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Peak Water

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Peak Water

Peak water is a topic that seems almost taboo. It is a topic that most might not take into thought, and most more than likely to not want to think about. Water is a natural resource (PBS, 2007). Like all other natural resourced on this planet, humans have decided to do with it what they please. Humans do need water for survival, but humans have been anything but frugal with how they use it. I asked each of the employees where I work if they had showered within the last twenty-four hours, not one person answered no. In a fifteen minute shower sixty-six gallons of water are being used (Greener Living Reality, 2012). It is about time that we consider how, where, and when water is being consumed. Developers have been granted permission to develop on property that is not guaranteed to suffice enough water for the amount of people that are planned to be housed on that specific land; the only penalty being that is must be listed in the real-estate paper (PBS, 2007). If the resources are not going to be available, than why would this be allowed? The New York Times had a very interesting article that seemed to answer this question. The article summarized a discussion between two leaders from the developing world; their answer was to move people out of the desert (Lewis, 1987, ¶1). This article was written in 1987 and these leaders had come to the conclusion that humans were the main cause for depleting water from the environment. It is hard to believe that not much is being done about the situation. In conclusion, the only way to prevent peak water is to make that changes that are necessary to prevent such situations from occurring. By having new development in areas where water is not promised to be available for consumption is only asking for a disaster. There has to be a time when the right thing is done; regardless the cost or profit. If humans continue to ask with such selfishness it will not be long before this race is wiped out.
References
Greener Living Reality. (2012). Reducing water consumption by reducing shower time. Retrieved from http://www.greenerlivingrealty.com/resources-reducing-water-consumption-by-reducing-shower-times-56
Lewis, P. (1987, October 20). POVERTY IS LINKED TO HARM TO LAND. New York Times. Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com:80/ic/ovic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=News&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=OVIC&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CA176052069&userGroupName=buff83694&jsid=06577b2db8505de11373e8624b5a17a1
PBS. (2007). Wired Science: Peak water [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usbEs81RJdc&feature=player_embedded

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