It is estimated that by 2035, half of the people in the world will live under severe water shortages. Discuss three specific strategies for conserving water

What will be an ideal response?


Since approximately 70% of the water that humans use goes to irrigate agricultural crops, improved technologies that can reduce evaporation and runoff from agricultural lands are essential. Drip irrigation, a process of delivering water to the roots of individual plants through a network of perforated tubes at the soil surface, has made a significant impact in reducing evaporation and runoff. A second strategy might be to reuse municipal wastewater, recycling it to irrigate crops and/or for landscape watering. An essential consideration is to ensure that this wastewater is not contaminated with industrial by-products (heavy metals) if it is to be reused for human agriculture. Since wastewater is naturally high in nitrogen and other nutrients, using it to irrigate crops reduces the need for additional fertilizers. A third strategy involves personal water conservation approaches. Reducing shower time, using a low-flow shower head, and for home yards, using native plants that are adapted to the region where one lives, rather than exotic grasses that require large amounts of water in order to thrive.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

You might also like to view...

Which non-European country played a major role in the economy of the countries of Eastern Europe?

A) China B) Japan C) Soviet Union D) United States E) All of the choices are correct.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Which of the following reagents was used in the original breath alcohol test used by law enforcement officials?

A) Cr3+ B) hydrogen peroxide C) potassium dichromate D) none of these

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Incompatible land-use activities avoid clustering in the same locations is explained by the

A) sector model. B) peripheral model. C) concentric zone model. D) multiple nuclei model. E) location model.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

In which of the following can hydrogen bonding occur?

A) in a solution of acetone in water B) in a solution of formaldehyde in water C) in a solution of acetone and formaldehyde in water D) in all of these cases

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences