The Shortage of Potable Water and How It Affects the World

Robert Buelow
EG481
Project Part 3
Rough Draft
November 11, 2010
Potable Water Shortages around the World
In my research paper, I will be investigating the issue of potable water shortages around the world. Many areas of the world are suffering from a water crisis and it's not just dry arid, developing countries that are suffering. The Western US is particularly vulnerable and its water crisis is getting more severe by the day.   It is estimated that one fifth of the world's population does not have access to safe drinking water, and that this proportion will increase due to population growth relative to water resources. The worst affected areas are the arid and semiarid regions of Asia and North Africa. Wars over access to water, not simply energy and mineral resources, are conceivable.
Water scarcity is a global problem that affects over a billion people a year. According to the U.S. Department of State, 1.1 billion people lack safe drinking water and 2.4 billion lack access to basic sanitation. According to U.S. Department of State Chairman Hyde, and others, state that this problem is basically in the Middle East. We should take action in this topic, because 3-5 million people die each year due to drinking unsafe water. Most of these deaths are children under five years old. I know this is a problem that does not affect us directly, but how would you feel if this took place right here, and our generations of children were dying. We should take action as soon as possible, by sending drinking water and relief money to the Middle East for water purification processes. By doing so, we can save lives and help their way of life. They can use donated money to build a water plant and proper sanitation sites.
The current method of desalination of water in the United States is primarily the coal plant method. The problem with desalination using coal burning plants is that it is very energy intensive. Most desalination today uses fossil fuels, contributing to...