Water Scarcity Essay

846 Words4 Pages
Ms. Peterson-Murray, Instructor Living Environment October 17, 2012 Water Scarcity Water scarcity is a real and present problem in our world; we need a global solution to this problem because it affects all of us. About 70% of the world is covered in water. About 3% of the world is freshwater, and all of that freshwater is scattered all around the world. This very little amount of freshwater is a what makes it a worldwide issue. Not only is it a big problem, it is a growing problem. So far, 1.2 billion people are in an area that is physically scarce of water. Soon there is to be 500 million more in this situation. In many countries, there are wars fought because of water. Rivers go through different cities and each city wants the water so that they can drink, plant crops so they can trade, etc. The reason it is a problem is because only one person or city can control the amount of water is distributed. This is the cause of what is now called "water wars." These “water wars” have even resulted in bloodshed. One of the major water-stressed regions in the world is Africa, due to its geographic locations and also to the unsustainable way the resource is used. Africa is a dry land that does not get much rain water. It also gets a lot sun in the north because of its closeness to the equator. The sun hits the equator directly. When these countries are hit by the suns rays directly, the soil will tend to dry up. Some is even right on the equator. Africa also possess the largest desert in the world, the Sahara. Deserts tend to grow a few feet each day. The amount of rain in a desert is extremely little and is not sufficient. Some of the ares of the world experience water shortage due to natural phenomena, however more and more of the world's ground water supplies in aquifers are being depleted because of the extensive deforestation. Deforestation can cause the sun to
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