Top
: Peterhof Palace near St Petersburg, the Great Cascade fountains
© P. Favrelière BIPS. Bottom : a little girl in Rwanda fills
a bucket
with
drinking water to carry back on her head to her home, several
miles away. © F. Casado BIPS.
Questions
1. Look at these graphs :
Read the second paragraph of this page to explain what sufficiency, stress and scarcity mean and answer questions 1, 2, 3 and 4 on this page.
2. According to the graph on this page, where is most of the water on Earth located ? Which stocks of water are inaccessible ? Which stocks of water can we use ? You can also read the first paragraph of this summary.
3. Try this puzzle then have a look at the water cycle diagram and read the summary.
4. Look at the map showing the per capita availability of fresh water in the world. Which regions suffer the most from water scarcity ? Can you give an explanation ? (this map may help you).
5. Look at this graph : what other factor influences people's access to freshwater in the world ? (If you need a hint, look at this map).
6. Look at these two maps showing freshwater stress in the world. Name some MEDCs which are in situation of freshwater stress. Name some countries which situation is going to become preoccupying around the year 2025.
Look at the graph at the bottom : according to the medium projection, how many people are expected to suffer from water scarcity in the year 2050 ?
7. According to these graphs which sector consumes the most water ? Can you explain why ? Which sector wastes the most water ? Try the questionnaire "How much water do you use at home?" and submit your answers to see how much water you use everyday (1 gallon = 3,785 liters).
8. Did you know ...
- For a faucet that leaks one drop per second the water loss is 4,3 liters per day and 130 liters per month.
- The average distance that women in Africa and Asia walk to collect water is 6 km. The weight of water that women in Africa and Asia carry on their heads is the equivalent of your airport luggage allowance (20kg).
- Some 6,000 children die every day from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene.
(Quickfacts quoted from the official site of the International Year of Freshwater 2003).
And it takes about 5320 liters of water to process a meal of one hamburger, french fries and a soft drink.
9. Try this water quiz.
NB : the title of this page is taken from a BBC News article by Alex Kirby which is also a good summary for this chapter.