Ryan Johnston
Mrs. Maisner
Honors World Geo & Cultures
12 December 2011
Water

People of the United States…The remarkable author Mark Twain raised a crucial current event topic long before it became a popular ideal of society; “water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. “ This accurate quote on the overuse of water rings true to today’s society because we humans are taking water in great quantities, not in moderation. People in third world countries are suffering because of a lack of water while many Americans are sitting pretty on endless stacks of bottled assortments in stores like Sam’s Club. Water is hurting humankind: a lack of it makes good health a wish instead of an attainable ideal, and dirty water causes disease. In the future, countries will surely be fighting over the precious H20 similar to how they are now battling each other over oil. The varied populations all over the world need to come to terms with how the region affects how water is used, and hopefully people can begin to move to a more sustainable median so that water cannot hurt anybody.

Many people across the board already are living a water-friendly life. People living in the high desert in the Mexico region live on a strict military-style schedule that many would not dare attempt. People in that region must ration water, only 10 gallons per day, with mass recycling and hardcore conservation work. The issue gets worse as the view given shifts from North America to Africa, specifically Ethiopia. People must perform hard labor to obtain their water in countries like this one on the horn of Africa. Women must hike treacherous trails multiple times in a day and carry 50 pounds of dirty water back to their homes in order to survive. Many people die of disease even after all of their hard work. It is appalling that Americans have water at their fingertips when people all over the globe die tragically because of a lack of water. Many Americans may think that they will never have to worry about water consumption because of the nation’s “superpower” status when it comes to resources, but they are sadly mistaken. Freshwater is becoming a very small percentage in comparison to the whole Earth’s supply; it is only one percent of the whole resource. With all of the threats to biodiversity that are becoming prevalent, that small supply may well be gone in the near future. The world population must understand how the region and locations affect how they use water because failure to grasp this issue may prove catastrophic.