In my opinion, the most important problem of today is the lack of fresh water. Global freshwater resources are threatened because the need for it has been increased in the variety of areas. More and more people need more water (demographic reasons). Thus climate change is likely to contribute to the occurrence of droughts (climate cause). Fresh water is 3% of the total water volume. Approximately 75% of the world's fresh water is contained in glaciers and icebergs; almost all of the remaining water is mainly located in underground aquifers (Rinkesh). Only 1% of water supplies is readily accessible to humans. But even this insignificant share would be sufficient to meet our needs if the water was distributed evenly over the habitats of people. Middle East, North Asia, north-east of Mexico, most of Africa, many Western States, Chile, and Argentina, as well as almost all of Australia, suffer from an unstable supply (McKie).
Over the past 40 years, the number of fresh water for each person has decreased by 60%. In the next 25 years, a 2 times decrease is expected (Rinkesh).
Agriculture is the main consumer of fresh water. Currently, it consumes 87% of the available water.
At the annual requirements for the cultivation of food per person per year equal to 400 000 liters, United States use 1 700 000 liters. When the minimum water requirement for domestic use (including drinking water) 50 liters per day, the amount of water consumed in the United States is by 8 times bigger (Rinkesh).
More than 80 countries of the world suffer because of the lack of fresh water. Water scarcity can be felt more than in 300 cities in China, and this problem rapidly increases. Lack of water, especially in the Middle East has already led to political tensions between states (McKie).
In developing countries, about 95% of the water is contaminated. In the US, 37% of the lakes water unfit for swimming because of the different types of pollution: waste and pathogens pollution, chemicals. All of this makes the water not only unfit for drinking, but also for use in agriculture (McKie).
1) Preservation of freshwater reserves in the reservoirs.
This allows not only to preserve water resources but also have a supply of water in case of unforeseen disasters (Rinkesh).
2) Water processing technology.
Domestic and waste water shall be subject to processing and cleaning. This saves a considerable amount of fresh water (Rinkesh).
3) Desalination of salt water.
Technologies for processing of salt water into fresh water (desalination) are becoming more sophisticated and require fewer material costs (Rinkesh).
4) The breeding techniques for crops.
With the help of modern technologies of genetic selection have the opportunity to display crops with resistance to saline soils. Such plants can be watered with salt water, and it saves a considerable amount of fresh water.
5) Drop irrigation.
Another interesting way to save fresh water when watering plants - drop irrigation technique. For this farmland branched are provided with a small diameter pipe systems, through which the water goes directly to the plant or the roots (at the underground location system), and this greatly reduces the fresh water consumption (Rinkesh).
6) Wastewater.
7) Artificial forest.
An unusual solution to the lack of fresh water in arid regions of the world - the creation of artificial forests in deserts. In practice, these projects are not yet implemented, but work on them is being carried out.
8) Wells and glaciers, and others.
Huge reserves of fresh water are concentrated in glaciers. If technically melt some of them, significant amounts of water can be released. Another option of fresh water production is drilling deep wells.
Thus, with the use of modern environmental technology issues of freshwater can be largely solved in the near future (Rinkesh).
Works Cited
McKie , Robin “Why fresh water shortages will cause the next great global crisis”. The Guardian. Web. 8.03.2015. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/08/how-water-shortages-lead-food-crises-conflicts
Rinkesh “What is Water Scarcity?” Conserve Energy Future. Web. 8.09.2016. http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-water-scarcity.php
