Class: AE3B
WATER SCARCITY : A TIME-BOMB IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE
People can survive at least ten days without eating. But without water, they will die after only three days. It shows how important water is in people’s daily life. So, just imagine how we survive if there’s not any water available. That’s the reason why water scarcity is one of the key environment issues of our time. This essay will identify some major causes and offer three solutions.
The shortage of water resources is mostly caused by human activities. Population growth is increasing rapidly. An UN report (2013) believed that the world’s population is about to reach 8.1 billion by 2025. This leads to not only a higher water demand but also more food to be produced . Farmers will need a large amount of water for irrigation which drives the water sources into exhaustion. Additionally, population growth also causes water pollution because of people’s effluent which is discharged to the river everyday. Moreover, global warming which is also a serious problem of the world today leads to faster evaporation of water. It’s time to save our environment no matter what.
One solution to solve this problem is desalination. This means that the ocean water will be filtered through membranes to remove salt to make it drinkable. According to Arrandale (2002), this method has been used by 130 nations which produces 6 billion gallons usable water per day. Another report (2010) states that some Middle East countries grow organic asparagus - a plant which can desalinate seawater. However, desalination costs lots of money due to high technology and not suitable for many countries which is not near the coastline. Furthermore, desalination would produces a super-saline water which cannot be eliminated back to the ocean.
Another way which can surmount not only water scarcity but also water pollution is recycling water. As a result, the sewage people discharge everyday can be treated by the