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FRESH WATER

FRESH WATER. Luciana Valente Pace University School of Law. THE EARTH IS BLUE. Earth’s surface: 71% oceans Total water: - 97.4% oceans - 2.6% non available freshwater - 0.014% available freshwater Available water: - 20% remote rivers - 50% uncollected rainfall

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FRESH WATER

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  1. FRESH WATER Luciana Valente Pace University School of Law

  2. THE EARTH IS BLUE Earth’s surface: 71% oceans Total water: - 97.4% oceans - 2.6% non available freshwater - 0.014% available freshwater Available water: - 20% remote rivers - 50% uncollected rainfall - 30% human use 1

  3. DISTRIBUTION OF WATER POPULATION WATER RESOURCESCANADA 0.5% 20% CHINA 21% 7% ASIA 61% 36% S. AMERICA 8% 26% • In South America, 60% of the water flows through the Amazon River 2

  4. FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE AVAILABILITY OF WATER • The Hydrologic Cycle • Global Warming

  5. WATER SCARCITY CAUSES • dry climate • drought • desiccation • water stress

  6. THE WATER WARS - The Middle East • The Niles Basin:Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt • The Jordan Basin: Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Israel • The Tigris-Euphrates Basin: Turkey, Syria and Iraq 4

  7. INCREASING THE WATER SUPPLY • Building dams and reservoirs: - The Aswan High Dam • Transferring water: - The California Water Project - The Aral Sea • Tapping groundwater: - pollution - depletion 5

  8. Desalinization:1. Thermal Distillation: - used since c. 49 B.C. by Julius Cesar - solar distillation - multistage flash 2. Electro dialysis 3. Reverse Osmosis- nanotubes 4. Disadvantages of desalinization: - high cost - high energy - high waste (mountains of salt) • Cloud Seeding and Towing Icebergs 6

  9. IMPROVING WATER EFFICIENCY • Irrigation water: - conventional gravity flow - center-pivot low pressure - LEPA - drip irrigation • Homes, businesses and industries’ water 7

  10. THE PRICE OF WATER • Las Vegas X Tucson • Government subsidies • Water laws in the U.S.

  11. DRINKING WATER QUALITY • Purifying Water: - Filtration - Chlorination - Denitrification - Biological aeration • Recycling Water: • Creative solutions: - UV - slimes - horseradish - the “Aquasaver”

  12. THE AMAZON BASIN • 20% of the Earth’s surface • 4/10 of South America • 3/5 of Brazil • 1/5 of the world’s freshwater • 1/3 of the world’s rainforests • 50% of the world’s biodiversity • Unfortunately, there are no projects for the exportation of water from this region.

  13. THE AMAZON RIVER • Volume = 100 to 300 m3/sec. • 17% of the world’s fresh water • highway of commerce OTHER WATERS: visibility pH yellow/white: 0.1 - 0.5 m 6.5 - 7.0 dark/black: 1.5 - 2.5 m 3.5.- 4.0 green/blue: over 4 m 4.0 - 7.0

  14. CONCLUSIONS • Water is one of the most abundant natural resources; • Water distribution does not match population; • The hydrologic cycle and global warming affect water availability; • As we use water resources faster than they can replenish, we cause water stress; • Water scarcity can lead to war, especially in the Middle East; • The ways to increase the water supply have to be managed to avoid environmental degradation;

  15. To improve water use efficiency, we need to involve farmers, city residents, businesses and industries, and also cut government subsidies; • To improve drinking water quality we need to upgrade the existing methods of purifying and recycling water, and also value creative solutions; • Although the Amazon Basis is a huge global repository of freshwater, there is no project to export this valuable natural resource.

  16. THE END

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