Introduction
Robert Glennon in the article, Water Scarcity, Marketing, and Privatisation, expresses great concern on water wastage against a strong possibility of scarcity crisis. The same concern is aired in the report, Hidden Water, by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). The articles suggest several options for increasing water supply as counter strategies against increasing water depletion. Thus, this paper presents a comprehensive summary of the two articles.
Articles Summary
According to Glennon (2005), there is depletion of the main fresh water reservoirs across the US since diversions and continuous pumping has exerted extreme pressure on the aquifers. Besides, the effects of industrial solvents have contaminated the few remaining water sources (Glennon 2005, par. 3). In a quick rejoinder, the report by the UNEP, excessive pumping of water from rivers and lakes to support agriculture threatens to dry up water sources.
For instance, water usage in India to support agriculture is one hundred cubic kilometres more than the rain water each year. In order to counter such crisis, countries have resorted to trade, that is, importing crops that consume a lot of water when grown locally to save on the ‘virtual water’ (UNEP 2008, par. 2). This is a strategy to minimize a possibility of water wars between countries since the current water supply cannot be sustained (Glennon 2005, par. 3).
Another threat to sustainable water demand and supply is the climatic elements such as drought, excessive release of carbon gases, and global warming as a result of climate change (Glennon 2005, par. 4). Prolonged high temperatures have the effect of shortening the snow season and increasing the speed of melting snow. In addition, higher temperatures result in increased evaporation from water reservoirs (Glennon 2005, par. 4).
The report by the UNEP notes that “climate change means that more and more countries are likely to suffer drought in future” (UNEP 2008, par. 3). This is because nations that heavily rely on virtual water may not sustain the trade of importing crops that require a lot of water. At the same time increasing water demand as a result of increasing population growth exerts further pressure on the available water sources (UNEP 2008, par. 5).
As indicated in the report by the UNEP, the first option for increasing water supply would be seawater desalination, channelling water from a reservoir to another, aggressive rain water harvest, and efficient water usage (UNEP 2008). For instance, farmers may embrace drip irrigation as opposed to flooding.
Glennon (2005) provides options of increasing water supply such as efficiency in water usage, creation of dams and other artificial reservoirs for rain water, and reclamation of sewage effluent. When these options are adopted, it would be easy to increase water supply by a large margin (Glennon, 2005, par. 6).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the two articles suggest concurrent implementation of the proposed options for increasing the water supply as counter strategies for averting a possible water crisis in the near future as a result of the climate change and other factors.
Reference List
Glennon, R. 2005, “Water scarcity, marketing, and privatisation.” Texas Law Review, vol. 83, no. 7, pp. 31-35.
UNEP 2008, “Hidden water.” Tunza, vol. 6, no.3, pp. 27-28.