The Importance of Conserving our

Water
By swilkins2 (Sarah Wilkins)
HubPages Author
March 31, 2012
http://swilkins2.hubpages.com/hub/Waterimportance

The Battle for Water---How could such a small thing be so important?

Sarah Wilkins
Imagine spending a day in the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains with a clear sky, fresh air, and
peaceful silence that youve never experienced before. You decide to go inside quickly to grab some
water to keep hydrated. After all, you are at a high altitude. You get a full cup of water, you drink half
of it and throw the other half down the drain. You feel guilty, knowing that you wasted half a cup of
water. As harmless as this seems, that half a cup of water could have watered a plant or could have
hydrated another person. The water that Americans waste daily adds to the big struggle of keeping
earths flowing water resources alive and healthy. Not only does the human race need an abundant
source of water, but all other living species and plants need it for survival, too. Water is crucial for
survival, and we need to protect and conserve our water with our actions by just making smarter
choices in response to the environment.
What are the facts and how can an ordinary person better preserve it? One way can be giving up a
few minutes of something that you do daily, such as a shower. We need learn to not take water for
granted and use it more wisely. We do not realize how much we use water every day. We brush our
teeth, use the toilets, wash our hands several times a day, drink water with our meals, sometimes
wash our faces, and use appliances such as the dishwasher and the coffee maker with this precious
resource. To be more aware about this issue, we need to understand the consequences and what is
at risk. We need to make sure that water can be available for all people around the world, not just
worrying about the United States and our water consumption. The Denver Water slogan explains
very clearly, Use Only What You Need. Are we really trying to follow this simple rule of thumb?
As we encounter the future, the growing population will be stressing water resources more and more
each day. Global population is coming to a peak, and we need to drastically take this issue more
seriously. According to an article I read in Discover Magazine called Water Wranglers, a group of
experts hosting a conference at the University of Arizona debate on the topic of water policy and the
water challenges that the world will face in years to come. Part of the article connects the climate

changes to the water challenges that we are predicted to experience. This year, Texas suffered
through the worst one-year drought in history. In addition, Colorado had a very mild winter, and
Mississippi reported record flooding. How does this relate to water supply? Well, a group of
environmentalists figured out that the shifting climate patterns suggest challenges of managing a
sustainable water supply. The worlds total freshwater supply only makes up 2.5% of the 70% water
that covers the earth. Two-thirds of this water is locked up in ice caps and glaciers. This seems small
for our freshwater supply but will only keep diminishing. These experts predict that by 2080, climate
models will show water supply fading intensely, with droughts more common and less precipitation.
The American Southwest will get dryer as northern areas will get wetter. As this article states, No
city has enough water supply to be completely sustainable. These statistics present terrifying news
that we need to be prepared to deal with. The fact that aquifers in these cities cannot refill
successfully and fully anymore will lead to a big downfall of water. The expanding population will
soon limit the worlds water supply. (The Future of Water)
Just as water is an essential need, our food is also affected by the amount of safe water we have
and is used to grow our food daily. According to another article, Reed Funk suggests that annual
crops are approaching their limits and need to be replaced with perennial ones, or underused
species to help sustain food. Funk has done much research on the changes of food production and
sees potential with the crops not needing to use so much water to grow. From careful thought and
planning, less water with these new crops will ultimately help preserve water, but also will enable
food production to be more abundant and useful in feeding a larger population. Food is what we rely
on as a society, and everything we eat contains water in some form. This action will also help with
water tables, which currently have an unsuccessful, inability to recharge. This is scary and is causing
the slow movement of replenishing water and is putting limits on crop production. From the United
Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 90% of clean water goes to irrigation and only 16% of
the 90% actually gets irrigated. This devastating water loss has led to social unrest and political
conflict over water that needs to be controlled. (Reed Funk)
Although its unreasonable to say that all humans need to adjust their homes to meet specific water
requirements, we can still contribute in other ways by adjusting to the needs of water. This water
issue is not only a problem in the United States, but is a much worse problem in other areas around
the world, so making our small adjustments daily will benefit other countries too. Recently, while
Colorado has begun searching for new water resources, 1.1 billion people still lack access to water
on earth. According to Water Shortages, Mary Cooper makes a claim about the uncertainty that
there will be enough safe, clean drinking water to sustain a growing population. As water shortages
are the lowest in Africa, they are expected to spread to more parts of Asia and South America and
become scarcer in 2025. It is predicted that 3 billion people will face water shortages in 2025. The

