One of the less-publicized, yet globally significant, side effects of climate change is global water depletion. Many of the world's inland seas, such as the Black Sea, Aral Sea, and Lake Chad, have shrunk to a fraction of their size forty years ago. It is estimated that 1.5 billion people do not have access to adequate supplies of safe drinking water, and by 2020, up to 3 billion people could face acute water shortages.
Water scarcity is caused mainly by increased demand and pollution, and is aggravated by global warming. Water deficits also occur from the demands of irrigation and industry, which account for almost three-quarters of the world's demand for water. More than half of the water entering irrigation systems never actually make it to the crops, due to faulty irrigation equipment, leaks, or wasteful practice. Excess irrigation, on the other hand, does irreparable damage to rivers and marshes, by changing local ecosystem's patterns and by carrying chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides back into the water supply.
Water deficits have the potential to become a major global challenge. Control of water could become a major cause of international conflict, particularly where one country has the ability to restrict or control the flow of crucial waterways.
Desalination of sea water is the most logical alternative to freshwater irrigation and drinking water. The process, however, is still prohibitively expensive. Greater effort, however, should be put toward this initiative. Canada actively supports desalination research and has provided federal subsidies to a number of Canadian companies like Candesal, which develops affordable desalination techniques such as using the excess heat generated by power stations.
Water, labeled the new gold by some, has not quite matched its counterpart in price, supply or distribution. "What we don't value, we won't conserve," contends Ducks Unlimited, an organization committed to preserving Canada's wetlands. One of the major causes of water scarcity and damage to freshwater ecosystems, the organization contends, is the gross under-valuation of water. By failing to acknowledge its importance to survival, we may unwittingly deplete the earth's water supply.
$75 billion per year is invested in water infrastructure and management in developing countries, almost one third of this coming from Canada alone. As well, Canada has played a significant role in desalination efforts and is a key player in supporting the development of desalination units. These efforts, however, must be sustained over the long term to make any meaningful impact.
Canada, a country which possesses the greatest amount of freshwater in the world, can to use this position to raise awareness of worldwide water deficits, and the need to actively deal with the shortage.
Water scarcity is caused mainly by increased demand and pollution, and is aggravated by global warming. Water deficits also occur from the demands of irrigation and industry, which account for almost three-quarters of the world's demand for water. More than half of the water entering irrigation systems never actually make it to the crops, due to faulty irrigation equipment, leaks, or wasteful practice. Excess irrigation, on the other hand, does irreparable damage to rivers and marshes, by changing local ecosystem's patterns and by carrying chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides back into the water supply.
Water deficits have the potential to become a major global challenge. Control of water could become a major cause of international conflict, particularly where one country has the ability to restrict or control the flow of crucial waterways.
Desalination of sea water is the most logical alternative to freshwater irrigation and drinking water. The process, however, is still prohibitively expensive. Greater effort, however, should be put toward this initiative. Canada actively supports desalination research and has provided federal subsidies to a number of Canadian companies like Candesal, which develops affordable desalination techniques such as using the excess heat generated by power stations.
Water, labeled the new gold by some, has not quite matched its counterpart in price, supply or distribution. "What we don't value, we won't conserve," contends Ducks Unlimited, an organization committed to preserving Canada's wetlands. One of the major causes of water scarcity and damage to freshwater ecosystems, the organization contends, is the gross under-valuation of water. By failing to acknowledge its importance to survival, we may unwittingly deplete the earth's water supply.
$75 billion per year is invested in water infrastructure and management in developing countries, almost one third of this coming from Canada alone. As well, Canada has played a significant role in desalination efforts and is a key player in supporting the development of desalination units. These efforts, however, must be sustained over the long term to make any meaningful impact.
Canada, a country which possesses the greatest amount of freshwater in the world, can to use this position to raise awareness of worldwide water deficits, and the need to actively deal with the shortage.
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