Why the people are not aware about water scaricity?Is the govt. only responsible for water conservation?

Answer 1

PERMACULTURE ANSWER


WHY SHOULD WE CONSERVE WATER
because there is so little that we can use

------------------------------...
25% of the planets surface is land
75%of the surface is water and it is rising

------------------------------...

97%of the Earths water is salt

fresh water is only 3% of all the Earths water
most of it is beyond out reach

now much ice is melting and running into the seas fresh water lost for ever.

STORAGE or Location of % of the fresh water
ice and glaziers 74%
groundwater 800 meters + 13.5 %
groundwater less than 800meters 11.o%
Lakes 0.3%
soils 0.006%
Atmospheric in circulation 0.0035%
rivers 0.03%


frozen land or permafrost is not included and represent an unavailable storage of 40%

so of the 3% about 11.6 ,is easily available to us ,in rivers, lakes and ground water surface aquifers,more and more of this is becoming contaminated

overpopulation of an extra 70 million people a year (increasing all the time )and expanding agriculture ,which uses 70% of available potable water supplies ,has brought the good(sweet) water suplies to critical levels ,some countries have been in trouble already quite a while .

now climate change and desertification because of irresponsible agriculture ,overgrazing and deforrestation is damaging world fresh water production .

it is a good reason for concern and if we do not rectify matters by changing agricultural methods ,reforrest ,stop deforrestation,become more economic with water use ,stop producing more people ,stop wasting and contaminating water, we will be in serious trouble all round
and could end up looking like Mars

and these are some of the things we can do

EFFICIENT WATER USE

IN THE HOUSE
one can connect the sink straight to the toilet sistern and so use the water twice ,first to have a shave and then to flush the toilet
also if you bend the ball valve you can regulate the level of the sistern

and always have your grey water and black water seperate
so that the sink and shower water goes directly into the garden saving on irregation and at the same time ,making the sewage smaller and easier to deal with ,this also goes and iregates the garden but via a sitern of two compartments and a french drain ,on which you plant trees,

ON THE LAND
economic systems of irregation like drip irregation
and design using a lot of stone walls ,that condense water in the night
and planting leafy plants for the same purpose
building wind breaks ,to counter act the drying effects of the wind and farm towards agro forestal ,using as many trees as posible to limit evaporation .using shade nets before we have tree cover

and use MULCH

by cutting down the weeds before they produce seeds and leave them where they fall,they will cover the ground and put even more organic matter on top,you can use saw dust,leaves green or dry,and when you plant make a little space and plant in the mulch.this is the easiest quickest and by far most benificial way(for the quality of you soil)to prepare the land for planting

to prevent weeds from coming all you have to do it turn out the lights,you can even use cardboard or black plastic(this is good for strawberries because they will rot if they touch humid ground,and the bugs can get to them).

mulch is the same principal as compost but it includes the whole garden surface
the top part of the soil where the topsoil is being produced houses a world or microbiotic life.

Mulch is organic material green or dry that covers the ground,the thicker the better the composting process will turn it in to black topsoil

the humidity is preserved underneath and promotes the devellopment of worms(their exists no better compost than their excrements)and a variety of micro biotic life which together with the mulch produce more topsoil.

the mulch also keeps the ground temperature even and guards against the impact of the rain ,which would other wise brings salt to the surfave if on unprotected land

Mulch also prevents the soil from drying out because of the sun and,


WATERHARVESTING

the natural way of nature is to evaporate moisture for clouds and this gets blown to places with less water any way ,what obstruct the clouds from getting to deserts ,tend to be mountains that are in the way,
but generally speaking ,the normal weather patterns spread rain evenly over the planet to balance out the temperatures and humidity.

As far as catching rain is concerned ,we do this all the time ,and have done so already since Babylonian times,and is a part of the more advanced Agriculture,that existed with the Egyptians,Central ,and south American indigenous peoples,and many others ,today we call this water harvesting.

