Water - notes on problems and politics of watere supply in the world.

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Water Conflicts

Water = Fundamental human need.    ☹  Demand       supply doesn’t match!

Potential for local and international conflict is        

 Future water supply is in doubt due to unsustainable use and climate change.

Vulnerable population = suffer most!

The Hydrological Cycle

     

Closed system → goes round and round, never any more or less in the system.

Water Crisis:

  • Amount of water in world is limited. No infinite supply!
  • Water = 2/3 of earth’s surface. Most too salty = unusable.
  • 2.5% not salty but unreachable (in glaciers and ice caps) Fresh water – 20% in remote areas and rest comes as flood water.
  • Next 2 decades usage will       by 40%
  • 70% used in agriculture. 2020 need 17% more to feed the world.
  • 1 in 5 worldwide cant access drinking water
  • High child death due to hunger or diseases.

Reasons for the water crisis:

  1. Growing population
  2. Desire for better living standards
  3. Inefficiency of water use

          Solutions:

  1. Irrigation systems, drip water into plants & precision sprinklers.
  2. Plant less water intensive crops.
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Human interference affecting water cycle:

  • Salinisation  more water being pumped up, salt leaking in (over abstraction water quality       )
  • Building of dams affects run off, upstream lots of water downstream not so much due to it evaporating.
  • Urbanisation, build more houses      surface area, depletion of ground water.
  • Evapotranspiration, deforestation stops this process. Chopping down trees could mean larger surface area for run of, water scarcity takes place.
  • Cloud seeding (making own rain, acidity ruins quality)
  • Transferring water, more water in one area less in another.

Where is all the water?

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