Simone from Shanghai, China writes:

What will happen in the future if we keep using water at this rate?

Hi Simone, thanks for writing in.

There is no question that the population of the earth is going up, and no question as to water being one of if not the most important resource to life.  The human body is mostly water, we need to consume it on a daily basis to keep up our metabolic processes. As well, water is vital to hygiene, to industry, to food production, and a whole host of daily activities as we go about our lives.

As our population rises, the need for fresh, clean water goes up.  There is also no doubt as to the imbalance in availability. Those living in North America, Europe, and other first world economies have access to much clean treated drinking water, while others in third world economies are not so fortunate.

Regardless of the current situation, our fresh water supplies are disappearing on a global scale.  Eventually, everyone will be desperate for water regardless of where they live.  In effect, water is soon to be the next oil.

Water, of course, is finite.  There is a set amount on this planet and there is and will be no more, and no less then there ever was.  The issue the planet is facing is the availability of fresh (not salt) drinking water.

Think of the water in the planet fitting inside a two liter coke bottle.  Out of that two liters, most of that water would be salt. Only a teaspoon of that is fresh, and only a drop from that teaspoon is readily available for human consumption.

The vast majority of fresh water exists as ground water, and most of the planet relies on wells. Others use surface water such as lakes, rivers, and sometimes ponds for their supply.

In the natural order of things, fresh water is continually supplied by the earths natural hydrologic cycle.  Water evaporates from the oceans, leaving the salt behind.  Precipitation deposits the fresh water back into ground and surface water aquifers, which eventually find their way back to the ocean.  On the way back, animals, plants, and humans use some of this water.

The concern is that humans are taking fresh water many, many times faster than it can be replaced.

What will happen in the future?  I don’t know for sure, and anything I say will be conjecture on my part.  However, we are running out of water, fast.

There are two possible outcomes that I can see. The first is one more on a positive outlook.  Eventually we will start running so short water will become incredibly expensive.  Lifestyles and water usage patterns will change.  Less water will be wasted on unnecessary things, and conservation will become key. A move will be made to use treated, fresh disinfected water only for drinking and cooking.  Households will incorporate water recycling, rain water collection, etc. for use in things such as washing, bathing and other things.  A concerted effort will be made to take water from our struggling aquifers at a rate slower than they are being depleted, allowing them to recharge to where they once were.  A balance will be made and we will live in harmony with the natural water cycles.

A much more ominous possibility may be expected.  As has been done with other resources in the past, and is being done even now, we may see conflict for our dwindling supplies.  Hoarding may occur, and fighting may break out.

It may also be a combination of both.  Regardless, times will be different as our supplies dwindle.

There is a possibility that new technologies may surface that will be able to cheaply and effectively desalinate ocean water.  Currently there are projects in Australia, and there have been several ddesalination plants built. However, the process is time consuming and extremely costly to do now.

In any event, times ahead will be much different as we are careening full force into a serious problem of world wide water shortage.  Actions will have to be taken in the next little while, and I do predict we shall see very shortly exactly how we will deal with this.

In the meantime, I’m currently working on an E-Book entitled “When the Taps run dry”.  It will be a guide as to how to obtain and treat water when and if the municipal taps turn off, and what to use it for and not to use it for.  Keep an eye out for it in the coming months on this website.

I hope I’ve given you some of the information you were looking for.  Please feel free to write in again if you have another question or require further clarification to this one.

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