Water Scarcity: Its Urgency and Solutions
Rising Concern, Declining Resources
As population rates continue to rise throughout the globe, water demand continues to grow as well. Just think about how much water you use, how much you depend on water for day-to-day necessities. Imagine how everyone around you depends on water just as much, if not more than you do. Keep in mind this is just municipal water usage - water used for cleaning, cooking, bathing, etc. Water used in commercial agriculture is much more intensive than water used for municipal reasons. According to Green CulturED, commercial agriculture uses approximately 80% of the state’s developed water. With that, only 3% of the worlds water is fresh water, the other 97% is salt water. With the high demand and various consumption methods that humans bring, the finite resource of water is becoming more and more scarce.
Conservation Challenges
Some key challenges that we face regarding water scarcity are population growth, industrialization, mismanagement, expansion of agriculture, and climate change. These are real issues that involve the heavily exhaustive use of water by humans due to the expansion of development and population. What does not help is that most people either do not care about the topic or aren’t educated on the topic. In regards to the urgency for sustainability and water conservation, a Cannabis Tech report by Deborah Agboola states, “Man’s nonchalant attitude to sustainability has augmented the diminishing supply of water due to water consumption faster than nature can replenish. To avoid imminent disaster, there is a need for increased awareness and subsequent change in the mindset of humanity.” On top of excessive water use in commercial agriculture, the world is experiencing a high percentage of droughts, meaning agriculture is vulnerable when it comes to water availability. The efforts we put in now towards environmental sustainability may seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but the result in return is invaluable.
Our Responsibility and Our Solutions
Technologies that promote low water usage range from gravity assisted toilet to low flow faucets. There are also things you can do in your everyday life to use less water such as take shorter showers, don’t leave the water running, or reusing water runoff to water your house plants, etc. In the agriculture and cannabis industries there are techniques such as drip irrigation, mist irrigation, aquaponics, rainwater harvesting, and wastewater containment and recycling. Technology and solutions such as these are what humanity should be aiming for in everyday life. We cannot keep living the same way without seeing water shortages, climate change and water demand related issues. Check out these brief videos to learn more on water scarcity and what can be done, and not done, to contribute to sustainability.