Tony Duarte
SCI275 Environmental Science
11/21/2010
Michael Cochrane

Too many people, not enough water:
As the human population increases, so does our demand for water, around the world this demand has increased and so has the issues of conserving water and preserving it. Public awareness is a growing issue that local government needs to get more involved with. Constant change and every day needs along with the increase in pollution and our standard of living has contributed to this crisis.
Human existence relies heavily on the availability of water, we cannot exist without water. We often take advantage of this resource, we seem to think it's in great abundance, we only need to do is turn on a faucet and there it is, clean, clear and waiting for us. It is also the existence for no-living existence.
Non-living and Living Factors:
A major factor affecting our water supply is constant need for new construction and factories. The runoffs from these facilities are having a devastating effect on the world's drinking water by contaminating and polluting with disease causing contaminants. They enter our water systems from untreated sewer, septic, ships and storm drain to mention a few and their untreated and poorly cleaned. Numerous water borne ailments are caused by untreated water such as intestinal parasites, hookworms’ amoebiasis diarrhea, typhoid fever and numerous other bacterial and viral diseases. Other ailments from polluted water and cause conjunctivitis, skin rashes, upper respiratory infections, gastroenteritis, vomiting, diarrhea and inflammation of the brain and other ailments, although these types of ailments are usually found in poverty-stricken states or Third World countries but she never be ignored.
Our oceans are in crisis as well, large ships such as cruise ships and oil tankers that have had spilled oil in our oceans add to our world water crisis. The amount of pollutants dumped in our oceans affect all animal life and its ability to survive. During any oil spill, the oil removes the oxygen in the water, coating plants and other animals making it impossible for them to breath thereby dying rotting in the water and adding to the pollutants.
Plants would be a nonliving problem, farmland in particular. Farmlands require a water resource. Without water, plans cannot grow thereby affecting human’s survival. Humans have utilized vegetables and fruits as that part of their daily diet, these fruits and vegetables have proven to be an added fluid resource our body needs to help prevent fluid loss. Water has proven to be one the most important toll for or nonliving and living survival.
Positive or negative human impacts:
The human body is made up of 70% water, the imprint we make today we need to be careful of and decrease its negative impact on the environment. One of the simplest tasks we can do would be not waste water. This can be done simply by changes we make in our lifestyle such as using low flow water savers on toilet and shower head. An energy-efficient dishwasher or washing machine can greatly decrease the amount of water used on these appliances. When washing dishes by hand always turn off the water between washing and rinsing. Taking a shower is another we can conserve water simply by reducing the time they spend, short each tower by a minute or two is a great way and conserve water. Our lawns are one other large areas of water consumption, we all love a green lawn, by cutting down water usage to every other day and decreasing the time of watering is another way we can conserve water. Some areas have water restrictions already in effect, check with your local community on restrictions. By decreasing our water resources, the impact would be negative to humans and would be catastrophic to our survival. The utilization of fertilizers and other chemical must also be controlled and their use reduced. There is potential for these chemicals run off and seep into the sewer lines on the lakes and potentially our drinking water. These chemicals not only kill the bugs in our gardens and lawns would have a domino effect on other living species that rely on them and water resource for survival. Small lakes and ponds are other areas of concern; they are often use a recreation, but in some cases can no longer be utilized. We often hear of small lakes being close due to careless dumping of pollutants or untreated sewage. In today's environment at technology these types of activities are unacceptable and should not go without consequences to those who have carelessly and knowingly caused damage to our already fragile ecosystem.
