Will There Be Enough Water?
“Only 2% of the total volume of Earth’s water is fresh, and 2/3 of that consumable supply is frozen in polar and glacier zones, leaving [less than] 1% as liquid, fresh water.”—Research and Exploration, a National Geographic publication.
DO YOU have drinkable running water in your home? Then you are among the more fortunate ones. Millions of people have to fetch their water, often from miles away—and then it is often hardly fit to drink. Others have to congregate at public taps or at trucks to get a meager ration of the precious liquid. Research and Exploration stated: “As humans multiply, problems of water utilization and management increase. These problems are most acute in the developing world, where some 1 billion people already find it difficult or impossible to obtain acceptable drinking water.” That means that almost 1 in 5 of the world population have grave problems finding usable water.
The seeds of future conflicts are already sown in this shortage of water. One expert said: “An increasingly large number of people will be stuck in history, living in shantytowns where attempts to rise above poverty, cultural dysfunction, and ethnic strife will be doomed by a lack of water to drink, soil to till, and space to survive in.”
What can we do individually to use this precious resource wisely? Use it economically and carefully—it is valuable and finite.
1) Don’t waste water. Don’t have taps running unnecessarily—such as when cleaning teeth or shaving. Don’t spend too much time under the shower—assuming you are fortunate enough to have a shower!
2) Don’t contaminate water or pollute it. If a polluted river or stream passes near where you live, someone upstream is ruining a vital lifeline for your community. Often the major responsibility for this pollution lies with city authorities, industrialists, farmers, and others who may allow raw sewage and chemical products to flow or leach into streams and rivers.
God, as earth’s Creator and Landlord, is entitled to call for an accounting on the way we use our planet. The Bible prophesies that Jehovah will indeed ‘bring to ruin those who are ruining the earth.’—Revelation 11:18.