WATER AS A RESOURCE

Why we should be mindful about how we handle this vital substance

We may live on a ‘blue planet’ but fresh drinking water is an extremely scarce resource. Even back in 2015, the United Nations warned of the threat of water scarcity in its ‘World Water Development Report.’ The major culprits are agricultural irrigation and increasing industrialisation. On top of that, climate change is altering the global water cycle. Current estimates are based on 3.6 billion people (51 % of the global population) living in water poverty. These developments are all the reason we need to use this vital resource as responsibly as we can.

Water scarcity spurs innovation: water consumption in the American state of California was strictly regulated from 2011 to 2017 because of a persistent drought. Resourceful gardeners therefore decided to spruce up their lawns with environmentally friendly spray paint. After all, gardeners are always in competition with their neighbours to have the greenest lawn. Green lawn paint in a can has since become popular in Europe and elsewhere, too.

This would be a quaint little story about humanity's quirks if it had not arisen from such an earnest problem. Water shortages and limited access to water in many regions (i.e. the fresh water available per person per year) are becoming an ever greater challenge on a global scale.