Water Conservation in the United States
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- Category: Politics: Political Science
- Date Submitted: 02/23/2011 05:56 PM
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Conservation of Natural Resources
23 November
Water is the source of life and people far too often take it for granted. There is not nearly as much water in the world as people think there is and with population growing at a rapid pace, there will soon be none left. This is especially true in the United States, where we use much more water as the rest of the world. The average American uses about 150 gallons of water per day. In other developing nations in Africa for example, the average person uses less than 2 gallons, and not all of their water is even safe. This sad fact proves how much of the water we use is not necessary. There is no doubt that there is enough fresh water on earth for everyone even with populations rising, the biggest issue is simply that there is poor management and use of the water that we have. Some people literally have the bare minimum while others are using up way more than they could possibly need. Water is an important resource that people use too carelessly; if people in future generations are going to have it as available to them we need to start monitoring our use much more carefully.
There are many reasons for us to start monitoring our water use and a great need to realize how serious the situation is. The world has a very small supply of fresh water and needs to be careful with how it is used. With the population possibly reaching ten billion people by 2050 (World Population Data Sheet), and our water sources already dwindling there is serious need to be more careful. About three-fourth's of the Earth's surface is covered by water. Much of that portion, approximately ninety-seven percent, is ocean water which humans cannot drink because it is too salty. The other three percent is fresh water. Two percent of that water is frozen in the form of glaciers, icebergs and other objects. The remaining one percent of fresh water is found in streams, lakes, and rivers. This is the type of water that humans can consume but...
23 November
Water is the source of life and people far too often take it for granted. There is not nearly as much water in the world as people think there is and with population growing at a rapid pace, there will soon be none left. This is especially true in the United States, where we use much more water as the rest of the world. The average American uses about 150 gallons of water per day. In other developing nations in Africa for example, the average person uses less than 2 gallons, and not all of their water is even safe. This sad fact proves how much of the water we use is not necessary. There is no doubt that there is enough fresh water on earth for everyone even with populations rising, the biggest issue is simply that there is poor management and use of the water that we have. Some people literally have the bare minimum while others are using up way more than they could possibly need. Water is an important resource that people use too carelessly; if people in future generations are going to have it as available to them we need to start monitoring our use much more carefully.
There are many reasons for us to start monitoring our water use and a great need to realize how serious the situation is. The world has a very small supply of fresh water and needs to be careful with how it is used. With the population possibly reaching ten billion people by 2050 (World Population Data Sheet), and our water sources already dwindling there is serious need to be more careful. About three-fourth's of the Earth's surface is covered by water. Much of that portion, approximately ninety-seven percent, is ocean water which humans cannot drink because it is too salty. The other three percent is fresh water. Two percent of that water is frozen in the form of glaciers, icebergs and other objects. The remaining one percent of fresh water is found in streams, lakes, and rivers. This is the type of water that humans can consume but...