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| Yes | 54% | 53 votes | Total: 99 votes | |
| No | 46% | 46 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesHumans and the animal kingdom need water to survive. Whereas our bodies are made up of 75% water, you can live without food for fourteen days or more, but without water in your system, you will dehydrate and die in a matter of four days.
Globally, the weather patterns have changed. Whether due to global warming, sun spots, cooling, shifting of jet streams or any other scientific explanation, some areas are being deluged with water and others are suffering from severe droughts.
At this time, there are one billion people in the world without access to potable water. Seventeen countries alone in Africa, with Ethiopia being the hardest hit, has less than 25% availability of clean water.
Considering there is only 1% available on the entire planet of water for sustenance and daily life, millions are dying and diseases are running rampant in several countries. There is fresh water in the glaciers of course, however it would be a monumental task and a political nightmare to transfer that water to the devastated countries of the world.
If there is a true solution to the problem, the governments of the world have thus far done nothing to resolve the situation due to the bickering of whose land rivers cross, refusal to open dams to send needed water and what economic benefit a country will receive to help another country.
In the United States, we are losing water in our mountains and man-made lakes faster than it can be replenished. Watch the news sometime in your area where they mention the lake levels. Three feet, ten feet, thirteen feet down, where literally you can see tree stumps and they close off certain areas from boating because of the danger. Every year water restrictions are in place against watering at will.
What water we do have in our city systems isn't fit to drink and if you think 'buying' the water is an assurance that it is Natural Spring water, read the label. It is from the municipal water supply. Why not spend the money on a carbon filtration system for under your sink? There are so many chemicals dumped into the drinking water to try and clean up some of the filth and people wonder why there is such a rise in certain diseases, well, your body can only filter out so much of the chemicals.
What it will come down to is when water becomes more expensive than gas or there is none at all, there will be war.
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Learn more about this author, Nanette Piotrowski.
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No
For a planet covered with water it's pretty difficult to image that it could dry up without people being aware of it. Although I know the intent of the question is focused on fresh water supplies running out, there isn't a permanent danger of losing that water either, just that refreshing the natural containers will require a little aid from technology. But people love to be excited about the wrong things, so to most people it isn't a question of asking whether the global water supply is drying up, but just believing that that is the inevitable outcome.
Although it is likely that glaciers will disappear in due time and the ice caps will melt, there are other sources for rivers and water supplies besides melting ice, and in fact many large rivers and lakes are not from ice reserves at all. This means that the water supplies will not dry up unless the world weather patterns and seasons that supply the source of the water in the form of rain also ceases to exist. This of course is highly unlikely.
Fortunately enough, even if the worse case scenario did arise and cancel all natural supplies of water, there would be the ability to duplicate the process with the aid of natural forces and technology. With the assistance of various machines, not only can all the water on Earth be a continuous supply, but the delivery of water will be filtered and screened of impurities. Whether water dries up around the landmasses or not, if there is effort, there will always be water for use when we need it.
The processes used for this constant water use are already in existence now, just not used together effectively or intentionally for this purpose. Instead, it is better for people to worry about the problems before they exist, because if it isn't an issue in the present, governments and groups around the world will not move to fix it until there is a visible demand for it.
Currently there are larger intentions and the hope that the natural problems that exist in the world today will eliminate cultures or people who are not valuable enough to the global community. The act of doing nothing at all is the best way to handle problems that will solve themselves, while when becoming a threat to those who can give a solution, only then will action be taken.
In the meantime, the best thing people can do before a solution is set in place is to practice water conservation habits and perhaps invoking projects that will replenish natural water aquifers or water tables. This process of refueling the supplies is the simplest and most inexpensive that will ensure their continued survival and stability into the future.
Learn more about this author, Morgan Carlson.
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