It's somewhat inconceivable to think the world could run out of drinking water, a concept few probably ever think about, and yet scientists say it's a possibility; obviously that'll not go very well for humankind...yet we treat our waterways as garbage dump sites, waste gigalitres of water in various ways, divert and dam rivers, cover the ground with concrete and are generally careless with it...one would think it's an endless resource, but it is not.
I was chatting with a friend and this topic came up as he's just returned from a country where supply of clean drinking water was sporadic at best and regularly non-existent at worst. I asked him what it was like and he looked at me with a deadpan gaze and said, it was fucken thirsty bro. Yep, I get it.
Have you ever been thirsty?
I don't mean in need of a little sip of water, I mean thirsty to the point of dehydration and incomprehension; I have and it's not a nice feeling. Three days later, if one doesn't drink fluids, most are dead and those that push through...well, a human can't go without water for much longer than three days; and yet, we treat our water with such contempt.
My buddy was telling me that fifty percent of the worlds' freshwater is spread throughout only six countries; I'm not sure on the validity of that claim but it sounds about right; google could probably confirm it I guess.
There's entire countries that don't have clean potable (drinkable) water readily available and other countries that permit commercial operations to pollute and kill watercourses forever changing the landscape and the lives of those who rely on the water. Acid rock drainage, heavy metal contamination, erosion and chemicals that come as part and parcel of many mining and industrial operations are some of the culprits, but so are we, you and I, every time we waste water, or overuse it.
I'm not an environmental crusader, far from it, but I'm human so care about the environment, look after it as best I can and focus on methods of doing so including using less water generally, storing rainwater instead of letting it run down the drain and basically having an awareness of what I can do to be a help rather than hindrance to the planet. How successful am I? Well, a fuck load more successful than someone not doing those things.
It's not difficult for me to do those things although it's harder to do them than not do them, some effort is required which is why many do not I guess. The reward? I should think that's pretty clear right?
I captured all the images in this post in New Zealand when I was there last. Two are of oceans and the others are freshwater and it looks like there's plenty of it. Even knowing that fresh (potable) water is not an endless resource it's difficult to imagine there not being enough but that's exactly where we're heading despite what it may look like in a few places around the globe.
I wonder who will run out first, which country, and what will be done about it.
Will the lack of drinking water make certain places unlivable and where do those people go (if they survive the lack of water issue), do they overcrowd and overuse other locations causing similar problems there? Do humans fall like dominoes lined up, one after another? I don't know, but I surmise the answer to be yes, certainly if some (massive) action is not taken right away.
I don't know who is to blame: Governments, corporations or every human on the planet for living lives that take away from the planet more often than they give - it's probably all of the above.
I know people may respond to this saying, but this or that organisation is doing this or that to help the situation, and I know some are, but not enough and they're not all pulling in the same direction at the same time. In case you don't know, corporations fund some of those environmental groups, pay them to hide facts, lie and deceive, oh yeah, caring for the environment is big business...but how much care is being given, how much wholesale positive action? Have a look around and the answer is plain to see I think, not enough...but humans are really good at self-delusion, greed and selfishness huh?
Do you have any thoughts on this matter? Do you think everything's going great and the planet is in good shape? I don't mean your neighbourhood here, I mean the entire planet generally.
Do you think we're mistreating the planet and are not doing enough to deal with the damage we're causing? Have you ever been so thirsty you cannot function? Have you been wasteful with water, treated our waterways with contempt? How do you think a world without sufficient drinking water would feel, what do you do to conserve water, have you had to cart water great distances just to have something to drink, which country do you think will be the first to die out of thirst? If you've got any thoughts feel free to share them if you'd like.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
[Original and AI free]
Image(s) in this post are my own
Given the fact that 20% of the world's fresh water is within an hours drive of pretty much anywhere in the state where I live, it's definitely a big deal to me. Sadly, a lot of the debate these days has fallen down political party lines, so even if there is a valid point, people won't listen because it is too liberal. They want to run a new oil pipeline under lake Michigan and Huron. Seems like a horrible idea to me, but what do I know.
There's so many reasons why water management is done badly and so many ways also; sad that "progress" and greed are so important that the very planet (and resources) we need to survive suffer so badly. There'll be a reckoning I think.
Ouff, what a heavy read. But a great reminder to us all.
Made me think of my childhood. I don't know when exactly we started paying attention to what we were doing to our planet, but I clearly remember hundreds of discussions (on tv, radio, amongst adults) about the destruction of the ozone layer way back when. Since then, I think we have unfortunately brought so much more harm to our planet, and have become detrimental to its survival.
As someone who drinks water religiously, I definitely don't do enough to preserve it, but I also pride myself in not being wasteful (thanks to my great grandma). I've looked into purchasing water filters (apocalypse talk lol) but I'm not sure how much I'd trust amazon with that. However, your words made me realize how much more one can do.
At the same time, the pessimist in me thinks that no matter what we do, the big guys with the hefty wallets are the ones that can have the biggest impact and yet, no one would move a finger for the well-being of humanity.
I don't know. I really hope we figure out some ways to help our planet, not just with this issue but the many more we have created over the years.
You're right, if the big players were to do a better job it make a massive difference but it seems greed rules the day. It's the same with carbon emissions.
I like to think there's a future for humanity and the planet but I also believe that if there is to be one something has to happen now on a massive scale and I don't see it happening.
