Water

for more info on oceans - see Nature

Pollution alters patterns of rainfall, evaporation, and the hydrologic cycle . For more on this, go to Weather.

“Madagascar…is experiencing its worst drought in four decades.” In some spots, there’s no water for crops, no water for livestock, and no water for humans.

It’s “because of no rain…and whenever it does rain, it’s never enough rain. ”

“Human pressure is now the dominant driving force…[underlying] global freshwater systems.”

“Water wells could run dry” in India, China & Pakistan (who don’t get along).

Unfriendly neighbors Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia are also “water-stressed countries”.

Municipal water systems cost money. What if tax revenues don’t cover expenses?

Local people continue to struggle with this issue in places as far apart asFlint, Michigan, Cochabamba, Bolivia, Chennai, India, and CapeTown, South Africa.

Water pollution causes approximately 14,000 deaths per day, mostly due to contamination of drinking water by untreated sewage in developing countries."

Without tap water, people turn to bottled water.

“Roughly 32-54 million barrels of oil went into producing…bottled water.” (USA 2007)

“It takes [7] liters of water to make a…half-liter PET plastic bottle.”

This not-recyclable bottle will end up in a dump, in our air (incineration), or the ocean.

“Almost half of all bottled water is actually derived from the tap.”

Private companies (Coca-Cola, Nestle) have tried to take advantage of poor people’s efforts to find drinking water. Investors have seen some benefit from this, but the less-well-off, generally, have not.

How much water does it take to make beer? Depending on location, the ratio maybe: 300 to 1, or 45 to 1.

Soda-pop? 264 to (almost) one, including the plastic bottle.

“Agriculture is both a cause and a casualty of water scarcity." Crops such as coffee, almonds, cotton, and rice use huge amounts of water.

“A quarter-pound hamburger [uses] 462 gallons of water [including]…cattle feed.”

“A…T-shirt takes 712 gallons.”       Find out your water footprint?