http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/08/110804-fresh-water-crisis-desalination-environment-science/
It seems like an obvious solution if it can be executed correctly, the desalination of ocean water. By the year 2025, it is predicted that 1.8 billion people will live in areas of "extreme water scarcity". Scientists predict that there will be over 10 billion gallons of fresh water produced by desalination plants. It appears that this simple idea could eventually save many lives. One problem facing the process is lack of funding. The United States could soon be outfunded by Singapore, Israel, Austrailia, Spain, and The Netherlands. I believe that this solution is easy enough and effective enough that the plants should be given enough funding so that they can make a true difference in the lives of those who suffer from water shortages.
This sounds like the only real solution to solving the water-scarcity issue the world is rapidly heading towards. The complete loss of water on Earth is inevitable, regardless of whether we conserve water or not. It remains only a matter of time before wars begin over it. If we could safely convert saltwater to freshwater, then the almost-limitless supply of saltwater could feed the human population's insatiable need for water for quite a while. The only problem is that there are many countries which probably couldn't afford to construct desalination plants. However, these are small problems in the scheme of things, as we are all in trouble if a solution isn't found. My opinion is that this is definitely a step in the right direction towards solving this problem.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Mariah is saying. People are already beginning to fight over water here in the United States. There have been reports of Atlanta possibly running out of water. We need to learn to be more resourceful with the water we have and not being so wasteful. We take for granted all the running water we have here in the states when other countries don't even know what running water is.
ReplyDeleteAmerica most definitely has enough money for water and is not running short except for rare droughts in summers where the only water conservation is to stop sprinklers. The people in short of water are those who live in third world countries and could not afford the vast water systems that wealthier countries have. Desalination plants cost a lot of initial money, money that these countries do not have. The water tastes bad and does not have the minerals of other types of water. If the United Nations could work together, they could pay the cost to bring water to the third world, but it is not a viable option for wealthier countries.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very logical solution to the world's water shortage issues. The United States should step up, and be a leader on this front.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kirk on this one. Though we may not be the ones suffering, we cannot be ignorant to the other countries fighting in order to survive. Desalination plants would be a heavy investment to the third-world countries that need them, but perhaps they could offer economic benefits to any major transnational desalination plant that would move to that country. Either that or they could depend on the United Nations to do something about it. I also think that news of this worldwide scarcity should become more recognized by citizens across the US, donations can go a long way to helping out others.
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