Will Water Shortages Cause War

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ACADEMIC ENGLISH WATER CONFLICTS TO CAUSE WORLD WAR?? Water is one of, if not the, most important resource on earth, yet continuous mismanagement has resulted in the scarcity of the precious liquid. One might wonder how this can be while the planet is made up of 70% water; unfortunately, most of it is salt water. For the survival of most land organisms, fresh water is required. The world’s population has tripled since the 1920s, yet the fresh water sources have been reduced in numbers. All over the world, there is growing unrest over the shortage of fresh water, in some places it has resulted in conflicts. This begs the question if perhaps this might lead to a world war. In this writer’s opinion this is not the immediate worry for a cause of a world war. The 20th century was the most violent in human history; this has spilled on to the 21st century. It is estimated over 160 million people lost their lives in a war of the past and the current century. This trend of wars shows no sign of going away with the various conflicts that are ongoing at the present moment. A world war is a grim reality in the current climate of fear perpetuated by the number of countries in (sometimes suspected) possession of nuclear weapons. The militarization of the leading states is an indication that a worldwide conflict is not just a possibility but inevitability. The world is facing its most challenging economic downturn since the great depression of 1929. The major economies of the world have not recovered from the stock market crash of 2008. In the USA, over one million people lost their homes, and continue to do so as most of the middle class struggles to pay off mortgages. In Europe, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, and Spain are facing debts that are causing uncertainty in the markets. More so, the people in the respective countries are faced with unemployment and general
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