The environment is affected by
all creatures as they live and interact with the natural resources.
Unfortunately, human beings have affected natural resources the most. Due to
the increasing usage of these nonrenewable resources, people have faced already
and will continue to face a lot of environmental problems such as global
warming, pollution, water shortage and many other problems. This paper will
cover one common environmental problem that everybody can help solve and that
is water shortage. This urgently needs to be considered so the next generation
can survive, and one of the countries that face this problem is India. (Web of
Creation 2012).
Water shortage happens when the demand
for water is more than the availability of one's area or region, regardless of
the different reasons that cause the water shortage. Global warming is the most
important factor that has created water crises, because of the effects of
climate change. So, the water shortage is a combined problem born from some
other environmental problems. Therefore, causes of the water shortage are the
high temperatures annually, an increase in the amount of floods in the rainy
seasons and a decrease in the summer seasons which creates droughts. Also,
there is less water saved in the icy glaciers on mountains, which are called
the reservoirs. In addition to that factories and industries can be included as
a cause of the water shortage. Many factories drop their industrial waste and
garbage into the oceans or even in the fresh water of the rivers and lakes,
which damage the purity of the water and cause the pollution. So the causes of
the water shortages can be divided into two types: natural made causes and
human made causes. This shortage will impact nature negatively and causes a lot
of serious problems for humanity as a result. (winksci 2012).
India is an example of one of the
countries that face this problem and water shortages in India are getting more
and more serious as time goes on. Currently India has the second biggest
population in the world and it is expected to grow day after day. As a result
of that, the water usage in India is increasing at a dangerous rate. In fact,
the major problem is the existing damage to the water supplies, and this is a
manmade problem because climate change in India has had a less dramatic effect
on the water supplies than elsewhere, compared to other issues. Not only that,
but also the bad management of the Indian government has been in not updating
the infrastructure and in not enforcing rules on companies, in excessive water
usage, careless consumption, and industrial and human waste which has led to
damaging existing water supplies. However, if the Indian government does not
take this problem under more serious consideration, it will be hard for them to
focus on India's water resources and supplies in the future needed to cover
Indian’s water needs. This then has a direct effect the economy of India.
(Jaymi Heimbuch 2009).
There are many solutions to the issue
of water scarcity which and are eco-friendly and cost effective. Water
conservation is the most common solution that costs little compared to other
solutions, such as purification, rationalizing domestic water usage and cloud
seeding, which can be alternative solutions to the water shortage. But it
involves all of us reducing our demands as it is everyone's' responsibility to
save this nonrenewable resource for the future. Purification is a way of making
the "can't be drinking water" potable. This method seems to be the
easiest way to resolve the water shortage, but there is also extraction of sea
water. This is when desalination takes place and when the salt is removed.
However this process is very expensive as the machinery has to be acquired and
that can be hard for poor countries that are facing such problems like India.
(Nina Brooks, August 2007).
