Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 Overview
- 2 Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Global Warming, and Water Resources
- 3 Population, Environmental Impacts, and Climate Change
- 4 Carbon Cycle and the Human Impact
- 5 Peak Oil, Energy, Water, and Climate
- 6 Oil Consumption and CO2 Emissions from Transportation
- 7 Oil, Economy, Power, and Conflicts
- 8 Energy Alternatives and Their Connection to Water and Climate
- 9 The Water Cycle and Global Warming
- 10 Fresh Water Availability, Sanitation Deficit, and Water Usage: Connection to Energy and Global Warming
- 11 Rivers, Lakes, Aquifers, and Dams: Relation to Energy and Climate
- 12 Water Contamination, Energy, and Climate
- 13 Geopolitics of Water and the International Situation
- 14 Water Alternatives
- 15 Global Climate Change: Observations, Modeling, and Predictions
- 16 Energy and Water Challenges and Solutions in a Changing Climate Framework: Commonality, Differences, and Connections
- References
- Index
10 - Fresh Water Availability, Sanitation Deficit, and Water Usage: Connection to Energy and Global Warming
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 September 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 Overview
- 2 Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Global Warming, and Water Resources
- 3 Population, Environmental Impacts, and Climate Change
- 4 Carbon Cycle and the Human Impact
- 5 Peak Oil, Energy, Water, and Climate
- 6 Oil Consumption and CO2 Emissions from Transportation
- 7 Oil, Economy, Power, and Conflicts
- 8 Energy Alternatives and Their Connection to Water and Climate
- 9 The Water Cycle and Global Warming
- 10 Fresh Water Availability, Sanitation Deficit, and Water Usage: Connection to Energy and Global Warming
- 11 Rivers, Lakes, Aquifers, and Dams: Relation to Energy and Climate
- 12 Water Contamination, Energy, and Climate
- 13 Geopolitics of Water and the International Situation
- 14 Water Alternatives
- 15 Global Climate Change: Observations, Modeling, and Predictions
- 16 Energy and Water Challenges and Solutions in a Changing Climate Framework: Commonality, Differences, and Connections
- References
- Index
Summary
The availability of water, a primary life-giving source, is essential to socioeconomic development and poverty reduction. The present availability of global fresh water, sanitation deficit, and their predicted evolution are strongly tied to population growth. Among the various water usages, agricultural needs for irrigation are responsible for the largest water withdrawal worldwide, increasingly competing for fresh water with urban and industrial uses. A close link exists between water and energy in irrigation and energy generation. Growing cities worldwide require increased water and improved water management. Present problems in water availability might be further exacerbated by climate changes.
Introduction
Under the pressure of population growth, development aspirations, and growing realization of the importance of ecosystem services (including products like clean drinking water and processes like the decomposition of wastes), water demand is increasing, and water availability is therefore becoming a key factor in socioeconomic development. Consequently, water availability in the next 20 years will become a contentious issue, and conflicts around access to water are likely to become common within and between many countries. The situation is compounded by these facts: population is growing the most rapidly where water is least available, and water will be among the first resources affected by rising global temperature and the resulting climate change.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Oil, Water, and ClimateAn Introduction, pp. 187 - 204Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008