Terms: freshwater
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- Freshwater Conservation (PBS - Bill Moyers Reports Earth on Edge)
Argues for sustainable use of water supplies. 11-01
- International Freshwater Conflict (Green Cross International)
Describes the availability of freshwater globally and identifies the areas of conflict, along with the intensity of conflict. Suggests approaches to preventing or easing conflict. 02-07
- Freshwater Getting Scarce (WWF International - Steele)
Describes the worldwide problem of gaining access to safe water. "Nearly half of the global population is living without safe water or adequate sanitation, millions of homes are under the threat of recurring floods, and drought and desertification are undermining advances made in food production. The loss of up to 50 per cent of freshwater species over the past 30 years signals that one of the underlying causes of the freshwater crisis is the continuing degradation of land and water ecosystems." 3-02
- Freshwater Availability (UMAC - OCP)
Describes freshwater availability, including. Renewable Fresh Water, Fresh Water Availability, Surface Water Processes, Groundwater, Groundwater Overdraft, OCP Definitions. "At today’s population size the world’s annual, renewable fresh water supply provides several times what is necessary for each individual to live comfortably. But global rainfall patterns are not evenly distributed...." 4-02
- Freshwater Supply Terribly Managed (US News)
"Worldwide, 1.1 billion people lack clean water, 2.6 billion people go without sanitation, and 1.8 million children die every year because of one or the other, or both. By 2025, the United Nations predicts 3 billion people will be scrambling for clean water. There are myriad problems: industrial contaminants flooding waterways, wasteful irrigation, an exploding world population, political corruption and incompetence, and a changing climate—to name a few." 06-07
- -06-22-07 World's Largest Freshwater Lake "Disappearing" (CBS News)
"At first glance it's hard to believe Lake Superior could be said to be 'disappearing.' It's huge. But all along its 1,800-mile coast, you can see land where there used to be water, CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers reports." 06-07
- -Freshwater (Wikipedia.org)
"Fresh water contains low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. It is an important renewable resource, necessary for the survival of most terrestrial organisms, and required by humans for drinking and agriculture, among many other uses."
"Fresh water can be defined as water with less than 0.5 parts per thousand dissolved salts." 06-07
- -Freshwater: How Much Do We Have? (National Geographic)
"f you had a dollar for all the water in the world, less than half a penny would represent the world's supply of fresh water in rivers, lakes, and wetlands, which includes ponds, marshes, swamps, and bogs. That halfpenny—0.3 percent, to be exact—represents the Earth's surface water, which we draw upon every day to quench our thirst, water our crops, and power our industries." 06-07
- Freshwater in the Polar Ice Caps (Hypertextbook.com)
"Ice caps are found in several places in the Arctic region (Greenland, Iceland, Baffin Island, and the island of Spitsbergen) and over most of the Antarctic region. Approximately 90% of the ice on earth, is found either in Greenland or in Antarctica. The largest ice caps on the planet are found there. Greenland is a plateau surrounded by mountains. Antarctica is composed of mountains, valleys, and lowlands. From my research, I have found different values for the volume of the polar ice caps. For Antarctica, the approximate volume is 30,000,000 km3. For Greenland, it is approximately 3,000,000 km3."
"The volume of the polar ice caps is very important, because it may provide answers to future problems regarding the earth's fresh water. In the future, fresh water in the other six continents might be depleted. Since ice caps contain over 80% of the earth's fresh water, they could be used in the future to provide fresh water for earth's growing population." 07-07
- -Basic Facts About Freshwater Availability in the World (USInfo.state.gov)
"If the world's water supply is compared to one gallon (3.8 liters), freshwater would make up 4 ounces (118 milliters) or 3 percent, and readily accessible freshwater would make up 2 drops. (Miller, G.T. 1998. Living in the Environment, 10th Edition. Wadsworth Publishers, Belmont, California)" 08-07
- Freshwater Biodiversity in Crisis (EarthTrends)
"In a world in which it seems that nearly every natural ecosystem is under stress, freshwater ecosystems—the diverse communities of species found in lakes, rivers, and wetlands—may be the most endangered of all. Freshwater ecosystems have lost a greater proportion of their species and habitat than ecosystems on land or in the oceans, and they face increasing threats from dams, overextraction, pollution, and overfishing." 01-08
- Facing the Global Freshwater Crisis (Scientific American)
"As demand for freshwater soars, planetary supplies are becoming unpredictable. Existing technologies could avert a global water crisis, but they must be implemented soon."
"Not surprisingly, staving off future water shortages means spending money—a lot of it. Analysts at Booz Allen Hamilton have estimated that to provide water needed for all uses through 2030, the world will need to invest as much as $1 trillion a year on applying existing technologies for conserving water, maintaining and replacing infrastructure, and constructing sanitation systems. This is a daunting figure to be sure, but perhaps not so huge when put in perspective. The required sum turns out to be about 1.5 percent of today’s annual global gross domestic product, or about $120 per capita, a seemingly achievable expenditure."
