Sustainable Earth



Sustainability Issue: Water Security 
Solution Suggested: Reduce Population
Short Explanation A reduction in population will have a direct and proportional reduction on demand for water.
Full reason for rating.
Current Situation
Of all the `human Rights` the right to fresh water must be the most important. A reduction in the population will reduce demands for fresh water, not only for households but also for farming and manufacturing. In Central Africa there are already disputes about the amount of water captured in dams and the amount of water allowed to flow to downstream countries. As populations grow, it might very well end up with wars over disputed ownership of water resources.
Alternate Water Sources
Fresh water can be produced by desalination of sea water, but this is expensive if done a large scale; added to which it needs quite a lot of energy.
How critical is water
Whereas man can go without food for quite extensive periods of time, this is not the case for water. We need a regular and stable supply of water to survive. Water pollution is already a massive problem; it even includes pollution of the sea. We have to look after then essential commodity like it is gold.
Water Distribution
Many countries will have sufficient water, at the moment, if they had a suitable water `network` to distribute from high rainfall areas to drought ridden areas, but this is not being addressed by governments as it is long term infra-structure projects. They are only interested in projects that have short term gain and might get them elected again. Maybe democracy, the way we have it today, is not the best form of government and an alternative should be found.
Bottled Water
Water is bottled in `single use` plastic bottles and distributed all over the planet. If you want to be `posh`, you do not drink tap water. In many countries the tap water is undrinkable as it is not sanitised properly. Instead of improving water plants, water is imported in bottles producing a massive amount of plastic pollution.

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