WATER ABLAZE - Patagonia Sin Represas

ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS AND
WATER POLLUTION
11
We cannot lay the blame for the impending water crisis entirely at the
doors of politicians and the big water companies because we ourselves
also contribute to the problem by the way we use drinking water. One
very apparent – and simple – solution would be for each and every
one of us to reduce his or her personal water consumption. Watering
plants with water used for washing fruit and vegetables, turning off the
tap regularly while taking a shower or getting washed or cleaning our
teeth, re-using bath water, installing a dual flush mechanism into the
toilet cistern and so on are self-evident suggestions and yet enormous
quantities of drinking water could be saved by just a few movements of
the hand – without compromising comfort and living standards.
11.1 Agricultural Water Consumption
The world’s largest water user is agriculture, which is responsible
for more than 70 per cent of consumption. At the same time, this is
the very area where the greatest potential for reduction lies. In many
parts of the globe, small farmers are already practising sustainable
land management as an alternative model to the industrialised and
purely profit-orientated agribusiness, which has become such a serious
problem for both man and the environment on account of its insatiable
appetite for water and land. Inefficient irrigation methods, leaking
pipes, the cultivation of high-yield varieties and massive agricultural
overproduction are turning vast areas into desert, which then become
depopulated as a result. Thousands of people are dying every day due
to lack of food and water, a disaster which could be avoided in this day
and age, as we are all well aware.
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