In Permaculture the rule is to harvest water to the point of Zero runoff.
this means that all of the rain that falls on an area is absorbed by the terrain and not a drop leaves it.

by building dams,ponds or swales, with interconecting ditches,
if there are enough of these ;the places ,where before the rain water ran over the ground into the rivers and on to the sea ,(in a matter of hours or days),It now runs into absorbant dams or swales and saturates the ground and eventually reaches subteranean water deposits ,taking many months to do so.
Or it fills up ponds that can be used for Aquaculture.
And so a convex situation that repels water is transformed in a concave ,absorbant one and turning the area in to a sponge.

in Spain and Portugal ,which still display many examples of the conquering Moorish influence,One can find many remnants of Waterharvesting,such as aquaducts and tanks underneath the patios ,which collect the rain water from the roofs ,to be used in dryer times.

in Arabia ,on a large scale ,land has been shaped to catch and lead,rain water into sandy areas or to agricultural lands.sand is almost as good as dams because it absorbs water and holds it.

to find out more about Water harvesting I recomend:
the designers manual by Bil Mollison,which cost about 40 dollars.
and is the best all round book you can get.(tagiari publishing, [e-mail])


some other writers that are on the internet are
david Holmgren
Larry Santoyo
Kirk Hanson

Masanobu Fukuaka has written ,
One-Straw Revolution
The Road Back to Nature
The Natural Way of Farming

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/masanobu_fu...

Simon Henderson
and Bill Molisson.

a representitive of the concept in USA is
Dan Hemenway at [e-mail]
[e-mail]

Answer 2

Yes. People must also take the initiative for rain water harvesting measures. So much rain water gets wasted flowing to the sea. Shallow trenches, ponds, channels, gravel pits, etc can be dug everywhere to capture this rain water. This would increase the ground water level drastically and alleviate flooding. Buildings can install rooftop RWH equipment. The govt can contribute by making this equipment tax free thus reducing the price. Concreted compounds can be partially dug up to expose the earth and then covered with a thin layer of gravel. This enables the water to be stored in the earth rather than flood the building. Metal grating can be kept on top should parking spaces be required. Trees and shrubs should be planted wherever possible as the roots help to hold the soil and retain the water levels.

Answer 3

where there is scarce there is awareness already. It is only those population who have surplus water donot bother about scarcity at present.It is like only when you don't have a thing you appreciate its value.
In the deserts of Rajasthan I have witnessed people using sand to clean their vessels . They are used to water scarcity.

Well regarding responsibiliy for conservation , it is the duty of every individual citizen. Govt. also works through people's representation. To implement schemes, create awareness,& for fair distribution of water or any other essentials govt.has to shoulder the responsibility.
whenever there is dispute over sharing the water between the states it is the people who start the agitation & support their respective govts.

Answer 4

Some answers here don't know that FRESH Water is actually very scarce throughout the world.........lets not even talk about Nigeria or India.....just in the US, the Ogagalla (sp?) aquifer, which is where the water comes for growing food in the Mid West which half the planet depends on is going down at an alarming rate.....

and if the Colorado River dries, there goes Phoenix and LA......

Answer 5

No , people are also responsible.But it needs an integrated effort on behalf of Resident Welfare Associations or Clubs to bring together Resources and devote Time for measures like Rain Water harvesting+Financial Incentives from State or Central Governments . A few RWAs in Delhi have taken some measures but they are too few and far between.

Answer 6

The government should make a proper policy on water conservation and see that it is implemented properly. Unless they take proper steps, public are not supposed to know about water conservation. Policy maker is only responsible for the state of things.

Answer 7

Well people take it for granted that water is always available. Its only when they are in a position where they have a shortage that they realise its need. As for the second part of the question, no the sole responsibility does not rest on the government. As water is saved collectively.

Answer 8

Okay.

YEAH THE EARTH MAY BE 75% WATER BUT NOT ALL OF IT IS DRINKABLE YOU WEIRDOS!!! APPARENTLY SOME PEOPLE NEEDED TO KNOW THAT LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION...!!!

There is actually only about 2% of drinkable freshwater right now and the way pollution has been going it might run out soon but people continue not to care... I completely agree with you... I mean... There they are all complaining about oil running out and the cars can be ran by at least 10 other energy sources that I have read about that are effective..It annoys me personally. And people could definately live better without cars than water...But that again points to the LAZINESS of our country....

Answer 9

No, its not only the governments duty. As the citizen of a country we must help save the resources of that country. People only care about themselves. Think of it as this way, how would you feel if all the people in your neighborhood dumped all their trashes in your house? How would you feel? Now think of how the creatures that live in the water and use the water feels about it. And also if humans are the smartest creature in the world than, how come we pollute the water we use everyday. Just changing our habits will save a lot of time.

Answer 10

I think that the Government and the people are responsible for using water frugally. I also think that the Government needs to step-up and make restrictions. I think this because people can only do so much, and the government has the power to enforce laws and restrictions to make sure things work out.