Getting Thirsty

 
Water  covers 75% of the Earth’s surface, but most of it contains high  concentrations of salt and is unavailable. Desalination is expensive for  developing countries, making that salt water unsuitable for consumption  or irrigation. Consequently, access to fresh water is a growing issue  as countries share the same water sources. This even has the potential  to become an issue of national security. 

Think  of the issues that come from circumstances in which countries share the  same water source. For example, consider disputes over the Jordan river  between Jordan and Israel, or the Tigris River between Iraq and Turkey.

Now consider what would happen if your state or community had only limited fresh water access. How involved do you feel local governments should be in controlling water access? 

  Have at least one response to the Class Discussion of at least one paragraph. 

Class Discussion:
Travis,

 I reside in Florida. Florida is known for the increasing population  which in turn increases the demand for fresh water. Florida is already  expected to be low on groundwater sources to meet the demand as  legislatures are already creating projects to conserve freshwater. I  have noticed numerous programs for water efficiency that have been used  in the past and still are currently used. The use of water more  efficiently is one of the best ways noted to help conserve water. The  neat thing about Florida is they are the largest users of groundwater  east of the Mississippi River. I happen to be a user of groundwater;  however, the problem with using the aquifers is it could damage  wetlands. Florida is also impacted by droughts and heatwaves.

I  believe the local government is already quite involved with conservation  use. We currently have programs such as save our lakes. During peak  heat, there is limited watering outdoors. The local government would be  quite involved in my opinion. Florida is still working to find ways to  protect water from algae problems.