Online Tutoring on Freshwater Sustainability
- A) Significant growth in the world population and industrial consumption of resources producing products to cope up with the increasing consumers demands has caused a decline in natural resources to an alarming level. The concerned authorities are implementing policies and sustainable measures to preserve these resources for a longer period.
Water is the most common natural resource that is irreplaceable and is consumed in almost every daily life activity around the globe like agriculture, household, industrial and recreational activities. It appears that there is more water on earth than dry land but only 3% of the total water on earth is fit for human consumption, while the remaining 97 percent water is saline and not suitable for our everyday activities. The availability of natural fresh water is becoming more and more complicated in some areas due to global environmental changes, less rains, excess consumption and in particular higher wastages. Secondly, industrial waste dumped into the rivers and insecticides being heavily sprayed on agricultural fields are the biggest elements contributing to fresh water contamination.
Water is the basic necessity of live; no living thing can survive without water. Whereas, in many industrial production procedures water is the major part of the procedure or an essential ingredient. If the same practice of water consumption and its wastage, is not managed on priority basis, within few years accessibility of fresh water would be restricted to a limited regions or communities.
Though regional governments and global authorities associated with the task of preserving natural resources have implemented many advance techniques to save fresh water and minimize its wastage but the responsibility lies on the community as well to play their role in saving this precious natural resource.
- B) Every individual living thing plants, animals and humans needs water for survival. There is a high demand of fresh water by the global communities for their domestic consumption, whereas almost double the amount of same water is required for producing products agricultural and industrial, for community’s consumption. At the same time the constant growth in population and their demands has immeasurably increased in the consumption of fresh water.
Water is a resource that is always taken for granted without considering its importance and declining levels. When consumed domestically there are many ways that contributes to the water wastage like during dishwashing, bathing or shaving water tabs are left open for longer periods, in-house swimming pools are emptied and refilled more often, washing cars on daily basis and conducting outdoor water games for kids. Even in industrial use it is noticed that no consideration is made for installing equipments that could aid in water wastage by acquiring only the water needed for the production procedures.
Moreover, in most of the regions though there are regulations for the safe disposal of industrial waste but the same are not implemented effectively. These industries are the biggest contributor of contaminating fresh water resources, as the untreated waste flowing out of these industries is being thrown in the nearby lakes, fresh water channels or rivers. Thus, making the fresh water unsuitable for human consumption.
Groundwater is a major source of fresh water in many urban and rural communities. Due to certain human activities this ground water is getting polluted and unhygienic. Inorganic fertilizers are commonly used at present in agricultural farms for improved and speedy harvest. The same fertilizers contain nitrogen that is an essential nutrient of plants, it releases nitrate that is soluble in water and easily passes through the soil mixing with groundwater. Nitrate can stay in ground water for years, while its level increases when every year more fertilizers are added to ground surface. Thus, increasing the level of ground water contamination. There are many other factors like inappropriate septic systems, landfills and unmanaged hazardous waste that among other elements causing ground water contamination.
The global fresh water resources are glaciers, icebergs, lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. Whereas, a constant ascent in global temperature and changes in scheduled annual rainfall has greatly influenced our water resources, the same are either declining rapidly or getting contaminated due to irresponsible human activities. Acquisition of fresh water has become one of the major concerns of many governments.
We all have to play our individual roles in preserving our fresh water resources. Still many people are ignorant of declining water resources and how we are involved in making the water unfit for own consumption. Moreover to persuade others to follow a specific act, the individual himself has to practice the same act. Throughout my semester I would try to spread the message for water conservation among the community and my institution.
I will design a simple two line message about saving the water, the same message will also act as my personal seal, which I will use in all my official or unofficial written correspondence and academic notes. It will be a unique idea, while it is common that any unusual image or text that is not related with the subject of the letter, application or any other written document will definitely attract the reader. It is not likely that all the readers of the same message will consider it seriously but at least this message will compel some of the readers to evaluate their daily life routine that if they are contributing to water wastage or contamination. Even some of the people impressed by the message might implement precautionary measures to eliminate the wastage of water at their workplaces or residences.
- C) Government and the concerned authorities have implemented many awareness programs for water conservation but most of them were unable to produce the desired results, as usually the government campaigns or messages are ignored by the community members.
Usually Government campaigns are done through newspapers, TV advertisements, banners or seminars. These are conventional methods and are not appealing to the general public anymore. Whereas my technique for creating awareness among the community members by simply stamping a message seal on each individual letter, application, academic notes, literature or any other written documents that would be read by any other individual is a unique idea. Anyone who will be viewing the written document forwarded by me will definitely notice the seal.
Though, the written documents carrying my purposely designed seal will not reach to all community members but it is for sure that the message will be conveyed to a big portion of the community. In case of repeated correspondence the seal will act as a reminder for the reader and when the same document or its copies will be forwarded to different departments, the message will be viewed by more individuals.
Not only in official documents but I will be using my message seal in all my writings even the greeting cards and academic applications. It is most likely that the viewer of my message would be impressed by the efforts made by me as an ordinary community member and he would discuss the same message among his social circle. Also he might follow measures for the conversation of fresh water within his residence or workplace.
Working on my policy of creating awareness among the community members through my intentionally designed seal is no doubt a slow process but believing that ‘slow n steady wins the race’, will achieve the desired results in the longer run.
During my academic tenure having a limited exposure, I might not be able to convey my message for water conversation to a wider area among the community, but with the start of my career my approach will be extended and I’ll have the opportunity to develop water sustainability awareness among more people. Therefore I will continue with my same policy in future also.
