16 December 2012
Essay #3 Water Scarcity
How will the world’s fresh water supply evolve into a water crisis if the water policies of governments do not change? Today the world is just barely maintaining a sustainable level of water usage. This will change very rapidly in the near future according to the article by 2025 two thirds of the world will be water-stressed and will therefore increase the demand for freshwater on the global scale. Although over 70% of earth’s surface is occupied by water deposits, only 2.5% of that 70% is freshwater and only 0.006% of that freshwater to readily accessible for use today. This growing water crisis is quickly coming up as a new threat and will challenge world governments when the time comes to create policies. These policies however will be essential to the water crisis, if humanity plans on retaining its own sanity. This issue is not only speculation. Several analysts and scientists have determined that the central area of the United States, which produces most of the US’ food, will lose most of its available water within 60 years. This is due to the rapid rising of the water table within Ogallala Aquifer. Its average depth has risen up from approximately 240 feet to about 80 feet today. This aquifer is the water source for nearly all the central US’ agricultural developments and cities. Some towns, like the town Happy, have already begun to feel the effects of this coming crisis are not able to grow any more crops or obtain