What is water scarcity?
Water scarcity, both natural and of human origin, is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demands within a region. Water is unequally distributed over time and space. Much of it is wasted, polluted and unsustainably managed.
There is no global water scarcity as such, but a number of places and regions are chronically short of water because its use at the global level has increased more than twice as fast as the population over the last century.
Water scarcity Causes
1. Hunger, poverty and education.
Apart from dehydration due to the obvious lack of drinking water, hunger is one the most serious effect of water scarcity. Why? Water shortages have a direct impact on crops and livestock, which can lead to food shortages and eventually starvation. As well, because of water shortages some people cannot shower, wash their clothes or clean their homes properly.
2.Sanitation issues and diseases.
Water scarcity generates sanitation problems by forcing people to drink unsafe water. In fact, when water is scarce people tend to store it at home, which increases the risk of domestic water contamination and creates breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which transmit dengue and malaria.
Lack of water cause other diseases such as trachoma (an eye infection that can cause blindness), plague and typhus.
3. Conflicts.
Having access to water has become a powerful global economic issue that could become one of the main causes of international tension. Local conflicts - sometimes resulting in warfare - are triggered over scarce water resources. With the burgeoning global population and growing needs, these tensions could multiply in the future.
4. Biodiversity loss.
Water scarcity has different negative impacts on rivers, lakes, and other freshwater resources. It harms the environment in several ways including increased salinity, nutrient pollution, and the loss of floodplains and wetlands. Ecosystems and biodiversity (e.g. freshwater fish) are threatened by the scarcity of water resources.
The United States of America is one of the greatest countries in the world.
It is situated on the North American continent and is washed by three oceans: the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Arctic.
The USA borders only on two countries — Canada and Mexico.
This great country has a lot of mountains, rivers, lakes. The main mountains are the Appalachians and the Cordilleras. The longest rivers are the Mississippi and the Missouri.
The climate of the country is varied. In the southern part it is subtropical while the northern part has very cold weather in winter.
America has fifty states and one federal District of Columbia where the capital of the country is situated.
The capital of the USA is Washington. It stands on the Potomac river in the eastern part of the country.
The main cities are located on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. New-York is the largest city of the country. Other large cities are San-Francisco, Los-Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Phoenix and Dallas.
The USA is a country of highly developed industry and agriculture. The main industrial centres are Chicago and Detroit, with their greatest automobile company “General Motors”. There are many farms with various agricultural products. Grain, fruit and vegetables are grown on numerous fields especially in the South.
The USA is a country with great holidays, customs and traditions. It is one of the most beautiful and interesting countries in the world.