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Discussion: Is water really scarce?
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flattail |
20. RE: Is water really scarce?
Oct 6 2008, 9:30 PM EDT
Water flows to money. At least that is what I have learned in the desert southwest of the United States. How else would cities such as Las Vegas and Phoenix exist? They certainly do not have adequate water that is locally available, yet there are plenty of well-watered homes and golf courses. A friend of mine, a biologist in Mexico, attended a conference on Colorado River water issues, since the Colorado River was essentially being drained before it reached its delta in the Gulf of California. The fisheries and the indigenous people living along the river delta were both endangered, and she hoped to bring to light some of these problems to American agencies that were dealing with Colorado River water issues. However, at the conference the main point of discussion was that Lake Meade (outside of Las Vegas) was so low that people were having trouble launching their boats! From this example I think it is pretty clear that water is limited and that there are economic factors that affect its distribution. 0 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
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HGleitz |
21. RE: Is water really scarce?
Oct 16 2008, 8:35 AM EDT
I do believe that water is scarce, being an important resource for all of us, it will eventually run out. The UN, like Alex B said, is wondering if water will soon become the new source of conflict. Well it actually might become the new oil, considering that places in Africa and Australia have a restriction on water consumption. Another example though, closer to us than Australia, this summer, the city of Barcelona had to import fresh water from Marseilles, France due to their limited supply of fresh water this year. So isn't this a little alarming considering that we "almost all have access to water"?
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aeberhard |
22. RE: Is water really scarce?
Oct 20 2008, 1:32 AM EDT
Yes, water is scarce as, although one could say that it is abundant in some places, it is scarce in others. Therefore, one could state that on average in the world water is scarce. Of course, assuming that the water spoken of is fresh water, with the sole purpose of drinking, then it is not necessarily scarce, but inaccessible in most areas of the world.
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uwhelan |
23. RE: Is water really scarce?
Oct 22 2008, 2:38 PM EDT
Scarce: a good or service that is desirable and limited. Water is not only desirable but it is also a necessity: we cannot live without water. And water is also limited, even if we are considering fresh water, recycled water or contaminated water. Water is said to cover roughly 71% of the Earth's surface which is approximately 1.460 petatonnes (10^21 kilograms) of water. If water was not scarce, there would be an infinite amount of it. Sunlight isn't even scarce since our sun will eventually burn out. Since water is scarce, it is also marketed. There are hundreds of companies that deal in the cleansing and selling of water. Another small example is busiiness. If it wasn't scarce, there would be no business involved in it.
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fredjordan |
24. RE: Is water really scarce?
Oct 22 2008, 3:39 PM EDT
I do agree with some of the points that you have raise, however, I do not see how water couldn’t be a scarce resource as thousands die each year from dehydration. Although as you point out, it is easy for us to get clean drinking water in Switzerland, but that doesn’t mean that water is not scarce. The definition of scarcity is a resource that is limited and highly desired. Water is highly desired, and as shown in Africa by the large number of people forced to drink stagnant highly polluted water, it is limited. Therefore, it must be categorized as scarce, no matter how unlimited it seems to be for us lucky Europeans.
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alexboedtker |
25. RE: Is water really scarce?
Oct 22 2008, 4:48 PM EDT
Looking at what Helene said about Barcelona having to import water from France just proves again how scarce water is. Most people are stating that African countries or developing countries are the ones that have the most issues with water so when people hear about these problems it doesn't seem as alarming because people are used to it being that way. Shouldn't then the minute a country like Spain that is fully set up and that has a lot of water resources especially in the Catalan region be a big eye-opener on high water is very scarce?
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myoungjinkim |
26. RE: Is water really scarce?
Oct 22 2008, 5:55 PM EDT
Scarcity means that a good is limited and desirable so you can say that water is scarce since water is not unlimited. I think when people say the world is running out of water, they mean fresh water. Today, we are definitely have limited fresh water compared to the past. This is because of dry weather, drought, and exhaustion of trees. So my conclusion is that yes, water is scarce.
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stephanieballantyne |
27. RE: Is water really scarce?
Oct 23 2008, 3:33 AM EDT
Water in general is not scarce, however drinkable water is.This is because, most of the areas that have unclean drinking water are harder to get to than others and are poor. Water in the western world isnt scarce, because the countries have enough wealth to buy "good" water, whereas poorer countries cant afford to buy it.
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uwhelan |
28. RE: Is water really scarce?
Oct 23 2008, 5:00 AM EDT
"I do agree with some of the points that you have raise, however, I do not see how water couldn’t be a scarce resource as thousands die each year from dehydration." Who are you agreeing with Fred?
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NikiSpaniol |
29. RE: Is water really scarce?
Oct 23 2008, 1:05 PM EDT
Water covers 75% of the earth, so one might say that clearly water cannot be scarce, but only a small fraction of this water can be used. Sea water can be cleaned and converted to drinking water, but not without investing a great deal of money. For individuals in wealthy countries like Switzerland there are no concerns about water running out because the country has the ability to provide sufficient clean water, and so one might say that only in undeveloped countries water is considered scarce even though the scarcity of water will sooner or later have its effect on everybody.
