In this essay I will assess the extent Hong Kong will be affected by global water scarcity in the near future and make a comparison of the risk of water scarcity in Hong Kong to other major international cities. I will analyse the origins of water scarcity. I will explain the concept of water scarcity from three perspectives: personal, local and global.
Water scarcity is defined by The Agricultural Carbon Market Working Group as when there are below onethousand million cubic metres of water available per individual being annually. Absolute water scarcity is defined as when there are below fivehundred cubic metres of water per individual being annually. According to the Water Supplies Department, in the 1960s and 1970s, the population growth, industrial development, and improvement of living standards saw Hong Kong’s water demand increase dramatically. To conquer the water shortage, desalination of seawater was used to satisfy the needs of the Hong Kong people. Hong Kong is currently without underground water, with no greatly sized lakes and rivers. Seventy percent of Hong Kong’s water supply relies currently on import from Guangdong. As it relies mostly on a location beyond itself, Hong Kong is with potential risk of water scarcity. The government provides a huge water subsidy.
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However it is unfortunate that we rely mainly not on our own supplies for water. China, which Guangdong is part of, is prone to droughts, as is California. This signifies a great potential risk to water scarcity as Guangdong is an unstable supply source to rely so heavily upon. I agree with the Professor that the subsidy should be lessened, and also that Hong Kong citizens must be educated so that they are aware of the current situation.
In the United States, their government may invest in aiding and renew their water infrastructure by taking advantage of their great land
In the article “California Drought: Governor Jerry Brown Issues Water Rules” for the Cable News Network, Ray Sanchez explains how Governor Jerry Brown is taking drastic measures to reduce California’s water usage. To do that, he has established many rules and restrictions on the people of California, as well as its businesses and farms. Governor Brown states that this drought needs extraordinary actions, as it has shown in the Sierra Nevada Mountains which has lost snow and are now covered with dry and brown grass. I agree with Sanchez and Governor Brown about imposing these rules and restriction on the people of California because these restrictions are going to help guide California out of the drought or at least help maintain and not let this drought get any worse than it already is. I agree with the author because in the article he provides good support to show why these rules need to be enacted upon
In this article of “The New Water Czars” by Daniel Kraker explains about the historic water of the Indian community be brought back to its roots or just be turned into a big power broker. He begins to explain how the operations of the Gila River Indian Community are a big agriculture in the south of Arizona. There is a settlement that has been nearly 80 years in the making trying to help the community fewer than 20,000 with more than 650,000 acre-feet of water enough to serve the residential needs of almost 3 million people. In that case it will put the Pima and Maricopa people in a place of marvelous power.
Do you ever feel like there is a piece of dry, and scratchy piece of sandpaper in the back of your throat from not having enough water? How would you feel if you could never stop the anoying feeling, that is constantly reminding you, that you could die from extreme thirst any day from now. The main reasons that China was driven into the intense water shortage is, their Government policies, Population increases and the most tremendous reason is the industrialization of China. One of the main reasons that is driving China's unfortunate water crisis is, China’s tremendous population growth. As China’s cities are increasing in population more of their residence are consuming their limited water supply.
The Southwest Water Crisis Although the current drought is exceptional for its high temperatures and affecting the largest supply of water in Southwestern United States, the Colorado River Basin, by decreasing the water levels. With the lack of water source it is also negatively impacting human health, agriculture, energy, and ecosystems. Water resources are crucial for any sort of living organism, but very scarce due the current drought, which holds complications for the future and alterations people have to construct to maintain water sustainability. Due to the climate change and warmer weather during the summers caused low snowpack in Rocky Mountains.
By using desalination system, we can get clean and safe water immediately. We do not need to pay money to get sea water, and we do not need to wait for rain, we just get the water form
There are alternative ways of supply water the people of California, that does not destroy
The text allows for the reader to understand what the water crisis is, and how it is impacting our daily lives. The text also gives the reader multiple different examples of water control in the United States. But, because of all the corporate greed, corporations are ruining our natural resource of water by creating it into a commodity and selling it. This book gives great insight on how corrupt the government can be when they want to make a cheap buck. Again, “Water is a necessity of life that touches everyone in their own homes” (Snitow and Kaufman, 1) water is a right to all humans, not a commodity for business
Taking shorter showers, stop watering lawns and gardens and recycling water are easy steps in conserving our water intake. As Californians, we have the privilege of taking care of our state. We need to educate ourselves on how to legally conserve our precious water so that future generations have a beautiful state to
Many people have wondered why China's water scarcity is getting worse. It is because Global warming, Water pollution and the most important is Industrialization. North China is suffering the most. This means it does not have enough fresh water to meet its needs. The North's lack of water will now put the whole city in danger.
“As the population rises, the world 's water usage will rise. Many areas of the world already suffer from a lack of fresh water,” (Population Control 3). If the world runs out of freshwater, humanity will plunge into chaos. Humanity needs water to survive, and that is a fact. Relationships between countries will be broken apart over disputes for water.
Water resources problem areis a serious challenge to the social and economic sustainable development around the whole world. With regards to the predator of fresh water shortage in global scale, Canada also unfortunately falls to its prey. Blessed with abundant fresh water in lakes, streams, rivers and most importantly –the underground water, Canada has long taken it for granted that fresh water supply will never be their concern. However, the approaching of fresh water shortage has only until recently woken Canadians from their dreams. When Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development implemented underground water tapping programs and the Munk School of Global Affairs held a symposium themed on mapping underground water, federal and public concerns are fomenting.
Singapore is a country with no rivers or lakes to tap for fresh water. Due to these natural constraints, Singapore faces a serious issue with the supply of fresh water for consumption. Singapore’s only source of water is rainwater. In the early days of the young nation, very little
2% of earth’s fresh water is frozen in ice caps; and, only 1% of earth’s fresh water is available to consume. 2. Unfortunately for our planet, supplies of water are running dry at an alarming rate. The world’s population continues to soar; but, that rise in numbers has not been matched by an increase in supplies of fresh water. Let’s talk about what is going on around the world; I will mention to you just a few major cities, and show you how they are dealing with water shortage.
Water is one of the most important and vital substance on earth. All life forms on earth require water to survive. If there will be no water there would be no life on earth. Aside from drinking water to survive, people have many other uses for water.
Introduction By the year 2025, the Philippines is believed to be brought to a water crisis if no new sources of water are developed or found to meet the growing demand of the citizens. (Sapnu, R., Balabo, D., & Cervantes, D., 2007) "There is a Japan International Cooperation Agency study that says that if we will not conserve water, there may be some problems. But of course we can always start conserving now and look for other sources," Lopez (2013) said. Studies have shown how water conservation and appropriate water utilization are significant as early as today.