a river and the river gets polluted since the agricultural water contains excessive amounts of fertilizers (Global Water Shortage). This leads to the next cause of the freshwater shortage: pollution.

<span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Pollution As the world become more industrialized, rivers, lakes and oceans are being contaminated by wastes. Industrial and chemical wastes from numerous factories flow directly into a river, causing serious pollution to our nature. This gives a terrible negative affect on freshwater. It contaminates the freshwater, making it no longer drinkable.

If water is kept on wasted and polluted in such ways, the world is in serious danger. Without proper management of water from our governments, it is predicted all of the freshwater in the world will run out in about 15 to 25 years (Problems: Water Shortages). Then, billions of people would suffer and it might be too late to save the world. So, we should have some sort of solution in order to prevent that from happening. And we need to start finding the solution __NOW__. We don't have much time.



<span style="font-size: 130%; color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">**__What are some solutions?__** There are several solutions to the water shortage problem: <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-size: 110%;">Technology
 * The __ultimate solution__ and __hope__ to save the planet and the people is technology.** Technology allows us to filter dirty, contaminated water into fresh, drinkable water through multiple stages of filtering water. It is also possible to filter seawater into safe drinking water. This process is known as **filtration**. With filtration, we can turn almost anything into drinkable water. Today, we have well developed technology throughout the world, and many countries are capable of filtering large amounts of dirty water or seawater into fresh, drinkable water to support their people. However, there is one problem. Filtering water through multiple steps make the water prices go up.

//"Money is important, but health is the utmost importance." - unknown//. When it comes to making a decision between money and health, most people would choose health. Although filtering the water might be expensive, in desperate situations, money must be sacrificed for the well being of one's self. Nothing's more important than one's health, as his ability to do anything in life relates and depends on health.

<span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Recycling Water Recycling water can save enormous amounts of water each year. Some nations such as Australia is recycling 25 billion liters of water each year (Sydney Water - Recycling). This is a good habit. People should get in the habit of recycling resources. We can use recycled water in numerous places, including agricultural irrigation, watering parks and recreational areas, toilets, watering gardens and many more (Recycling Water for a Greener Future). In this way, not only can we save precious freshwater, we can also have more freshwater to drink.

<span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Stop Pollution //"The way we treat rivers reflects the way we treat each other." - Aldo Leopold//. We've made a terrible mistake polluting the nature around us. Now we've realized how important it is to keep it clean. If we start now and try to clean our rivers, we might as well have a little hope in having enough freshwater for everyone. This is not a problem where it can be solved just by government taking actions by themselves. It can be solved if everyone gets involved and contributes.

<span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Other Solutions

__**Some other solutions include:**__
- government needs to set plans for managing the use of water effectively. - too much water was wasted in agriculture, and it has polluted too many rivers and oceans. We need to use recycled water for it. - everyone needs to care more about saving water and realize the importance of it.
 * - Better control of water utilities**
 * - Not using excessive amounts of water in agricultural uses**
 * - Last but not least, economize water**

<span style="font-size: 130%; color: rgb(107, 255, 5);">**__Conclusion__** <span style="color: rgb(0, 139, 255);">**"When the well is dry, we know the worth of water." - Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790).** This quote by Benjamin Franklin, is probably the most important lesson that people in the world needs to learn today. The quote says that only when water is gone, are people going to appreciate the presence of it and realize the importance of it. Water has been a part of us and our society for so long that we forgot its preciousness. Our selfishness will eventually lead us to suck up every single drop of freshwater on earth for ourselves and cause millions to death.

Thanks to technology, we can solve this problem. By filtering dirty water and even ocean water, we can have almost unlimited amounts of water for us to drink and share with those regions lacking water. Also, by recycling water, we can save millions of gallons of water. Government needs to have better management of controlling freshwater and find ways to use it in the most efficient way. However, the most important thing that we need is **your contributions**. So the next time you take a shower or wash your hands, have a little thought in how much water you use and contribute to the world by trying to save as much as possible.

