Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability 1

equires about twice as much water per person as a nutritiousvegetarian diet.As air is a sacred gas, so is water a sacred liquid that links usto all the oceans of the world and ties us back in time to thevery birthplace of life.DAVID SUZUKIWhat Can You Do?Water Use and Waste• Use water-saving toilets, showerheads, andfaucet aerators.• Shower instead of taking baths, and takeshort showers.• Repair water leaks.• Turn off sink faucets while brushing teeth,shaving, or washing.• Wash only full loads of clothes or use the lowestpossible water-level setting for smaller loads.• Wash a car from a bucket of soapy water, anduse the hose for rinsing only.• If you use a commercial car wash, try to find onethat recycles its water.• Replace your lawn with native plants that needlittle if any watering.• Water lawns and gardens in the early morningor evening.• Use drip irrigation and mulch for gardensand flowerbeds.• Use recycled (gray) water for watering lawnsand houseplants and for washing cars.Figure 15-27 What can you do? Ways you can reduce youruse and waste of water.CRITICAL THINKING1. How do human activities increase the harmful effectsof prolonged drought? How can we reduce these effects?2. Put the following users in order of how much wateryou would allocate to them from the Colorado River (ifthe legal system allowed it): farmers, ranchers, cities,Native Americans, and Mexico. Explain your choices.3. What role does population growth play in water supplyproblems?4. Explain why you are for or against (a) gradually phasingout government subsidies of irrigation projects in thewestern United States (or in the country where you live)and (b) providing government subsidies to farmers forimproving irrigation efficiency.5. Should we use up slowly renewable underground watersupplies such as the Ogallala aquifer (Figure 15-19,p. 321) or save much of such supplies for future generations?Explain.6. Calculate how many liters and gallons of water arewasted in 1 month by a toilet that leaks 2 drops of waterper second (1 liter of water equals about 3,500 drops and1 liter equals 0.265 gallon).7. How do human activities contribute to flooding andflood damage? How can these effects be reduced?8. Congratulations! You are in charge of managing theworld’s water resources. What are the three most importantthings you would do?PROJECTS1. In your community,a. What are the major sources of the water supply?b. How is water use divided among agricultural,industrial, power plant cooling, and public uses?c. Who are the biggest consumers of water?d. What has happened to water prices (adjusted forinflation) during the past 20 years? Are they toolow to encourage water conservation and reuse?e. What water supply problems are projected?2. Develop a water conservation plan for your schooland submit it to school officials.3. Consult with local officials to identify any floodplainareas in your community. Develop a map showing theseareas and the types of activities (such as housing, manufacturing,roads, and recreational use) found on theselands. Evaluate management of such floodplains inyour community and come up with suggestions forimprovement.4. Use the library or the Internet to find bibliographic informationabout John Todd and David Suzuki, whosequotes appear at the beginning and end of this chapter.5. Make a concept map of this chapter’s major ideas, usingthe section heads, subheads, and key terms (in boldfacetype). See material on the website for this bookabout how to prepare concept maps.LEARNING ONLINEThe website for this book contains study aids and manyideas for further reading and research. They include achapter summary, review questions for the entire chapter,flash cards for key terms and concepts, a multiple-choicepractice quiz, interesting Internet sites, references, and aguide for accessing thousands of InfoTrac ® College Editionarticles. Log on tohttp://biology.brookscole.com/miller14Then click on the Chapter-by-Chapter area, choose Chapter15, and select a learning resource.330 CHAPTER 15 Water Resources