Introduction
In the past 70 years, the global usage of freshwater has tripled. Freshwater use had been slowly increasing until the 1950s when the rate of usage took off and began to increase at a rapid pace. This trend has continued up to the present day and unless major changes are done, it will continue to increase until there is no more freshwater available.
Causes
A cause of the increase in water consumption is due to more water being used in the industry, with countries like Belgium using 80% of its available freshwater in their factories. In addition, social lifestyle choices in food have increased the amount of water used per person. Also, biofuel production has created new ways for countries to use water.
Natural Disasters
An example of how water consumption can have a significant impact on events around the world are natural disasters. The frequency of natural disasters has been increasing in the last century. If the water consumption crisis were to be left as is, then the recovery period in the aftermath of a natural disaster may be affected due to the strain on water supply. The poorer countries that could experience violent natural disasters may have a longer period of recovery as well as a higher number of injured and deaths.
Solutions
Most of the world’s water is currently used for agricultural purposes, which makes up for 70% of the entire world’s freshwater usage. Because this is a necessity, we can’t decrease this number, and it will only continue to grow. One strategy that can be used to reduce global freshwater usage is to focus on the 20% used for industry and the 10% categorized under domestic use. By lowering this 30% altogether, we can free up more freshwater to be used for agriculture as the population continues to grow and more food is needed. Another strategy that can be used is to develop new agricultural technologies that are more efficient with freshwater and thus use less freshwater. These two strategies could be used simultaneously and have a greater impact on the usage of freshwater.