Water's Important Role

Taking the topic of water through a different route, Douglas (1988) manages to elaborately and vividly explain what makes the Everglades.

Photo by Carlton Ward Jr. National Geographic Travel 

"The water comes from the rains. The northern lakes and streams, Okeechobee, itself, are only channels and reservoirs and conduits for a surface flow of rain water, fresh from the clouds. A few springs may feed them, but no melting snow water, no mountain freshets, no upgushing from caverns in ancient rock. Here the rain is everything" (Douglas, 1988, p. 112). 
This short reading taught me a great deal about the Everglades, especially the portion in regards to the rain water being an important component to these wetlands. Considering that Florida lacks all four seasons, the weather is mostly marked with two seasons- wet and dry. The constant changes of condensation from one moment to the next is certainly common, and something I have grown annoyingly tolerant of considering I'm originally from New Jersey. Florida's weather is non-existent up north, and so with time I've come to accept the ever changing weather in the south. The effects of these two seasons certainly reflect upon our natural lands such as the Everglades.

When it comes down to the topic of water use and it's effect on our environment I would have to say my knowledge on the matter is rather limited. Throughout my younger years, I always manage to recall  learning about our influence on the depletion of water during my middle school years and how our caution and awareness of our damaging impact can potentially aid this issue. The thought of having to fight for fresh drinking water one day in the future scared me senseless. I'd find myself lecturing my parents to cut back on their water use whether that be brushing their teeth or taking a shower. I, myself, as a result began to take shorter showers as well as reusing and recycling. This is when my mentality shifted and I became more aware of little things that can affect myself and future generations down the road.

"Given growing populations, growing consumption patterns, and changing dietary expectations, there is not enough water to feed people,meet urban needs, and protect the health of the life-support systems of the biosphere, Water scarcity escalates competition between people; particularly in developing countries, water scarcity is an issue of poverty that leads to political conflict." (Robertson, 2014, p. 95)

Discharge from a Chinese fertilizer factory winds its way toward the Yellow River

Photo by Greg Girard

What is all always boils down to (no pun intended), is overpopulation. I feel as though this is the seed to the vast majority of our environmental issues. Water is just another issue that goes onto that pile. The human demand for water  in of itself accounts for 70% of all freshwater, this of which further enforces the planet to what is being called a "Global Water Crisis" by the United Nations. Water pollution, as a result, presents itself from overpopulation. In extreme cases, for example, water borne diseases can even cause death. Lack of proper sanitation and sewage system as a result of overpopulation is why many in underdeveloped countries facing this issue are highly more likely to die from waterborne diseases such as e. coli and cholera. The good thing, however, is that water pollution is something we can try to control and minimize considering it materializes from human actions.

"The higher we go up the food chain, the greater the virtual water content. The virtual water content of a pound of wheat is 172 gallons, while the virtual water content of a pound of beef is 1,500 gallons. Switching from a hamburger to a vegeburger for one meal can save 750 gallons of water" (Robertson, 2014, p. 99) 

This traces back to the prior post concerning food. I would have never imagined the amount of water one simple meal can have. In an industrial beef production alone it takes an average three years before the animal is slaughtered, but it's during those three years that the cows consume large amounts of grains that of which includes wheat, oats, barley, corn, etc. It's the production of all grains that requires insane amounts of litres of water, in addition to the amount of water the cow drinks during those years. Also, we cannot forget the litres of water used for servicing he farmhouse and for the slaughtering process. All this water is used for producing about 200 kilos of boneless beef. However, the good thing is that some products, such as fruit and vegetables, are more water friendly than others like beef, for example. The answer all lies in what we shop for at the grocery store. By having at least one meat-free-day a week and choosing meat raised on grass whenever meat is consumed, these small steps will surely benefit this issue at large.

Source: 
Robertson, M. (2014). Sustainability principles and practice. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Douglas Stoneman, M. (1988). Excerpt from The Everglades: River of Grass, In University Colloquium: A Sustainable Future. Acton, MA. XanEdu Publishing