Most Valuable Resource-Water

Water is one of Earth's most valuable resources, as it is essential for all life. An article in National Geographic, mentions that in developed countries people don't think about the amount of water they use for drinking, food preparation, and sanitation. Whereas in developing countries, the search for clean water can be a "daily crisis." Many children die in developing countries because of diseases that are as a result of the lack of clean water and proper sanitation. It is estimated that 880 million people in the world don't have regular access to clean water. 


Humans are faced with challenges related to freshwater. About 5 000 children die everyday only because of the spread of diseases such as cholera and dysentery, which are caused by the use of contaminated water for drinking or cooking. Furthermore, approximately 70 percent of the freshwater is used for agriculture, and about 22 percent is used by industries. 


Looking at Earth from space, it looks like a blue dot. Over 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water. In the Scientific American Magazine, there is an image that is produced by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), included in one of its articles. The image shows a large blue circle over the western U.S., and this circle represents all in the water in the world, including salty ocean water and underground water. To the right of that large circle, there is a smaller circle, which is a subset of the bigger sphere, it represents freshwater in the ground, lakes, swamps and rivers. There is a tinier sphere next to it, barely visible, and it represents just the freshwater in lakes and rivers. Regardless of how small the freshwater sphere is, it's been sustaining the whole human population for years. In 2005, humans daily consumed 1.24 trillion litters of surface water and 312.7 billion litters of groundwater, and we continue to consume vast quantities of water.


Ways for efficient water management should be put into place, to prevent the excess use of freshwater.