The Water Shortage is Rising and It’s Going to Get Worse
The water shortage is a global problem that many countries are facing. In the United States, 36 states have been labeled as “water-stressed” due to their rapidly increasing demand for water versus their availability of it. The future of water shortages will get worse because population growth and climate change will put more strain on our supply of this natural resource.
It’s clear that we need to make a change in this situation before it gets worse, but what can we do?
The Water Crisis with the World’s Population on the Rise
Water shortage is a problem that has been at the forefront of many countries’ minds. From India to America, water shortage is an issue in various parts of the world.
The United States in particular has experienced drought for over 15 years now. With California experiencing its worst drought in 1,200 years, the water shortage has become a critical issue that needs to be addressed.
With the world’s population on the rise, there’s less water to go around for an ever-growing pool of people using it.
Climate Change is Causing the Water Shortage
Climate change has caused drought around the world. One of the most affected areas is the southwestern United States. Climate change in recent years has caused a warming of the atmosphere that leads to less precipitation, which results in less water.
Climate change affects the water supply because of increased temperatures and decreased precipitation caused by higher atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide (CO2). As CO2 levels increase, they create a more intense greenhouse effect that traps heat near Earth’s surface, leading to more evaporation from oceans — which leads to less precipitation for some areas on Earth — and an increase in ocean temperatures. As ocean temperatures rise, seawater expands and glaciers melt, yielding even less water for land-based plants and animals.
We Can Save our Drinking Water Supply for Years to Come
The bottled drinking water industry is a booming one worth billions of dollars, and there is a lot of competition in the market. There are many reasons to buy bottled water, but it seems that the one thing no one talks about is how to save our drinking water supply for years to come.
It’s estimated that 40% of bottled water comes from local municipal sources and not from a natural spring or artesian well. This means that a large amount of bottled water is being sold from this industry, simply because people believe they are saving themselves from drinking tap water which has been proven to have many harmful chemicals.
In reality, this money could be better spent on incentivizing local governments to provide community-based solutions for families with limited access to safe drinking water or installing filters on public water sources
