Drinking Water Around the World

Drinking water: a scarce commodity

Water covers approximately 71 % of Earth's surface. Seas and oceans alone account for more than 97 % of the water available on Earth. Drinking water accounts for only 2.5 % and is found mainly in the form of ice (2/3) and in groundwater.

Ultimately, humans and the entire ecosystem must make do with less than 1 % of all water resources.

Fresh water is therefore a scarce resource that is continually recycled. We use the same water we have been recycling since the dawn of time.

This is what all the water on the planet would look like if it were concentrated into a sphere.

Water: this blue gold

Today, no one can deny that water in all its forms is openly coveted around the world. After oil and electricity, our blue gold represents the world's third-largest industry. Because of its rapidly increasing scarcity and its vital importance, it will soon become the leading source of profits. The bodies that make decisions in the water market face increasing pressure, reaching into the very heart of their institutions. Access to water and its distribution can generate enormous profits. Major conflicts of interest are multiplying day by day.

The global water situation is becoming very concerning. For example, in some countries such as Syria or Israel, and even in France at certain times of the year, water is starting to run short. California faces water shortages all year round. In “civilized” countries, water is wasted with abandon, without concern for the consequences for neighboring populations. After Las Vegas in the United States, China and some Arab countries are now building new cities in the middle of the desert, depleting water reserves and leaving surrounding populations thirsty. In addition, drinking water should be safe to drink, but unfortunately remains inaccessible to some populations. Even in privileged countries, it is increasingly mistreated, wasted, and disrespected.

A few examples from around the world

The political and financial stakes are so high that no one truly concerns themselves with water pollution ; at the risk of seeing entire populations disappear soon.

For example, in the Amazon, the damage goes beyond cutting away more of the forest every day. Gold fever is increasing mercury levels in the major surrounding rivers and forcing residents to flee the region to avoid dying from this pollution.

The same is true in Bolivia, where mining for tin, silver, gold, and lithium irreversibly pollutes many rivers.

In Togo, the chore of fetching water assigned to women forces them to walk tens of kilometers every day, carrying heavy loads to ensure their families' survival.

In Japan, in 2009, researchers at Kyoto University revealed that they had found traces of Tamiflu, a molecule used to treat infectious diseases with severe side effects, in the country's rivers.

As a result of drinking unsafe water, 1.5 million children under the age of 5 die every year from preventable diarrheal diseases. 3.6 million people die each year from water-related causes (diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, hepatitis…). According to a WHO study from January 2012, 50 % of the world's population has no access to drinking water, including 1.9 billion people who have no choice but to drink dangerous water. Other, more rigorous studies put the figure at 3.5 billion people.

We should also consider the other types of pollution associated with our drinking water consumption. Only 12 % of the plastic bottles produced by Nestlé, the world's leading bottled water producer, are recycled. This means that 88 % of them end up in the environment, where they remain for more than a century.

How much longer will nature withstand this assault ? When will we finally realize that water, this blue gold, is our source of life, and soon of survival ? These are questions we should have been asking long ago…

Our blue planet is crying, and its tears are polluted !

Source : “How to Purify and Revitalize Your Drinking Water” by Richard Haas :

A former healthcare professional specializing in aqueous injectable solutions who spent years researching water using Vincent's bioelectronics (BEV).

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