I have selected water as for my topic. Water is our most valuable resource. As the English poet, W. H. Auden said: “Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” (Auden, 2001). I will discuss the impact of water on not only my life, but on others around the world.
We all need water to survive. It is needed for drinking and sanitation. More than a billion people around the world lack safe, reliable drinking water. And more than two and a half billion have inadequate sanitation. (Doršner, 2016). Both of these issues contribute to disease. Contaminated water is responsible for more than one and a half million deaths each year, mostly small children. These conditions are found in the poorer areas …show more content…
No water means no crops, which means no food. With a scarcity of food, it is another situation where the poorer citizens suffer the results. They are unable to afford food and their lack of good nutrition leads to poor health.
Analyzing the question “What are the most considerable impacts you make?”, I would have to say it is would depend on whether we are looking at the water I actually use myself, or the products I purchase that require water. For my personal usage, water consumption is highest for personal hygiene (i.e. bathing, toilet flushing). As for water consumed by others for the products I purchase, I was surprised to learn that “It takes 1,800 gallons of water to grow enough cotton for a single pair of blue jeans.” (Dann, 2016).
As citizens of the world, we must all do our part to preserve our water resources. This means conservation is the first and most important measure we can take. Americans use, on average, 176 gallons of water a day. This is in comparison to just five gallons a day in Africa. There are several actions that can be taken, with little impact to the average person, to conserve water.
· Water your lawn late in the evening or early morning to avoid losing supply to evaporation in the heat of the …show more content…
I think the above examples are easy, manageable ways to contribute to conservation. We may all want to take long luxurious showers, but is it really necessary? Each minute not used saves 2.5 gallons of water. (The City of Fresno, n.d.(a)) There is no need to run the water the entire time you are brushing your teeth or soaping your hands. Getting into the habit of turning the water off instead will have a positive impact, without great sacrifice.
Landscaping is another area where an individual can cut back on water use. Many cities in the United States, particularly in areas suffering from long-term drought like California, have watering schedule restrictions. Homes are limited to the days they can water the lawn, based on the numbers in their address. Fees are imposed for non-compliance. (The City of Fresno, n.d. (b)). Another alternative, that may require some initial expense, is to replace existing landscaping with drought-resistant plants.
Besides conservation efforts, we must also consider pollution prevention. Water pollution can lead to diseases like typhoid and cholera. And according to the U.S. EPA, “1.2 trillion gallons of sewage from household, industry, and restaurants are dumped into U.S. water annually.” Plastic waste is responsible for the “deaths of more than 100,000 sea mammals, seabirds and various types of fish”. (40 facts about water pollution - conserve energy future,
We all need water to survive. It is needed for drinking and sanitation. More than a billion people around the world lack safe, reliable drinking water. And more than two and a half billion have inadequate sanitation. (Doršner, 2016). Both of these issues contribute to disease. Contaminated water is responsible for more than one and a half million deaths each year, mostly small children. These conditions are found in the poorer areas …show more content…
No water means no crops, which means no food. With a scarcity of food, it is another situation where the poorer citizens suffer the results. They are unable to afford food and their lack of good nutrition leads to poor health.
Analyzing the question “What are the most considerable impacts you make?”, I would have to say it is would depend on whether we are looking at the water I actually use myself, or the products I purchase that require water. For my personal usage, water consumption is highest for personal hygiene (i.e. bathing, toilet flushing). As for water consumed by others for the products I purchase, I was surprised to learn that “It takes 1,800 gallons of water to grow enough cotton for a single pair of blue jeans.” (Dann, 2016).
As citizens of the world, we must all do our part to preserve our water resources. This means conservation is the first and most important measure we can take. Americans use, on average, 176 gallons of water a day. This is in comparison to just five gallons a day in Africa. There are several actions that can be taken, with little impact to the average person, to conserve water.
· Water your lawn late in the evening or early morning to avoid losing supply to evaporation in the heat of the …show more content…
I think the above examples are easy, manageable ways to contribute to conservation. We may all want to take long luxurious showers, but is it really necessary? Each minute not used saves 2.5 gallons of water. (The City of Fresno, n.d.(a)) There is no need to run the water the entire time you are brushing your teeth or soaping your hands. Getting into the habit of turning the water off instead will have a positive impact, without great sacrifice.
Landscaping is another area where an individual can cut back on water use. Many cities in the United States, particularly in areas suffering from long-term drought like California, have watering schedule restrictions. Homes are limited to the days they can water the lawn, based on the numbers in their address. Fees are imposed for non-compliance. (The City of Fresno, n.d. (b)). Another alternative, that may require some initial expense, is to replace existing landscaping with drought-resistant plants.
Besides conservation efforts, we must also consider pollution prevention. Water pollution can lead to diseases like typhoid and cholera. And according to the U.S. EPA, “1.2 trillion gallons of sewage from household, industry, and restaurants are dumped into U.S. water annually.” Plastic waste is responsible for the “deaths of more than 100,000 sea mammals, seabirds and various types of fish”. (40 facts about water pollution - conserve energy future,