"Unfortunately, investment in water facilities as a percentage of gross domestic product has dropped by half in most countries since the late 1990s. If a crisis arises in the coming decades, it will not be for lack of know-how; it will come from a lack of foresight and from an unwillingness to spend the needed money." 08-08
- World Water Shortage Has Started (Boston Globe - Rothfeder)
Provides facts about the current and growing shortage of drinkable water. "But the reality we face is sobering: water -- nature's most essential element -- is becoming dangerously scarce. A freshwater crisis has already begun that threatens to leave much of the world dry in the next 20 years, without enough water for a minimum quality of life." "Nearly 2.2 billion people in more than 62 countries, one-third of the world's population, are starved for water." 1-02
- Thermohaline Conveyor Currents (GRID-Arendal)
"The global conveyor belt thermohaline circulation is driven primarily by the formation and sinking of deep water (from around 1500m to the Antarctic bottom water overlying the bottom of the ocean) in the Norwegian Sea. This circulation is thought to be responsible for the large flow of upper ocean water from the tropical Pacific to the Indian Ocean through the Indonesian Archipelogo. The two counteracting forcings operating in the North Atlantic control the conveyor belt circulation: (1) the thermal forcing (high-latitude cooling and the low-latitude heating) which drives a polar southward flow; and (2) haline forcing (net high-latitude freshwater gain and low-latitude evaporation) which moves in the opposite direction. In today's Atlantic the thermal forcing dominates, hence, the flow of upper current from south to north."
Provides a global chart of the flow of the currents.
"When the strength of the haline forcing increases due to excess precipitation, runoff, or ice melt the conveyor belt will weaken or even shut down." 01-06
- Melting Glaciers Could Produce "Runaway Effects" (ABC News)
"In only five years, the amount of freshwater the melting glaciers have dumped into the Atlantic has nearly doubled, which has caused many scientists to conclude that current projections of how fast sea levels will rise have been too low."
"Scientists also worry about the effect all this fresh-melt water will have on the Atlantic's Gulf Stream 'conveyor belt' currents. These currents have long kept the northeastern United States, Britain and northwestern Europe relatively warm for their northern latitudes by transporting heat up from the tropics. Too much freshwater slows these currents, said scientists."
"A few weeks ago, scientists announced a surprising discovery — currents have slowed by 30 percent in recent years."
"This is the latest confirmation that global warming is now accelerating and involving interconnected 'positive feedback' effects in which the warming in different earth systems reinforces overall warming, and it is all now happening faster than scientists recently thought possible, according to the report." 02-06
- Water Pollution and Conservation (IAEA.org)
Provides an overview of the world water situation. "By the middle of this century: at worst seven billion people in 60 countries will be faced with water scarcity, at best 2 billion in 48 countries, depending on factors like population growth and policy-making."
"About 2 million tons of waste are dumped every day into rivers, lakes and streams. One litre of wastewater pollutes about eight litres of freshwater." 04-06
- Desalination by a Water Theater (Seawater Greenouse)
The Teatro del Aqua uses cold water pumped from deep in the ocean, sea breezes, and a process of condensation that allows the development of huge amounts of freshwater from natural processes. 06-07
- Rain Barrels (RainBarrelGuide.com)
"To illustrate how important and how limited a resource freshwater is in our world, consider the following. More than 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water, but only 2.5% of this supply is considered fresh water. The rest is found in the form of salt water in the oceans. Of the fresh water that exists, most is locked up in glaciers and ice caps. Water can also be found in the form of clouds and humidity in the soil. That leaves us 3/10 of 1 percent found in the form of lakes, rivers and streams. Unfortunately, much of this small amount of freshwater is in danger of drying up through desertification or becoming so contaminated that it cannot be used for human consumption. Changing our habits of water use can help to abate this growing problem." 08-07
- Rain Barrels (RainSaver.usa)
"To illustrate how important and how limited a resource freshwater is in our world, consider the following. More than 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water, but only 2.5% of this supply is considered fresh water. The rest is found in the form of salt water in the oceans. Of the fresh water that exists, most is locked up in glaciers and ice caps. Water can also be found in the form of clouds and humidity in the soil. That leaves us 3/10 of 1 percent found in the form of lakes, rivers and streams. Unfortunately, much of this small amount of freshwater is in danger of drying up through desertification or becoming so contaminated that it cannot be used for human consumption. Changing our habits of water use can help to abate this growing problem."
Provides information to compute the yield of rainwater from a roof or other catchment. 08-07
- Solar-Powered Circulator (Aquafide.com)
"The SolarBee incorporates patented near-laminar radial flow technology that provides high-flow, long-distance circulation™ (LDC) to improve water quality in freshwater lakes and reservoirs, potable water tanks and reservoirs, wastewater ponds and lagoons, and estuarine environments." Awesome Library does not endorse these products but provides them as examples. 08-07
- -05-10-08 Race Against Time to Avoid Disease in Myanmar (MSNBC News)
"Reports of diarrhea, malaria and skin problems have already surfaced, and health officials fear waterborne illnesses will emerge due to a lack of clean water, along with highly contagious diseases such as measles that are easily spread."
"Some victims have been drinking whatever water is available with many freshwater sources contaminated by saltwater or decaying human bodies and animal carcasses. UNICEF has reported diarrhea in up to 20 percent of the children living in affected areas." 05-08
- Water Footprints (Waterfootprint.org)
"People use lots of water for drinking, cooking and washing, but even more for producing things such as food, paper, cotton clothes, etc. The water footprint of an individual, business or nation is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual, business or nation."
"The water footprint of a nation shows the total volume of water that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of the nation. Since not all goods consumed in one particular country are produced in that country, the water footprint consists of two parts: use of domestic water resources and use of water outside the borders of the country. The water footprint includes both the water withdrawn from surface and groundwater and the use of soil water (in agricultural production)." 08-08
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[Dr. Jerry Adams at jadams@awesomelibrary.org.]
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