<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); font-size: 130%;">__**Videos **__

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media type="youtube" key="9pYoUXilyyg" height="344" width="425"

<span style="font-size: 130%; color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">**__Bibliography<span style="font-size: 130%; color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0); font-size: 130%;"> __**

<span style="color: rgb(128, 128, 0);">Images:
"A Boy Collecting Dirty Water." __www.scoop.co.nz__. 28 May 2009 <img2.scoop.co.nz/stories/images/0703/f8209bf513cba8f48817.jpeg >.

"Cartoon Water Shortage." __seppo.net__. 28 May 2009 <www.seppo.net/cartoons/albums/cartoons/global/global_action/normal_huussiseura_kortti_eng.jpg >.

"Filtration." __i.ehow.com__. 28 May 2009 <i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/4644675/84123_Full.jpg>.

"Kid." __www.watersecretsblog.com__. 28 May 2009 <watersecretsblog.com/archives/no%20water%202.jpg>.

"Polluted river." __farm1.static.flickr.com__. 28 May 2009 <farm1.static.flickr.com/29/39961007_b7357c3eeb.jpg>.

"Tap water." __www.watersecretsblog.com__. 28 May 2009 <watersecretsblog.com/archives/No%20water.jpg >.

"Water waster." __www.hprcc.unl.edu__. 28 May 2009 <www.hprcc.unl.edu/nebraska/water_waster.gif>.

"Water wasting." __assets.panda.org__. 28 May 2009 <assets.panda.org/img/wasting_water_large_75639.jpg>.

"Water." __www.treehugger.com__. 28 May 2009 <i.treehugger.com/images/2007/10/24/fresh%20water-jj-001.jpg >.

"drout." __www.sflorg.com__. 30 May 2009 <www.sflorg.com/ear/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/WindowsLiveWriter/SandiaResearchersSayWorldwideWaterShorta_FD6A/drought_2.png>.

"water prices." __www.inkcinct.com__. 30 May 2009 <www.inkcinct.com.au/Web/CARTOONS/2007/2007-627P-water-price-scale.jpg>.

"water." __mothersfightingforothers.files.wordpress.com__. 30 May 2009 <mothersfightingforothers.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/water.png?w=151&h=219>.

<span style="color: rgb(128, 128, 0);">Videos:
"Global Water Shortage." __www.youtube.com__. 28 May 2009 <www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFAEulGGaCA&feature=related >.

"YouTube - Water shortage threatens Malta - 17 Nov 08." __YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.__. 31 May 2009 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cfqLrzb5Ug&feature=PlayList&p=8A360897F6ABF381&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=36>.

"YouTube - Recycling Water." __YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.__. 31 May 2009 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pYoUXilyyg&feature=related>. <span style="color: rgb(128, 128, 0);">

<span style="color: rgb(128, 128, 0);"> Websites:
"Problems - Water Shortages." __Web of Creation__. 28 May 2009 <http://www.webofcreation.org/Earth%20Problems/water.htm>.

"Early Warning On Fresh Water." __www.cbsnews.com__. 28 May 2009 <www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/03/22/tech/main504423.shtml >.

"Water Woes." __whyfiles.org__. 28 May 2009 <whyfiles.org/131fresh_water/2.html >.

"Environmental Cost of Global Freshwater Shortage." __environmentalism.suite101.com__. 28 May 2009 <environmentalism.suite101.com/article.cfm/environmental_cost_of_global_freshwater_shortage >.

"Problems: Water Shortages." __www.webofcreation.org__. 28 May 2009 <www.webofcreation.org/Earth%20Solutions/Water.htm >.

Heimbuch, Jaymi, San Francisco, and California. "Water Shortages Rising Across the Globe, But Especially India : TreeHugger." __TreeHugger__. 31 May 2009 <http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/water-shortages-rising-across-the-globe-but-especially-india.php>.

"Sydney Water - Recycling." __Sydney Water Web Site__. 31 May 2009 <http://www.sydneywater.com.au/Savingwater/RecyclingandReuse/>.

"Melbourne Water : Water Recycling : Recycling Water for a Greener Future : Recycling Water for a Greener Future." __Melbourne Water__. 31 May 2009 <http://www.melbournewater.com.au/content/water_recycling/recycling_water_for_a_greener_future/recycling_water_for_a_greener_future.asp#4>.