The World Water Crisis

While the world's population tripled in the 20th century, the use of renewable water resources has grown six-fold.  By 2050 there will be an additional 2.5 billion people added to the population.  This population growth will result in an increased demand for the already stressed natural resource; water.

With the current state of affairs, correcting measures still can be taken to avoid the crisis from worsening. There is a increasing awareness that our freshwater resources are limited and need to be protected both in terms of quantity and quality.  According to Charles Fishman, author of “The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water,” we must rethink how we approach and use water. A host of advances are under way, from the simplicity of harvesting rainwater to the brilliant innovations that are making impressive breakthroughs in water productivity.

Knowing what to do is not the problem. Ultimately, the hardest part is changing our water consciousness.

• 1 out of 6 people (1.1 billion) lack access to safe drinking water.
• In four days, the US uses more water than the world uses oil in one year.
• 2 out of 6 people (2.6 billion) don't have access to a toilet.
• Americans flush 5.7 billion gallons of clean drinking water down the toilet every day.
• 3900 children die every day from water borne dieseases.
• Fiji Water is bottled at an aquifer on Fiji's main island and shipped more than 6,000 miles to the U.S. While more than half of the people in Fiji lack safe drinking water
• 1.6 billion people (mostly women & children) must walk 6 kilometers to get water.
• The average African Family uses 5 gallons per day.
• The average American uses 250 gallons of water per day.
• It takes 5 liters of water to make 1 liter of bottled water.
• Water is a $400 billion dollar global industry; the third largest behind electricity and oil.
• Americans spend $21 billion buying bottled water.

The statics are staggering, however; it is not all doom and gloom.  We need to learn to appreciate and respect it according to Fishman.  "We must rethink how we approach and use water."