Thanks for your comment.
It's the sad truth, unfortunately. It seems like the more we evolve as a civilization, the more we just keep taking from our planet and destroying it in the process.
Thank YOU for bringing such important topics to all of us and making us reflect on our actions!
How much to talk about this issue. I think a lot will happen before the water runs out but... I guess in underdeveloped countries it will run out first.
Only once I was on the verge of dehydration, I didn't realise what it was until I felt it, dizzy and about to pass out.
Water is very good here, even though they say you have to buy it. But in Argentina the water is scarce, there are no maintenance works, the water is cloudy with dirt and many other things. Especially because the governments use the good water for industry... the population doesn't matter at all.
It's really easy to take what we have for granted and to fail to see how difficult others have it. I feel grateful to have been born in an affluent country but just as easily have been born elsewhere in a country where the comforts I enjoy are not available; ample clean drinking water included.
I am very grateful at the moment. For example in Argentina we had to drill a borehole in order to have water, because otherwise there was not a drop, especially in the summer. And I know that nowadays the people there are having a very hard time. Problems with water and electricity.
It seems to me that we should all take care of the environment, especially the vital liquid, but it seems stupid to me the propaganda that we must turn off the tap when only one company and multinationals use thousands of liters of water a day in their different activities whether in mining or production, what is worse, they pollute it, only one company like coca cola spends 55 million liters of water a year and I could name thousands of companies but it is my fault because I do not turn off the tap.
I agree with you, a single company may waste more water than thousands of individuals combined and therein lies one of the major problems; I still think each person should be mindful though.
Of course we should all do our bit to take care of water, but who raises awareness to those companies so they do not waste and pollute water nobody because normally those same companies are the ones that finance the propaganda to make us believe that they are the main culprits, they talk about how much water we waste when we bathe, do household things or wash the cars, but you will never see propaganda that talks about how much water the companies waste and pollute they create the problem and blame the citizens who waste water. The irony of life, but that's how the world works.
I don't disagree with you and applaud you for seeing it; many choose not to.
I do think we are treating the planet horribly. Just one look at the amount of plastics in the ocean shows this. I don't think it's too late though. We can clean up the ocean, and prevent trash from entering it. The advancements in technology are encouraging though. Efficiency in solar power means we can improve our desalination and provide more fresh water.
You're right, we can, but will we? It's not being done right now, not on a massive enough scale and the damage done outweighs the good.
That is true. There are some group projects that clean some rivers, but we need a global effort with government coordination for the oceans.
Massive action is what is required, but I don't see it happening and so the decline of the humankind will continue.
Good day, friend. Thank you this post. To make it is a caution to us humans to learn to preserve the resources we have. The issue that water could finish is something we must take with seriousness. We have seen some other resources depleting, so water may. Conserving and preserving our resources should be the responsibility of us all.
It may, and is. A look around at some of the third world countries where clean water is not easy to come by is testament to that.
We are mistreating our planet, the very things we depend on to survive, the air, the water, the food chain.
I've pondered it now and then and think how stoopid we are as a species. LOL !!
I understand when certain industries were first born, nobody realized what their byproducts would be and that they would be so caustic to the earth, but once we knew, it should have been changed. Although I know how ridiculous what I am about to say is, I have often thought that nobody should be able to put anything new into production without also having a plan about how to safely dispose of whatever was leftover. I think that should be part of it and if there is no way to safely dispose of what it leaves, it should not go into production.
Things are so polluted now, I'm not sure it is possible to fix, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.
Yep, stupid indeed, and it makes no sense...but greed us a powerful motivator.
I don't think there's any real excuse for what we're doing, industry and general population included, as you say. We know enough to know we're causing damage...and yet, #noaction
Ok, some action, but nowhere near enough.
It is impossible to spend even a day without water and without drinking water we cannot survive. This place which you have shared with us is very beautiful. If it happens, the worries of the world are over and one feels relaxed..
Water is so precious a resource, but so wasted and ill-treated.
Yeah you are right.
Water is the foundation of life. Hence, it saddened me that here in the Philippines some of our dams are in a state of calamity because of the heat.
There's a lot of reasons for why waterways are in bad shape, daming rivers is one of those reasons.
I guess that's one of the reasons.
Having a scarcity of water can't even be imagine not to talk of it finishing in some areas on the earth surface. I think it is wise that we learn to conserve our resources. Wastefulness is a wrong habit.
Conservation of our resources makes a lot of sense, I agree.
Friend, I would like to thank you first, You have expressed your views on a very good topic. You have presented the correct situation. Friend, despite this being the main problem on our planet, humans are ignoring it. And the problem of water is going to be huge in the future. Instead of saving water, we are harming the water source for our own sake. No government or organization can solve this problem. We should start with ourselves as human beings. It is enough if everyone starts doing their bit to save water. There are so many humans on this planet, so this is possible. thank you, friend🙏
You've paraphrased my entire post well so I've no more to add as I already said it in my post.
Thank you sir, this is true.
water is the source of life.
The first photo is very beautiful. I really enjoyed it
Yep, water is necessary.
Thanks for your comment.
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Water is life. @galenkp
It sure is.
☺️☺️
Wow, the place is really amazing, the water is also very clear, surely the people around there don't lack water
Yeah, it's a good spot.