Had a bath today? Showered yet? Thirsty? Do the plants need a drop?Before you touch the tap, consider:
- drought in Georgia threatens the water supply for millions;
- Florida doesn't have nearly enough water for its expected population boom;
- the Great Lakes are shrinking;
- Upstate New York's reservoirs have dropped to record lows;
- homeowners in the Southeastern US have been using dish and bath water to flush toilets and water plants;
- in the West, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is melting faster each year.
The US government projects that at least 36 states will face water shortages within five years because of a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess. Rising temperatures are causing glaciers to melt and sea levels to rise. Rising seas could push saltwater into underground sources of freshwater. Paved over areas of land prevent groundwater from penetrating the earth to recharge aquifers.
It's the same everywhere. Australia is in the midst of a 30-year dry spell, and water use on some parts of the continent are restricted. Population growth in urban centers of sub-Saharan Africa is straining resources. Asia has 60 percent of the world's population, but only about 30 percent of its freshwater.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations network of scientists, said this year that by 2050 up to 2 billion people worldwide could be facing major water shortages.
Water managers will need to take bold steps to keep taps flowing, including conservation, recycling, desalination, and stricter controls on development.
Of course, conservation is the cheapest method of preserving freshwater supplies.
Maybe a quick shower will do?
US Water News
Why Files
It's the same everywhere. Australia is in the midst of a 30-year dry spell, and water use on some parts of the continent are restricted. Population growth in urban centers of sub-Saharan Africa is straining resources. Asia has 60 percent of the world's population, but only about 30 percent of its freshwater.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations network of scientists, said this year that by 2050 up to 2 billion people worldwide could be facing major water shortages.
Water managers will need to take bold steps to keep taps flowing, including conservation, recycling, desalination, and stricter controls on development.
Of course, conservation is the cheapest method of preserving freshwater supplies.
Maybe a quick shower will do?
US Water News
Why Files
5 Comments
Wonderful reminder ... resources are not unlimited. Peace & much Christmas cheer to you and yours, JP/deb
ReplyDeletei avoid taking baths whenever the slightest opportunity arises....
ReplyDeletethanks for the info that i'm doing some good somewhere :)
N
I have said these things to my husband who is, right this minute, in the shower and he'll likely stay in there for 30 minutes.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, let me wish you a Merry Christmas and also thank you for keeping us aware and thinking in the old year. I hope you'll continue into the new.
I knew my spotty hygiene practices would do someone good, somewhere! :) Great post. A good reminder to all of us.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. We only have a shower in our flat. I've not had a bath for years! We also take the 'yellow is mellow' approach to flushing the toilet, though that is too extreme for some people.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment on my blog btw on fair trade. Edinburgh is really lucky in having several shops which sell fairtrade goods, so that's where I buy things. If I find any websites that sell fairtrade internationally I'll let you know. Sorry I can't be more use at the moment!
Thanks for being here.