Can We Still Save the World's Water?

We all know that water is an essential part of life. We need it to live and perform vital functions in the body. Plants need water to grow and in return, we get to eat the plant directly or the organisms which eat the plant. It really is an extremely important substance.

The earth is made mostly of water, approximately 71 percent. Many major cities across the globe are at risk of a water crisis, and water stress is projected to increase in most countries in the coming decades, threatening regional stability and raising the possibility of forced migrations. In addition, the issue of water availability is not just a human problem—our demands on lakes, rivers, and streams can dramatically harm ecosystems and the natural processes that require water.

A few months ago something happened in London. 25,000 homes suddenly became waterless. In fear of Covid-19 people started washing their hands so much that the city was hit by the water shortages. A lot of us don’t respect water as if it never ends but it does end.

According to the United Nations, around 5 billion people will lack water by 2050. We talk a lot about global warming. So why don’t we talk about the global water crisis? The world is facing water problems. Some people in Mexico get water once a month. Jakarta is sinking because people are forced to dig wells for water. "Less than half of Jakarta’s 10 million population have access to piped water." and a few years in Cape Town you could be chased by police if you washed your car with tap water. Water does end. That’s why it shocks us that we live in a world where it takes 1650 liters of water for a quarter pound burger. That is over 1000 of the small bottles we use. You really struggle to take criticism for eating meat. Small things done by many people inspire us to do big things and make us better.

A few years ago, when they declared a water crisis, all citizens changed their habits.  In this quite divided city government, industries and millions of people were united for one cause "to not run out of water". and it worked. Because of good habits and progress the taps were not stopped. Unfortunately too often we act only when things  get really bad. But we can do better than that. May what happened in London be a reminder that water can end no matter where you are in the world. May the incredible amount of water used for meat be a reminder that reducing is good. Finally, may the example from Cape Town remind us that by having good habits we can save our world from the end! Don’t wait for the global water crisis… Respect water now.