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kevinbraunschweig |
30. RE: Is water really scarce?
Oct 23 2008, 2:04 PM EDT
I am also one of the believers that water is scarce. The definition of something scarce is if its desirable and limited. And we all agree that water is desirable without water we couldn’t be clean or cook. And it’s also limited water doesn’t just fall from the sky… Millions are people don’t have access to clean water. Water is definitely scarce…
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luisaecon |
31. RE: Is water really scarce?
Oct 26 2008, 1:01 PM EDT
I can not think of water being a scarce good. As stated earlier "water does make up 75% of the whole world. But 97% of that is sea water, which is expensive and difficult to desalinate. Another 2% is caught in the polar ice caps". All in all 1% of the water in the world is drinkable and clean. Bu when the world is 75% water, and water is considered a scarce good instead of a free good, which means something is desirable but NOT limited, then why don't people invest machines or other ways to make more water drinkable and clean so they do not have to worry about running out of water. If the "world" considers water as a scarce good and thinks the situation can occur that people can't effort water anymore because it became to expensive, then they should find a way of getting more clean water. Water will always be desirable, but I think in some ways we decide whether it is desirable and limited or desirable and not limited!
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hannahbarkan |
32. RE: Is water really scarce?
Oct 30 2008, 2:25 PM EDT
I think that water is not scare at all. It will constantly rain, and there are many lakes and rivers. However, the tools and money we use for fresh drinking water is scare. It takes a lot of money in some parts of the world to provide fresh drinking water. However water as a good is not scare, but there are no substitues and this makes having water vital.
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athakurw |
33. RE: Is water really scarce?
Nov 16 2008, 3:31 PM EST
I think that it depends on where ryou are on the globe. In a country like Switzerland water is definitely not scarce because it is accesible from everywhere but for developing countries that do not have the resources to clean the water or even access it, it is definitely a scarce good. Water is also a tricky good because there are no substitutes for it and everyone is dependent on it. I would say that water is neither nor, it is scarce and it is not.
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ChristianClausen |
34. RE: Is water really scarce?
Nov 17 2008, 7:57 AM EST
It all depends on where you live. In many African countries water is very scarce, as opposed to switzerland, where we have too much. But when you look at South Africa they have plenty of water, so maybe all this has got something to do with money. So by looking at the global scale water is far from scarce, as it is a renewable good. 0 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
marc_lemann |
35. RE: Is water really scarce?
Nov 17 2008, 8:37 AM EST
As many have already mentioned, water is always scarce, because it is limited and desired. Reading everyone's posts, discussing about how the location, changes how scarce water is, made me remember how right at the moment, they are installing a machine at the International Space Station, that will turn urine back into drinking water. The 250-million-dollar system will allow enough recycling for a six-person ISS crew to sharply reduce the amount of water that has to be flown up from Earth. This is interesting because maybe someday, instead of desalinizing water, as many have talked about in posts, our own urine will be recycled and turned back into drinking water. If the costs of this system will reduce costs for NASA to take water up to the Space Station, someday it might also be wide spread, here on earth (although this will probably only happen when we are in dire need of drinking water.) Hopefully the costs of such a system also decrease, because for a while, people will not care if water is wasted, instead of paying $ 250 million, to recycle the urine of a couple of people.
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rohanrajiv |
36. RE: Is water really scarce?
Nov 17 2008, 2:15 PM EST
I agree with christian with the whole water scarcity topic. It is scare but it depends on where exactly it is scarce and where it is not. For eg- in india, it is relatively scarce but in countries which have a better economy and a better plan to deal with the proper collection of water , it isn't scarce at all. To an extent it is not scarce because of the water cycle but that can also be debated.
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AmitZ |
37. RE: Is water really scarce?
Nov 17 2008, 2:36 PM EST
I believe water is indeed scarce. Although in some places more than others. It is one of the basic human necessities all around the world and it is limited in some places more than others. Of course water covers 75% of the world but most of it is salt water. Fresh water however is not as abundant and many places have alot of trouble getting it this is why many cities are built near water supplies or have extensive pipelines. Droughts often affect the places and people nearby this is an obvious way to see how scarce water is.
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dimodp@yahoo.co.uk |
38. RE: Is water really scarce?
Nov 17 2008, 2:58 PM EST
Water is scarce for two simple reasons: it is desirable and it is limited. People cannot live without water for 75% of a human is made of the stuff; this makes it desireable. It is scarce because most of the water on earth is undrinkeable. Only 3% of the water on earth is freshwater and only a third of that is accessible. That means only 1% of the planet's water is accessible nad drinkeable; not much at all.
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gabrielmartin |
39. RE: Is water really scarce?
Nov 18 2008, 11:26 AM EST
I agree with most of the answers here, water is scarce. A scarce good is a good that is both desirable and limited. Water is both of those things. As some people stated earlier, it is certainly limited and it is certainly desirable, as we need it to survive. However I have to disagree with some people who say that it depends on location. Even though Switzerland has a lot of water, that does not mean that it is not unlimited and therefore it is scarce. It may not be scarce for us now but it certainly will be at one point.
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