Current strategies and solutions
Society needs to be held accountable and responsible for our actions; we can all help by starting at home. Watery consume on a daily bases should not come in case of bottled water, if you feel that the water from your faucet is not state, and you preferred a delivery service, have them deliver the large bottles that are reusable and the use your own containers, by doing so we are not filling up landfills plastic bottles that do not break down well in these facilities. In other creative solution would be our own gardens, this might not be for everybody, but if you have talent and time, this is a great way to reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers that often find their way into our ground waters, they can use nature's own pesticides such as ladybugs and other pest controlling insects. By growing our own fruits and vegetables we may save a trip or to the store, thereby saving gas and reducing our need for fossil fuel and potentially reducing our carbon footprint. Harvesting rainwater would be another possibility for watering lawns and are gardens, if done properly and filtered, it could be used for other human demands such as watering our lawns and plans, I believe with the proper water collecting filtering system there may come a time when we could collect and reuse the water from showering, are dishwasher and washing machine, this I believe could be an untapped resource. At first I'm sure most would be very apprehensive, but remember so were the first that people that were introduced to the automobile.
Plan to reach sustainability:
We (the government) need to make people accountable for their actions, through a system of fines. New laws that are implemented into communities and townships to control potential pollutants and impact to our ecosystem must be communicated to all companies /owners. This can be a tiered fine system; the first offense would be small for such things as improperly use of fertilizers and pesticides by landscapers, or excessive tree removal by builders in areas of new development. The second I would be much larger in the final fine would result in their permit being suspended or withdrawal. Compliance with other agencies such as Town hall, Law offices this would be a practical plan. Builders, Landscapers including homeowners would require special permits thereby informing them of new practices thereby providing a first step in public awareness. In addition we can increase public awareness through public gatherings such as fairs and local meetings, concession stands can be set up flyers can be handed out.
Benefits and challenges of my plan:
We all must work together, businesses included, they will be hit the hardest especially agricultural, after all we are asking to reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides that they rely heavily on to make a living. This I believe will be the biggest challenge; we are singling out one in our community. The challenge would be to get them to switch to a natural fertilizer and pesticide, making it readily available for the community when laws are implemented. Having the local water district attend one of these local functions to explain the community how does new program is going to work would be beneficial to all. They can set up presentations on how fertilizer and pesticides are affecting our groundwater and potentially our drinking water.
Governmental, Societal and global support
Our government must be the first to get involved in the preservation of water; it is our responsibility to ensure our government's involvement. In 2006 United Nations stated that there is enough water for everybody, the problem is the mismanagement and corruption of this resource. In 1970, water safety has increased for some Third World countries. Much more research is needed to ensure there's water for everyone. Any plan must start with top government. A well-thought-out plan with precise timelines with well-documented information increase access thereby changing habits and behaviors. The Clean Water Act of 1972 has long been ignored, it's time to revisit and make productive changes that would benefit all mankind.
Too much of the world goes about clean drinkable water, or are unable to access a water resource. We need societal and global support. In many parts of the world this is become a political problem, and some countries clean drinkable water is considered a luxury that most cannot afford. In some countries people are forced to go without this resource. We as a society must not allow our government or community to become so disconnected with our own water problems that we become like so many other countries. On December 10, 1948 declared the following” Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of ... circumstances beyond his control.” Although water is not mentioned in this declaration is part of the basic principle that should not be ignored. We should never allow the government to rule who is entitled to water and who is not, water should be free clean and available to all, and not just a select few. We should also not allow government to forget it starts with them; government must be responsibility to ensure this basic right to all. This is a thin line between government and the people; government should not dictate policy but enforce them. For some countries this would definitely be a change on how they manage their resources, without these changes we could be the next on the endangered list.

References http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/14/g912/waterresources.html.retrieved November 21, 2010. http://www.usbr.gov/pmts/water_use.retrieved November 21, 2010. http://www.interleaves.org/~rteeter/watergovt.html retrieved. November 21, 2010. http:// http://www.globalissues.org/article/601/water-and-development. retrieved November 21, 2010. http:// www.epa.gov/OW/ cited retrieved November 21, 2010.
Peer Reviewed http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=2&sid=8c8bd689-657e-46e4-a4bb- retrieved. November 21, 2010. http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ehost/pdf?vid=5&hid=2&sid=8c8bd689-657e-46e4-a4bb-9e3a2835aff0%40sessionmgr8 retrieved. November 21, 2010.