Perhaps one of the most important flows of civilization would be water. Without water you cannot sustain life, grow crops, and in that case what's the point? Yes, you could bring in bottled water as they do in some places in the middle of nowhere, for instance some towns in the Middle East, but is that really sustainable? Since water is life, at least for humans, we need to take our freshwater supplies more serious. It seems there is always some sort of freshwater crisis somewhere in the world, yes, you can quote me on that. In fact, let's discuss this for a moment if we might.
The Rise of Demand in California As California has continued to grow, the demand for potable water has radically increased. This is not simply for drinking, as industry, farming, and recreation all require vast amounts of H2O. Lush and green golf courses, gardens and landscapes all demand extensive watering, especially when they use plants that are not native to California's arid conditions.;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfbES3tYulw&feature=related]
In terms of the use of H2O, while the total percentages have varied depending on the analyzing authority and date, the following is a rough approximation of overall H2O use in California: i) H2O Utilized for Industrial purposes: 33 percent. ii) H2O utilized for residential purposes, including gardens and internal use: 39 percent. iii) H2O utilized for agriculture purposes, including crops and livestock: 28 percent.
Yes, it seems rather funny that we live on a planet which is covered two thirds by water, but most of it is salt water, and there is only 2.5% which is fresh water, and that includes groundwater, the water in rivers, lakes, underground, and in reservoirs. Also, unfortunately it is not evenly distributed, and it certainly is a distributed the way human populations are around the globe.
Therefore, we must take considerable care, and we are going to have to be a little more diligent even here in the United States, a wealthy country, and create desalination infrastructure, lest we end up with one major crisis after another just like the rest of the world which struggles daily with freshwater supplies.
Whatever the use of freshwater (agriculture, industry, domestic use), huge saving of water and improving of water management is possible. Almost everywhere, water is wasted, and as long as people are not facing water scarcity, they believe access to water is an obvious and natural thing. With urbanization and changes in lifestyle and attitude, water consumption is bound to increase. However, changes in food habits, for example, may reduce the problem, knowing that growing 1kg of potatoes requires only 100 litres of water, whereas 1kg of beef requires 13 000 litres.
Trans-boundary Cooperation As far as trans-boundary conflicts are concerned, regional economic development and cultural preservation can all be strengthened by states cooperating on water-related issues. Instead of a trend towards war, water management can be viewed as a trend towards cooperation and peace. Many initiatives are launched to avoid crises. Institutional commitments like in the Senegal River are created.
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