Food For Thought: Where is the Global Water Crisis in the U.S.?
Last year, the United States saw some of the most extreme weather this generation of Americans have ever seen. Between Texas’ winter “snowmageddon,” the Western Wildfires, and everything in between, the U.S. spent $145 billion on natural disasters alone, according to Forbes. These natural disasters can be thought of as “symptoms” of climate change, and while they may or may not affect your daily lives, most every American is made aware of these disasters through news and/or word of mouth. If these are the effects of climate change that have come to a boiling point, just imagine what else might be brewing for the United States and even the world? An arguably acute question is: how do these issues of climate change factor into the conversation about the global water crisis? Let’s take a closer look.
The Global Water Crisis is generally thought to be something that plagues third-world and developing countries, far away from us here in America. However, the reality is far different as it is starting to impact different regions and facets of life here in the US, most prominently seen is the effect on today’s agriculture and farming. About 47% of America is currently experiencing drought conditions, according to the US Drought Monitor.
These conditions can and have been creating issues for those industries who need high levels of water for production, such as livestock and field crops such as corn, wheat and soybean, according to Drought.gov. These droughts are likely to continue to occur more frequently hurting these industries even throughout the rest of the winter season, with the National Weather Service Projecting that droughts will persist for at least three months from now.
Other issues affect the water quality in America such as aging infrastructure. Almost 100,000 people in the city of Flint, MI experienced a problem with this related to old lead plumbing, making their water unsafe to consume - the city was in this water crisis from 2014-2019. According to Great Lakes Now, even to this day the city is still working to replace the lead pipe plumbing lines and fully secure the safety of their resident’s water supply. In order to protect a certain quality of life many in the U.S. are comfortable with, it is necessary for us to begin thinking dramatically different about water from the way we consume it to way we treat it to ultimately how we value it, as well as researching new ideas, solutions, and methods to increase the resiliency of our water supplies and systems.
On a large scale, the United States should be looking for disruptive innovations as the savior to its in-country water problems. Currently, Israel is leading the world in water innovations, reclaiming 80% of its wastewater for agricultural use and producing 70% of its nations drinking water from desalination of seawater, according to an article by the Foreign Trade Administration. Taking a page out of Israel’s playbook may create sustainable change to combat the Global Water Crisis happening right here in the United States.
The good news is that we don’t have to wait for widespread national-level change because on a smaller scale, each individual resident in America can do their part, finding out easy ways to save water in your daily life, as well as asking and challenging your local Church, school, company, and local government to think about taking steps to help combat this growing issue. It’s never too late to begin making a positive difference! The best thing about playing your part is that it will open your eyes to how truly important water is in your life which is the next step for wanting to truly make a difference for those struggling to survive because of the Global Water Crisis.
LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT VERA AQUA VERA VITA DOES TO COMBAT THE GLOBAL WATER CRISIS
