Water Shortage in the Middle East Essay -- Environmental Science Ecolo

Water is the main source of life on the Earth. It is vital for normal existence and functioning of organisms. Earth is sometimes called â€Å"water planet.† But, in fact, the number of freshwater is limited. â€Å"Only about 2 percent of the planet's water is fresh.† (How much water is there on Earth?) This water is not enough even to meet daily needs of mankind. According to World Health Organization, â€Å"a lack of water to meet daily needs is a reality today for one in three people around the world.† (2009) In the Middle East the situation is especially hard. This region is thought to be one of the droughtiest places in the world, most of it’s territory is deserted. Freshwater accounts to 1 percent of the world’s supplies, while the population comes to 5 percent. (Baroudy 2005, 15) And this problem seems to become worse day after day. From the middle of the XX century demand on freshwater has increased three times. And this statistics will continue to grow with population rise and industrial development. Water scarcity is a huge problem, because it may have a number of economical, social and political consequences. Bad harvest and famine are one of them (Brown 2008, 16). Also lack of water for elementary daily needs will lead to insanitariness. This will increase risk of spreading such diseases as typhoid, cholera and dysentery (10 facts about water scarcity 2009). Also disastrous water shortage in the Middle East may change existent struggle into regional conflict. It is evident that this problem needs to be immediately solved. There are few possible solutions and some of them are already applied by this time. All of them have some advantages and disadvantages. The target of humanity is to find the best one. Firstly, one possible solut... ...ana/ (accessed November 20, 2010) Brown, D. 2007. Few alternatives in the Middle East. The Times. 13 April, 22. Newspaper Source. http://web.ebscohost.com/ (accessed November 20, 2010) Brown, L.R. 2008. Draining our future: The growing shortage of freshwater. The Futurist 42 (3): 16-22. Academic Search Premier. http://web.ebscohost.com/ (accessed November 20, 2010) Conway, M. 2008. The desalination solution. The Futurist (42) 3: 23-24. Academic Search Premier. . http://web.ebscohost.com/ (accessed November 20, 2010) Davidson, S. 2005. Making water – hold the salt. ECOS (124): 23-36. Academic Search Premier. http://web.ebscohost.com/ (accessed November 20, 2010) How much water is there on Earth? n.d. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/ (accessed November 20, 2010) Middle East Water Shortage. n.d. http://hydrology1.nmsu.edu/hydrology/wastewater/