Water is essential for our economy, from the agricultural needs to our household necessities. Still, water is a precious resource that unfortunately we tent to undervalue. Freshwater yearly withdraw per capita can vary from country to country, from less than 20 cubic meters in underdeveloped African countries to the 1,500 cubic meters in the United States. This is the demonstration of the unequal distribution of water resources on our planet, where in recent years more than half of the population has suffered from extreme water scarcity for at least a month a year.
Agriculture alone takes about the 70% of the total global consumption, about 8,25 × 1012 cubic meters , and with increasing demand of water-intensive products, such as diary and meats, the withdraw is expected to grow. For example, in 2018 were produced 340 millions tons of meat all around the globe and, considering that we need 1,451 liters of water and 25 kilograms of feed (generally soy) for each kilogram, we can estimate a total consume of 5,0 × 1011 liters in freshwater, not even considering the consumption for the forage.
Then we must take into account the chemical pollution that contaminates rivers and reservoirs, mostly pesticides and fertilizers, especially nitrogen which has a negative effect on marine-life too, that compromise the water cycle. We are consuming faster than nature can regenerate, and thus we are emptying our underground finite reservoirs of which the 55% had already been irreversibly dried out. We are slowly becoming more aware of our actions, and especially in countries prone to drought, implementing smart solutions, e.g new irrigation techniques and growing less water-intensive crops, not only limited to factories and farms but also in the every-day life of the citizens. There is still a lot to be done though. Although we are surrounded by seawater, it contains too many salts to be use right away so it needs energy-intensive treatments to make it suitable for agriculture. This way, desalination plants are becoming more and more efficient and widespread, from California to Australia, and they really help reducing the stress on freshwater uses. Still the need to resort to this processes is the clear warning sign that we have to take action.
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