Offspring Water is life! It is

Offspring

Water is life! It is a precondition for human, animal and plant life as well as an indispensable resource for the economy. Water also plays a fundamental role in the climate regulation cycle. The Pacific Ocean covers half the globe an area big enough to fit all the continents. In fact, 75% of the world is covered by water, so although we call our planet Earth, perhaps we should really have named it Water ! Most of the water on Earth is salty. Only about 3% is fresh water and some of this is frozen in glaciers and icebergs. Water is essential for the survival of living creatures, but there is a relatively small amount to be shared around and that makes it very precious. We need to get better at looking after this valuable resource. What do you know about water conservation and water pollution? Read about Water and test your knowledge here! Water is a precious resource in our environment. Growing populations and ongoing droughts are squeezing our water resources dry, causing natural habitat degradation and impacting our everyday use of water. Of all the water in the world, only 3% is fresh. Less than one third of 1% of this fresh water is available for human use. The rest is frozen in glaciers or polar ice caps, or is deep within the earth, beyond our reach. To put it another way, if 100 litres represents the world s water, about half a tablespoon of it is fresh water available for our use. Fresh water is essential to our existence it allows us to produce food, manufacture goods and sustain our health. It is also an essential part of the natural environment which supports all human, plant and animal life. Global water consumption has risen almost tenfold since 1900, in many parts of the world, and they are now reaching the limits of their supply. World population is expected to increase by 45% in the next thirty years, whilst freshwater runoff is expected to increase by 10%. UNESCO has predicted that by 2020 water shortage will be a serious worldwide problem. One third of the world s population is already facing problems due to both water shortage and poor drinking water quality. Effects include massive outbreaks of disease, malnourishment and crop failure. In addition, excessive use of water has seen the degradation of the environment costing the world billions of dollars. When thinking about how much water you use you probably think about how much water you use from the taps or tanks around the house and garden, and perhaps even the amount you use at work. But have you ever thought about the amount of water used to produce some of those items you take for granted in your life food, clothing, furniture, building materials, etc. ? There is often a high amount of embodied water associated with many items we use or consume on an everyday basis. This is the amount of water used during the growing, processing and transportation of the goods we use or consume, or the services we use. As an example, here are some statistics showing the amount of water used to produce some everyday items. 1, 000L of fresh water to produce 1L of milk 1, 350L of fresh water to produce 1kg of wheat 3, 000L of fresh water to produce 1kg of rice, and 16, 000L of fresh water to produce 1kg of beef There are many hidden effects of excessive water consumption, including: Building more dams. This has severe environmental effects such as destruction of wilderness, creation of greenhouse gases from rotting vegetation, altered stream flows and degraded ecological health. It s also very costly! Maintaining other infrastructure for water supply and use. This includes costly upgrades and maintenance of pipes, sewers and treatment facilities. Erosion, salinity and desertification. Water consumption for agriculture alters the natural water cycle in many areas of Australia.