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¶ … Water Supply and Demand in 2075
Global Resource Proposal
Difference in Water Demand and Supply in 2075
The World Health Organization has quantified the amount of water needed to sustain human life (Howard and Bartram, 2003), although the organization's primary concern is water quality (WHO/UNICEF, 2013). Given the projected growth rates in population and its expected peak around 2075 (U.N., 2004), there is a need to better understand whether the world's water supply will be sufficient.
The world's water supply will also be strained by growing economic activity, which is currently growing fastest in developing nations like China (Behren, Giljum, Kovanda, and Niza, 2007). Based on computer simulation models, the regions experiencing the greatest population growth will face limited water supplies that may be insufficient to sustain human life (Hanasaki, 2012).
Significance
By 2075, the world's population is expected to reach about 9.22 billion (U.N., 2004). Computer simulation models predict that growth in population and economic activity could result in nearly half of the world's population living in conditions where water availability is extremely limited...
Should one-third to over one-half of the world's population find it difficult to get enough water for their personal and economic needs, a major crisis on a global scale could occur within a few decades.
Theoretical Framework
Making adequate projections concerning demand pressures on renewable resources is essential for making informed policy decisions that protect human health, economic systems, and utilized resources. When demand outstrips supply for an essential resource like water, then legislative measures may need to be enacted to minimize the impact on society.
Towards this goal, the increased water demand that a growing global population will generate will be assessed using published data and estimates. Doing so should allow making rough estimates of the difference, region by region, between water demand and supply.
Statement of Research Purpose
The goal of this research project will be to exploit…
References
Behren, Arno, Giljum, Stefan, Kovanda, Jan, and Niza, Samuel. (2007). The material basis of the global economy worldwide patterns of natural resource extraction and their implications for sustainable resource use policies. Ecological Economics, 64, 444-453.
Hanasaki, N., Fujimori, S., Yamamoto, T., Yoshikawa, S., Masaki, Y., Hijioka, Y. et al. (2012). A global water scarcity assessment under shared socio-economic pathways -- Part 2: Water availability and scarcity. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussion, 9, 13933-13994.
Howard, Guy and Bartram, Jamie. (2003). Domestic Water Quantity, Service Level and Health. Geneva: World Health Organization. Retrieved 13 Sep. 2013 from http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/WSH03.02.pdf.
U.N. (United Nations). (2004). World Population to 2300. New York: United Nations.
WHO/UNICEF (World Health Organization and UNICEF). (2013). Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water -- 2013 Update. Geneva: World Health Organization. Retrieved 13 Sep. 2013 from http://www.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/81245/1/9789241505390_eng.pdf.
Macroeconomics For most of the time since the subject of economics was first studied, the idea of resource constraints has been irrelevant. The world was simply not viewed as a finite place. The concept of resource constraints was limited, more or less, to the consideration of constraints on an individual economy. Adam Smith recognized that all economies would face resource constraints of one type or another. As Snowdon (2003) points out,
Introduction The environmental peril to the earth in the present day is greater and more severe compared to any other given time in human history. Canada is one of the nations that have been significantly impacted by climate change. Imperatively, average temperatures in the nation have already risen by 1.7 degrees Celsius in the past seven decades. Unrelenting intensification of warming at high latitudes is anticipated under all circumstances of impending