1. Approximately what percent of the global population lives in areas where either incident human water security or biodiversity threat exceeds the 75th percentile? (p. 556)
a. Nearly 80% of the world’s population lives in areas where either indecent human water security or biodiversity threat exceeds the 75th percentile.
2. Fig. 2 shows how biodiversity threats along a river (i.e. from headwaters to ocean) can vary depending on where the human population and its resultant impacts lie. For example, the Amazon demonstrates upper basin threats from humans increasingly diluted in less populated downstream reaches, while the Huang He shows increasing biodiversity threats in the downstream direction due to cumulative effects of stressors along the …show more content…
List at least four “unintended” consequences of groundwater depletion. (p. 946)
a. Four “unintended” consequences of groundwater depletion are: land surface subsidence, seawater intrusion, wetlands and ecological damages, and streamflow depletions.
10. What is the world’s major user of global fresh water and groundwater? (p. 947) Discuss how this might be linked to our field trip to the Imperial Irrigation District to explore agricultural water efficiency in Southern California.
a. Agriculture accounts for nearly 80% of water use globally, and as stated above, at least half of the irrigation water used is groundwater
b. If agriculture is the biggest user of freshwater and groundwater, then that means that it should be the most efficient practice out of all of the other water uses. There is also probably a lot of pressure from U.S. citizens to decrease the amount of water used by agriculture because agriculture is relatively privatized so the citizens can’t do much to regulate it. Obviously, agriculture is essential and not a waste of water, but when farmers water their crops with sprinkler systems that shoot half of their water into the sky on a warm afternoon, there is room for citizens to become disgruntle. It is a hard balance between what is necessary to grow crops and how much water might be nonessential. I’m sure the Imperial Irrigation District will be raving about how its efficiency has been increasing, but it could not overlook the fact that it is located in desert-like environment that is also experiencing drought conditions. The Imperial Irrigation District’s primary concern is likely to provide enough water to the agricultural demands of that area, while also preserving the aquifers for future irrigation whenever
a. Nearly 80% of the world’s population lives in areas where either indecent human water security or biodiversity threat exceeds the 75th percentile.
2. Fig. 2 shows how biodiversity threats along a river (i.e. from headwaters to ocean) can vary depending on where the human population and its resultant impacts lie. For example, the Amazon demonstrates upper basin threats from humans increasingly diluted in less populated downstream reaches, while the Huang He shows increasing biodiversity threats in the downstream direction due to cumulative effects of stressors along the …show more content…
List at least four “unintended” consequences of groundwater depletion. (p. 946)
a. Four “unintended” consequences of groundwater depletion are: land surface subsidence, seawater intrusion, wetlands and ecological damages, and streamflow depletions.
10. What is the world’s major user of global fresh water and groundwater? (p. 947) Discuss how this might be linked to our field trip to the Imperial Irrigation District to explore agricultural water efficiency in Southern California.
a. Agriculture accounts for nearly 80% of water use globally, and as stated above, at least half of the irrigation water used is groundwater
b. If agriculture is the biggest user of freshwater and groundwater, then that means that it should be the most efficient practice out of all of the other water uses. There is also probably a lot of pressure from U.S. citizens to decrease the amount of water used by agriculture because agriculture is relatively privatized so the citizens can’t do much to regulate it. Obviously, agriculture is essential and not a waste of water, but when farmers water their crops with sprinkler systems that shoot half of their water into the sky on a warm afternoon, there is room for citizens to become disgruntle. It is a hard balance between what is necessary to grow crops and how much water might be nonessential. I’m sure the Imperial Irrigation District will be raving about how its efficiency has been increasing, but it could not overlook the fact that it is located in desert-like environment that is also experiencing drought conditions. The Imperial Irrigation District’s primary concern is likely to provide enough water to the agricultural demands of that area, while also preserving the aquifers for future irrigation whenever