1. WATER
THE “W” OF A. F.E.W.

2. WATER GUIDING QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
WHAT IS WATER AND HOW IS IT USED IN OUR WORLD?
WHAT MAKES WATER PLENTIFUL FOR SOME & SCARCE FOR OTHERS?
HOW CAN STRUCTURAL AND PERSONAL DECISIONS CONCERNING WATER SUPPORT SUSTAINABILITY?

3. WATER: WHAT MAKES US STAND OUT IN THE COSMOS

4. WATER TWO MOLECULES OF HYDROGEN, ONE OF OXYGEN
CONSIDERED A RENEWABLE RESOURCE (DUE TO THE HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE)
97.5% OF EARTH’S WATER = SALT, 2.5% = FRESH
BUT . . .
>1% IS AVAILABLE FOR FLORA AND FAUNA

5. “S.E.E.” THE WATER ISSUES: “SOCIETY”
DEFINITIONS:
ECONOMIC WATER SCARCITY: “CAUSED BY A LACK OF INVESTMENT IN WATER RESOURCES (USUALLY B/C OF POOR INFRASTRUCTURE & AN UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF WATER”
POTABLE WATER: “DRINKABLE WATER”
IMPROVED SANITATION: “FACILITIES THAT SEPARATE HUMAN WASTE FROM HUMAN CONTACT”

6. “S.E.E.” THE WATER ISSUES: “SOCIETY”
THE U.N. HAS STATED WATER IS A HUMAN RIGHT
HEALTH:
~ 800 MILLION DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO SAFE WATER
2.5 BILLION DON’T HAVE “IMPROVED SANITATION”
OVER ¾ MILLION KIDS DIE A YEAR OF DIARRHEA (88% caused by unsafe water); annual deaths dropping: 2.4 million 1990, 1.25 million 2013
COLLECTION TIME:
WOMEN/GIRLS SPEND 200 MILLION HOURS DAILY COLLECTING WATER
THIS IMPACTS FEMALE EDUCATION, FEMALE EMPLOYMENT, NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

7. WATER

8. “S.E.E.” THE WATER ISSUES: “SOCIETY”
AGRICULTURE/LIVESTOCK:
SHORTAGES WIPE OUT CROPS/ANIMALS, CAUSING FAMINE & FOOD SHORTAGES
POLITICAL INSTABILITY:
COUNTRIES FIGHT OVER WATER RIGHTS TO RIVERS (Nile = Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, & Ethiopia); WELLS/SPRINGS (East African Drought warlords fought to control wells—all of this impacts delivery of international aid)
_conflicts/2331/

9. “S.E.E.” THE WATER ISSUES: “environment”
#1 FORM OF WATER SCARCITY IS PHYSICAL WATER SCARCITY:
“WHEN DEMAND FOR WATER IS GREATER THAN LOCAL RESOURCES CAN PROVIDE”. CAUSES FOR THIS:
EARTH’S WATER NOT EVENLY DISTRIBUTED (geography)
OVERUSE BY HUMANS (ARAL SEA)
CONTAMINATION BY NATURAL DISASTERS/HUMANS (KATRINA & INDUSTRIAL WASTE)
CLIMATE CHANGE (RAINFALL PATTERNS CHANGING)

10. WATER: Shrinking of the Aral Sea
SOVIET DESIRE TO INCREASE COTTON YIELD LED TO IRRIGATION DEVASTATION.
SHIPPING & FISHING DESTROYED.
PORT TOWNS ALSO DRIED UP

11. “S.E.E.” THE WATER ISSUES: “ECONOMY”
ALTHOUGH THE POOR HAVE LESS PIPED WATER CONNECTIONS THAN THE WEALTHY, SLUMS/OTHER LIKE PLACES PAY ~ 5-10 X MORE FOR WATER
FOOD PRICES RISE WHEN WATER IS SCARCE
USES OF WATER: AGRICULTURE 70%, INDUSTRY 22%, DOMESTIC 8%

12. WATER: A snapshot Look

13. WATER: groundwater, aquifers
GROUNDWATER SEEPS DOWN THROUGH SOIL AND POROUS ROCK TO SIT ABOVE IMPERMEABLE BEDROCK

14. WATER
AQUIFERS ARE LARGER AREAS OF GROUNDWATER WHICH CAN BE CONFINED OR NOT BY SOLID ROCK
IRRIGATES 13.6 MILLION ACRES—30% OF US H20
WOULD TAKE 6,000 YEARS TO REFILL VIA NATURE

15. SPECIFIC WATER PROBLEM MICHIGAN
ENBRIDGE PIPELINE #5—about 1 million gallons an hour of crude piped through. Built to last 50 years.
Kalamazoo and Enbridge:

16. WATER USE
MOST ‘HOME USE’ WATER CAN BE TREATED & REUSED; ONLY ½ OF IRRIGATION WATER CAN BE REUSED
DRIP IRRIGATION IS V. EFFECTIVE
(Kenyan in Israel)
SINCE WATER IS TIED TO ENERGY USE, IT IS OFTEN HARD TO LOOK AT OBJECTIVELY
EX’S: WATER TO COOL NUCLEAR PLANTS, USE OF STEAM TO DRIVE TURBINES, HYDRO DAMS
EX’S: ENERGY TO ACCESS WATER: WELL PUMPS, DESALINATION PLANTS

17. WATER SUSTAINABILITY: DOMESTIC
WATER USE VARIES DRASTICALLY WITHIN COUNTRIES, BUT WE ARE USING WAY TOO MUCH WATER, WAY TOO FAST
#1. CUT DOWN TAP RUNNING TIME (BRUSHING TEETH)
#2. LOW-VOLUME FLOW RATE TOILETS/SHOWERS
#3. FIX LEAKS! (Avg. US home wastes _____ gallons yearly w/ one faucet drip); with a moderate toilet leak _______ monthly?
Faucet: 10,000 gallons yearly; toilet 6,000 gallons monthly
#4. WATER-SAVING APPLIANCES (dishwashers/washing machines)
#5. USE RAIN BARRELS, CAR WASHES, XERISCAPING, KEEP TRASH OUT OF LAKES AND STREAMS
#6. EAT LOWER ON FOOD CHAIN, STOP USING “PLASTIC WATER” (3 liters to produce 1 liter), CONSIDER VIRTUAL WATER PRINT

18. WATER SAVING VIDEO TIPS
Howcast saving water
10 tips
California tips

19. what is often lost in a GLOBAL ISSUE discussion of water