Water Essays

Water Essays Water Essay Water Essay The commonest of all elements on earth is water, â€Å"which covers about 75% of the earth’s surface.† (Crystal, 1990). It is essential to life and living organisms. Today’s water problems are â€Å"scarcity, depletion, pollution, lack of sanitation, falling rains due to global warming, cross-border conflict, profligate use and mismanagement.† (Godrej, 2003). Overuse is exemplified by us humans by â€Å"tapping them like there is no tomorrow.† (Godrej, 2003). We are pumping out about 200 million cubic meters more than can be recharged. Approximately â€Å"three-fourths of this Earth is covered by the ocean.†( Allen, 1993). But â€Å"97.5 percent of the water is salt water, not fit for human use.† (New Internationalist, 2003). Dirty water is the cause of numerous diseases but improving â€Å"hygiene and sanitation are equally-important in order to curb water-related diseases, and by 2025, two thirds of the world’s people will be facing stress.† (New Internationalist, 2003).Water pollution affects oceans streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ground water and can also cause natural impurities and   human activities that the nearby does. According to Patricia Barnes-Svarney in 1996,   â€Å"Human activities are also of localized water pollution as water become contaminated with heavy metals, chemicals and bacteria, or untreated sewage runoff   from homes and industries†Ã‚   (Barnes-Svarney, 1996). Some 1.2 million people around the world lack access to clean water, twice that number have no sanitation, and most of the world will not have enough water within 30 years.† (Vidal, 2002). â€Å"Some 70% of all the world’s fresh water used by man goes to grow food, and in the US, North Africa and Asia, the farmers can take up 95%.† The global consumption of water is multiplying every 20 years and new sources are becoming scarcer and more expensive to develop and treat.