Making Every Drop Count Reading Passage
Making Every Drop Count Reading Passage
Paragraph A
The history of human civilisation, right from the golden age, evolved parallel to the history of the ways we learnt to handle water and its resources across the globe. As urban areas expanded slowly and steadily, water resources were taken rapidly from remote sources, amounting to luxury engineering impacts like aqueducts, dams, and so on. During the Roman Empire's era, nine major systems had a drastic change with the help of a sophisticated idea of sewers, pipelines, etc. Such engineering advancements by the Roman occupants provided as much water per individual person as it has in many industrial areas today.
Paragraph B
It was evident that the demand for water resources rose exponentially due to the Industrial Revolution and population growth in the 19th and 20th centuries. Moreover, enormous monuments and other tens and thousands of engineering projects were built, incorporating flood control systems, clean water supply, irrigation and hydropower projects that brought happiness to millions of human lives. There was also a food supply growing to compensate for the soaring population due to the spread of artificial irrigation systems that ensure a potential growth of 40% of the world's food. Almost one-fifth of the current electricity produced across the world is generated using big turbines spun by the power of a tsunami.
Paragraph C
However, there is a negative face to this picture. Besides our reach, nearly 50 per cent of the world’s human population still faces hurdles, with water resources lesser than those had by the ancient Greeks and Romans. According to the United Nations (UN) report on access to water reemphasised in the month of November 2001, above one billion people are deprived of clean drinking water, and almost two and a half billion people do not have access to necessary sanitation facilities. Avoidable diseases pertaining to water kill an estimated 11,000 to 22,000 children every day, and recent proof reveals that we need to speed up the process of solving problems before it is too late.
Paragraph D
The repercussions of our water policy framework extend not just to jeopardising human health but also to mere existence. Millions of people coerced to shift from their homes permanently- with some warning or temporary relief - to give space for the reservoirs behind water dams. 20 percent and above of all freshwater fish species are now under serious threat or endangered mainly due to dams and water reservoirs. Withdrawals have stopped the natural flow of river water where they live and survive. It eventually destroyed the entire ecosystem. There are some best irrigation methods that lead to soil degradation and deteriorated production of agriculture. Apart from that, groundwater aquifers (underground water stored) are used faster than they are naturally refilled in different parts of China, India, the US and elsewhere. And problems related to shared water resources have caused unnecessary troubles and persist in causing local, national, and international disturbances.
Paragraph E
In the beginning of the new millennium, the way policymakers plan for water resources is beginning to take a twist. Their aim is to gradually move towards basic human and environmental needs as the highest priority. It is to ensure 'some for all', rather than 'more for some'. A few environmentalists and water experts suggest that existing infrastructure facilities could be utilised in an efficient way instead of constructing new buildings. However, it has been taken into consideration. This philosophical change is not universal yet, as it's strongly opposed by certain organisations, that closely work for water security. In spite of that, it could be the ideal way to correctly tackle the overwhelming problem of serving everyone with clean water. It is to drink and grow food and create a society free from water-borne diseases.
Paragraph F
Fortunately - and without anticipating - the water demand is not increasing as rapidly as some estimated. Because of that, the intense pressure to construct many water infrastructures has been destroyed for more than two decades from now. Even though the human population, industries, and economic development seem to fly high in developed countries, the frequency at which the public does not consume water from aquifers, rivers, and lakes has decreased. Moreover, in a few parts of the world, the demand for water has seriously dipped to some extent.
Paragraph G
How do these remarkable events take place? Well! There are two major factors involved: people have noticed how efficiently water can be used, and similarly, communities at large started thinking about their priorities on the usage of water. Right from the 20th century, on average, the amount of freshwater consumption per individual has doubled; in the US, the withdrawal of water increased ten times higher, while the population increased four times higher. However, if we look from 1980, the amount of water consumption has decreased per individual, it's all because of new inventions and technologies that support the preservation of water in homes and industries. For example, in 1965, Japan consumed exactly 13 million gallons (1 gallon equals 4.546 litres) of water for the purpose of $1 million of commercial output; by 1989, this amount of consumption had decreased drastically to 3.5 million gallons (even taking inflation into account) - almost four times higher of water productivity. Meanwhile, in the USA, water withdrawals were at their peak in 1980, but it has fallen by more than 20 per cent.
Paragraph H
Nevertheless, aqueducts, water dams and other forms of infrastructure need to be built, especially in emerging countries where the basic human needs did not come into place. However, those infrastructure projects must be constructed with more specifications, more accountability to local people and their environment than in the past. Moreover, in areas where new projects receive a warranty, we should still discover new ways to meet demands with limited available resources without compromising ecological criteria. All these things need to be done with a smaller budget.
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