It's funny how humans themselves are causing more crises in the world than the nature ever could. And it's happening more & more in this modern world, when a great majority is supposed to be educated. Although, a lot of developing countries have a large mass of poor who are not educated, but they are not cause of this crisis but they are the first ones who will suffer from these water & general environmental crises. The developed countries, which are educated & much better technology to help resolve these crises, are the ones which created these environmental problems & are willing to do more harm than good.
Some will counter with the argument that the world has too many people now & population control is the answer to resolve these problems. Increasing population is not the problem & controlling it won't resolve the climate change problem. Primary problem is the concentration of resources in a very few hands & those hands are misusing those resources.
For instance, the developed countries (e.g. G8 countries) could've used the opportunity of recession as the impetus to invest heavily in alternative energy & consumer products using alternative energy, e.g. transportation systems using alternative energy. That would've solved the problem of job creation & perhaps, could've took the world out of recession much more quicker.
Now, cars (e.g. Tesla) are being made to work on alternative modes of energy, but those won't be affordable for the general public for, at least, 10-20 years. Plus, in the race to becoming energy independent, America is allowing fracking all over the country to extract oil & gas, & turning a blind eye to the problems of polluting little clean water the country has, which is getting polluted because of fracking.
These water crises could have been managed much more astutely in the past 10-20 years where we wouldn't be having these reports of impending doom & gloom. Science was much farther ahead in coming up with products to counter the problems of climate change, but the leaders of developed countries never took any meaningful steps towards resolving these crises.
Now, the problems have snowballed to where the poor masses of the developed & developing countries, alike, will suffer the most & eventually, the rich will feel the pressure & pain of neglecting the suffering of the poor. Water, unlike oil, is much more vital resource & people will rise up, much more violently, when they are robbed off this basic vital resource to keep themselves alive.
On a side note, Islam told its followers 1,500 years ago to use water very carefully because you will be questioned, on Judgement Day, for each & every drop of water.
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The world could suffer a 40% shortfall in water in just 15 years unless countries dramatically change their use of the resource, a UN report warned.
Many underground water reserves are already running low, while rainfall patterns are predicted to become more erratic with climate change. As the world’s population grows to an expected 9 billion by 2050, more groundwater will be needed for farming, industry & personal consumption.
The report predicts global water demand will increase 55% by 2050, while reserves dwindle. If current usage trends don’t change, the world will have only 60% of the water it needs in 2030, it said.
Having less available water risks catastrophe on many fronts: crops could fail, ecosystems could break down, industries could collapse, disease & poverty could worsen, & violent conflicts over access to water could become more frequent.
“Unless the balance between demand & finite supplies is restored, the world will face an increasingly severe global water deficit,” the annual World Water Development Report said, noting that more efficient use could guarantee enough supply in the future.
The report ... calls on policy makers & communities to rethink water policies, urging more conservation as well as recycling of wastewater as is done in Singapore. Countries may also want to consider raising prices for water, as well as searching for ways to make water-intensive sectors more efficient & less polluting, it said.
In many countries, including India, water use is largely unregulated & often wasteful. Pollution of water is often ignored & unpunished. At least 80% of India’s population relies on groundwater for drinking to avoid bacteria-infested surface waters.
In agriculture-intense India, where studies show some aquifers are being depleted at the world’s fastest rates, the shortfall has been forecast at 50% or even higher. Climate change is expected to make the situation worse, as higher temperatures & more erratic weather patterns could disrupt rainfall.
Currently, about 748 million people worldwide have poor access to clean drinking water, the report said, cautioning that economic growth alone is not the solution – & could make the situation worse unless reforms ensure more efficiency & less pollution.
“Unsustainable development pathways & governance failures have affected the quality & availability of water resources, compromising their capacity to generate social & economic benefits,” it said. “Economic growth itself is not a guarantee for wider social progress.”
Some will counter with the argument that the world has too many people now & population control is the answer to resolve these problems. Increasing population is not the problem & controlling it won't resolve the climate change problem. Primary problem is the concentration of resources in a very few hands & those hands are misusing those resources.
For instance, the developed countries (e.g. G8 countries) could've used the opportunity of recession as the impetus to invest heavily in alternative energy & consumer products using alternative energy, e.g. transportation systems using alternative energy. That would've solved the problem of job creation & perhaps, could've took the world out of recession much more quicker.
Now, cars (e.g. Tesla) are being made to work on alternative modes of energy, but those won't be affordable for the general public for, at least, 10-20 years. Plus, in the race to becoming energy independent, America is allowing fracking all over the country to extract oil & gas, & turning a blind eye to the problems of polluting little clean water the country has, which is getting polluted because of fracking.
These water crises could have been managed much more astutely in the past 10-20 years where we wouldn't be having these reports of impending doom & gloom. Science was much farther ahead in coming up with products to counter the problems of climate change, but the leaders of developed countries never took any meaningful steps towards resolving these crises.
Now, the problems have snowballed to where the poor masses of the developed & developing countries, alike, will suffer the most & eventually, the rich will feel the pressure & pain of neglecting the suffering of the poor. Water, unlike oil, is much more vital resource & people will rise up, much more violently, when they are robbed off this basic vital resource to keep themselves alive.
On a side note, Islam told its followers 1,500 years ago to use water very carefully because you will be questioned, on Judgement Day, for each & every drop of water.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The world could suffer a 40% shortfall in water in just 15 years unless countries dramatically change their use of the resource, a UN report warned.
Many underground water reserves are already running low, while rainfall patterns are predicted to become more erratic with climate change. As the world’s population grows to an expected 9 billion by 2050, more groundwater will be needed for farming, industry & personal consumption.
The report predicts global water demand will increase 55% by 2050, while reserves dwindle. If current usage trends don’t change, the world will have only 60% of the water it needs in 2030, it said.
Having less available water risks catastrophe on many fronts: crops could fail, ecosystems could break down, industries could collapse, disease & poverty could worsen, & violent conflicts over access to water could become more frequent.
“Unless the balance between demand & finite supplies is restored, the world will face an increasingly severe global water deficit,” the annual World Water Development Report said, noting that more efficient use could guarantee enough supply in the future.
The report ... calls on policy makers & communities to rethink water policies, urging more conservation as well as recycling of wastewater as is done in Singapore. Countries may also want to consider raising prices for water, as well as searching for ways to make water-intensive sectors more efficient & less polluting, it said.
In many countries, including India, water use is largely unregulated & often wasteful. Pollution of water is often ignored & unpunished. At least 80% of India’s population relies on groundwater for drinking to avoid bacteria-infested surface waters.
In agriculture-intense India, where studies show some aquifers are being depleted at the world’s fastest rates, the shortfall has been forecast at 50% or even higher. Climate change is expected to make the situation worse, as higher temperatures & more erratic weather patterns could disrupt rainfall.
Currently, about 748 million people worldwide have poor access to clean drinking water, the report said, cautioning that economic growth alone is not the solution – & could make the situation worse unless reforms ensure more efficiency & less pollution.
“Unsustainable development pathways & governance failures have affected the quality & availability of water resources, compromising their capacity to generate social & economic benefits,” it said. “Economic growth itself is not a guarantee for wider social progress.”
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