A Rhetorical Analysis Of Water Works By Cynthia Barnett

According to the International Water Management Institute environmental research organisation global water stress is increasing, and a third of all people face some sort of water scarcity. Where demand exceeds supply and no effective management operates, there will be conflicts between the various players involved.

Around the world our water supply is depleting. Our water is becoming contaminated making it harmful for both mammals and aquatic life. Today over one billion people go without adequate water supply and every fifteen seconds a child dies of waterborne illness. Sources of water that once supplied water to millions can no longer meet the supply and demand of the water need. Scientist predict that the amount of useful water will keep depleting greatly in the years to come. In the next couple of pages it will talk about both the geological and human reasons as to why are water supply is depleting.

In the United States, the available water resources is also under assault. Half of water collected and stored by existing infrastructure is usually used in the production of electricity. This forces the population to use and divide what little there is left. This has always been a “good enough” approach until now, when water prices and population is on the rise.(3) There are already calls for charging water resources in order to increase efficiency of use.(3) Water protection is already being carried out and has been for years, but there is still water pollution occurring within the United States. After the Civil war, America strived to provide its population with clean water

Some areas of the world are already considered water stressed. In areas that are water stressed, the amount of sustainable water is running low. The people in these regions are in need of new and clean water to start being present. According to Roberts, “By 2050 more than half the world’s

Even if we make a concerted effort to use water more efficiently, it is not possible to supply the world with enough clean water for human use and also restore damaged ecosystems stressed by decades of overuse of existing water

I chose water because it is a problem on a global scope, and with the current climate shifts and world population numbers continuing to grow, water is and will only become more of a problem as resources continue to lower. The number of people who suffer from the scarcity of water is alarmingly big, about one- third of the humanity doesn’t have an access to water supply. As a world, we are finally grasping the truth that water is and will remain one of the most valuable resources the planet has provided. Without it, life would not exist. Some of the largest lakes and rivers on the globe are depleting at a very frightening pace. Approximately 40 percent of the entire population of the planet has little or no access to clean water and it is

Freshwater resources are being overused by us humans. A rarely known fact is that only 2.5% of water on earth is freshwater (Powers, par 12). Just to add to the problem, most of the freshwater resources we do have are not readily accessible. When a freshwater source is found, it is quickly used up by our ever growing need for water. A common estimate for the average amount of water used per day by each person is 80-100 gallons (USGS, par 1). Take into consideration that we have about 320

Currently, “only 2.5 to 3 percent of all the natural water sources available on Earth are composed of fresh water” as written by Paul Alois, a researcher and writer for The World Bank. Alois continues, “less than 1 percent is easily accessible for human use” due to most of the natural water sources being unaccessible. As the global population grows, the environment keeps changing, and over usage of water sources continues, freshwater sources are only going to deplete even further. Consequently, “2 billion people lack access to clean water” and more than 80 countries are presently suffering from water scarcity as reported

Of the vast quantities of water on this planet, only about three percent is freshwater and thus suitable for human consumption. The largest portion of that is

Water is the source of all life on earth and continues to provide health, wealth and prosperity to all but what happens when water becomes scarce? What would happen if majority of the water on earth is polluted? Are we regulating the amount of water consumed? As a whole are we as efficient as possible when water is used? The food industry thrives off of water which also plays a hand in water consumption. We need to question the tradeoffs between water consumption and food production and how we can improve water productivity worldwide. I believe water is the true gold standard for currency; as a business management major I intend to understand how the world economy works in conjunction with global patterns of water productivity which is food produced per unit of water consumed.

At first glance, it seems ridiculous that humanity is running out of usable freshwater, considering the amount of water on the Earth. In a way, the problem with water is similar to the problem of fixed nitrogen that the Haber-Bosch system helped to solve. Like nitrogen, water surrounds people, yet humanity cannot use the majority of it in the form it occurs abundantly in. The vast majority of water on Earth is not functional for human consumption. In fact, people can only safely drink less than one percent of Earth’s entire water supply as it naturally occurs (Keller 432). Additionally, much of this fractional amount has been contaminated in one way or another to be rendered useless, or improperly managed, leading to excessive waste of it (Green 108). As of a report released in 2014 by the World Health Organization and

Currently, “only 2.5 to 3 percent of all the natural water sources available on Earth are composed of fresh water” as written by Paul Alois, a researcher and writer for The World Bank. Alois continues, “less than 1 percent is easily accessible for human use” due to most of the natural water sources being unaccessible. As the global population grows, the environment keeps changing, and over usage of water sources continues, freshwater sources are only going to deplete even further. Consequently, “2 billion people lack access to clean water” and more than 80 countries are presently suffering from water scarcity as reported by The World Bank, a nonprofit scientific research organization.” However, it seems as if the population in

Cause and Effect: The causes of water shortages are overpopulation, climate change, and inefficient water use. Since the end of World War the population has shot up being with the baby boomers. Since there is so many people there needs to be more food and most food comes from farms. Food that is grown on farms is watered with irrigation and seventy percent of the world’s freshwater goes to the irrigation of crops. Another reason population is causing water shortages is that now; more people than ever are pulling water for domestic use and the fresh water sources cannot keep up especially in places where water

Contribution: By utilizing Glenton’s conclusions of how much water we take for granted in the states, I can add more support to the establishment of a problem of our use of water supply. I can also research more on the solutions he rejected to further prove why they didn’t work and add on to his research with my point of view.

Another cause of water scarcity can be agriculture. Agriculture uses ~70% of the worlds freshwater, and still some 60% of this water is wasted due to leaking irrigation systems, bad methods of use and cultivation of crops that are too thirsty for where they are being grown. Also many countries that produce large amounts of food- including India, China, Australia, Spain and the United States- are getting close to their limits in terms of water resources. Added to the