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Future of Water

 

Drying lake bed

 

About 71 percent of the Earth's surface is water-covered. There is approximately 332,500,000 cubic miles of the wet stuff on our planet. Unfortunately, it is mostly ocean water, unfit for what humans truly need to fill convenient plastic bottles with. Only 3% of Earth's water is freshwater, and two-thirds of that is locked away in glaciers and ice caps, unavailable for immediate use. Even among accessible freshwater, a significant portion lies deep underground or is polluted. In addition, freshwater resources are not evenly distributed. Some regions face chronic water scarcity, while others have abundant supplies. Climate change is further exacerbating these inequalities through erratic rainfall patterns and droughts.

Earth's Freshwater Supply

The image below shows Earth's water in droplets, when compared to the size of the Earth.

The water spheres signify:
(1) All water (sphere over western U.S., 860 miles in diameter)
(2) Fresh liquid water in the ground, lakes, swamps, and rivers (sphere over Kentucky, 169.5 miles in diameter), and
(3) Fresh-water lakes and rivers (sphere over Georgia, 34.9 miles in diameter).

 

Earth's freshwater

 

Credit: Howard Perlman, USGS; globe illustration by Jack Cook, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (©); Adam Nieman.

 

Technology to the Rescue

Certainly, this is one calamity that technology can help us avoid. Scan most future technology timelines and you'll see that by 2050, I should be able to take my 101 year-old transhuman-self to an A.I. virtual concert on a hoverboard made of flying nanobots. But hey, getting the salt out of water, we can't do that. Really?

Supply and Da' Man

Round' here, (North America), we have more water breaks than a city maternity ward. Approximately 850 water main breaks each day. The reasons run clear. Out of sight--out of mind, and behemoth muninciple services often become reactive instead of proactive.

Wars Over Water?

Water is a finite resource that is essential to human existence. If you say that water could become a resource like oil, that economic or even military wars are fought over, you'd be right as rain. Of course, just because It could happen, doesn't mean it will.

As an optimist, I look to technology to solve future coal and oil shortages with alternative energies, food shortages with biotechnology, and water shortages through cost effective desalinization, nanotechnology-based filters, self-cleaning and hydrophobic surfaces, and other technologies not even thought of yet. Like the ability to manuever a raincloud over Coober Pedy.

The future of freshwater is uncertain, but steps can be taken to address the challenges. We need to prioritize sustainable water management, conservation efforts, and adaptation strategies to ensure freshwater security for future generations.

 

 

Future of Water Articles and Web Sites

I search the internet daily for new articles from around the world that interest me or I think will interest you. My hope is that it saves you time or helps students with their assignments. Listed by most recent first, dating back to 2005.

 

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FutureForAll.org aims to increase public awareness of rapidly advancing technologies, and to encourage students to consider careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM).