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Warm up Questions: With your group, discuss and write down your answers on the document:
Why is fresh water so important to our species and to human culture?
Should we charge for fresh water, or should it be free like air?
Historical Connection
Historical Connection
The Nile River and Delta. Most of the Ancient Egyptian settlements occurred along the northern part of the Nile, pictured in this satellite image taken from orbit by NASA.
Archimedes Screw, an early type of water pump
Water is essential to life – both as a basic human need for survival, and as an "ingredient" in almost everything we do, from food production, to manufacturing, to power generation.
Rivers were attractive locations for the first civilizations because they provided a steady supply of drinking water and game, made the land fertile for growing crops, and allowed for easy transportation.
Early river civilizations were all hydraulic (water based) empires that maintained power and control through exclusive control over access to water. This system of government arose through the need for flood control and irrigation, which requires central coordination and a specialized bureaucracy.
Water Scarcity Today
Water Scarcity Today
Access to water is still crucial to modern civilizations; water scarcity affects more than 2.8 billion people globally.
Water stress is the term used to describe difficulty in finding fresh water or the depletion of available water sources. Water shortage is the term used when water is less available due to climate change, pollution, or overuse. Water crisis is the term used when there is not enough fresh, clean water to meet local demand. Water scarcity may be physical, meaning there are inadequate water resources available in a region, or economic, meaning governments are not managing available resources properly. The United Nations Development Programme has found that water scarcity generally results from the latter issue.
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