next steps of the problem is to show how its not only the shortages that are the problem, but also
the water quality and the economic shortages where people cannot get the water resources they
need. Instead of finding solutions and spending a ton of money to encourage new ways, I agree with
the environmentalists how improving conservation is a cheaper, more sustainable way to ensure
adequate supplies. (Mary Cooper)
In addition to the problem of sustainability, the growth in world population rates has caused 33% of
the world is in stressed water conditions. One of the biggest and unnecessary uses of water came
from an essay I found involving store bought water bottles. On average, Americans consumed 7.5
billion gallons of bottled water in 2005 and that led a 10.4% increase from 2004. We need to slow
down the production of so much water and plastic. We need to make water more accessible to more
people so we can preserve it better. From an essay explaining the issue, Rebecca Cho makes a
claim on how bottled water shouldnt be sold only to the ones who can afford it, but available for all
people to better preserve it. In developing countries, water is becoming a scarce article for trade.
Gods given resource to us should be better distributed among all people; not privatized. Through
National Coalition of American Nuns and Presbyterians for Restoring Creation, the organizations
have launched campaigns and resolutions to refrain from purchasing bottled water. This way, it can
be sold to people in poorer areas to those who do not get clean water and will better preserve the
rivers and lakes where water companies obtain their water from. A solution to Chos problem is
simple and can be done by anybody in the United States. All we need to do is lesson our habits of
buying bottled water. Instead, we can refill a reusable bottle from the tap, thus drinking only what we
need. (Rebecca Cho)
Along with Chos efforts to help the water problem, the importance of working together as a global
community to diminish disputes over water is also crucial. In Armed Conflicts will Arise over Water
Scarcity, Alex Stonehill makes a claim that fights between farmers and headers contribute to
genocides in countries such as Darfur and Rwanda. He believes that overuse of water and climate
change impacts will lead to eventually the lakes and rivers drying up. The competition for scant
water supplies will always be inevitable. At the moment, water is becoming a more desperate need
than oil is, becoming the new oil in a potential World War lll. Water refugees are even at risk.
Many women walk many miles a day just to get water in Ethiopia as we can turn on our faucets and
pure fresh water will come out. As poorer Africans are fighting for water, herders fight for water for
their animals too. These living species help with many agriculture jobs and it is important for them to
be able to be nourished and hydrated so they can do their jobs and keep benefitting us. Most
herders are actually armed and would take the risk of fighting with other groups instead of watching
their animals die. (Alex Stonehill)

Surprisingly, city dwellers also stand their ground for water. They claim that water is life and that
this precious resource symbolizes their wealth and standing in society. To be able to get sanitized
drinking water and is at the top of anyones list, including slum dwellers. As the worlds second
largest lake or Lake Victoria dries up completely, water erupts among people who depend directly on
the earth for survival. These nations need help resolving water disputes between city dwellers and
farmers. Part of our job is to make sure these resources can come from 1 st world countries so we
can support the development of systems that can clean the water they have. This means that the
more water we conserve daily, the better we can help them. Also, it serves as a reminder that our
natural resources we depend on intertwine with human prosperity everywhere in the world, not just
the United States. Since we are a highly developed country, individuals should make an effort to use
our water wisely and think about how lucky we are to have clean and abundant water compared to
some of the other developing countries. (Alex Stonehill)
The facts are real, but it doesnt mean we cant do anything about it. This problem exists and needs
to be helped in any way it can. So can we learn to only use water that we need and try to lesson
unimportant uses? Even the small things we do are an effort to help solving the big problem. In
society, since we tend to value progress, we are in need of doing something broader to help others.
How amazing would it be if our generation would be able to contribute to our future, knowing that we
could help children who are going to grow up in a healthy and abundant environment? They have
every right to live and have the same opportunities as we have and need to be thought of as people
of value who will make differences in society. These advances will not only help themselves for
future generations, but will also bring benefits to us too. As our society is becoming more dependent
on other domestic resources and advanced in our technology, we need to raise the bar and do our
part while we can so we can pay it forward. What can you do to support the issue at hand? Next time
you turn on your faucet, remember how much you can benefits you can bring when you only use the
water you need.