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How to Solve the Global Water Shortage?

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alc
Posts: 566 - Karma: 23
I am writing a 15 page paper about this topic for an environmental engineering course. I was just wondering if anyone has any good info on this topic or could point me in the right direction. Also thought it could be interesting to hear other people thoughts on the subject. Any help or comments are appreciated... thanks, hopefully.


Dec 1 2008 10:33PM
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grown-ninja
Posts: 3031 - Karma: 175

not to hate on ur thing man but thats all liberal propaganda man good luck though bro

Dec 1 2008 10:51PM
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Fish_Sandwich.
Posts: 9108 - Karma: 16
Yup, and Obama is a Muslim.
Dec 1 2008 10:58PM
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skiminnesota
Posts: 9093 - Karma: 429
so i should stop shitting in the water?


Dec 1 2008 11:00PM
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gmack24
Posts: 4636 - Karma: 31
Jay- Z
Dec 1 2008 11:06PM
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josh.
Posts: 3469 - Karma: 42
and all poor people are poor because there lazy right?
Dec 1 2008 11:08PM
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skiminnesota
Posts: 9093 - Karma: 429
you're getting them confused, liberal propaganda is Obama is the savior of the world, he really knows how to solve problems!!!

obama being a Muslim is just nutcase propaganda. hahaha
Dec 1 2008 11:09PM
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OldManFinkyBeans
Posts: 217 - Karma: 16
LOL @ blinded americans
Dec 1 2008 11:14PM
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k-rob
Posts: 14217 - Karma: 2,891
i'll tell you one thing, you're not getting any of ours. it's not our fault you guys decided to dry up all your springs.
Dec 1 2008 11:15PM
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andy_boy
Posts: 4434 - Karma: 107
reverse osmosis is an option, but it requires a fuckton of energy..
Dec 1 2008 11:16PM
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MitchPee
Posts: 8871 - Karma: 1,509
Your first problem is that you're mixing up global warming and global water shortage.

While global warming may be a debate, global water shortage isn't. At least, CLEAN water is in a shortage anyway. Maybe not in the US or Canada, but it is in most places of the world. A lot of people in Africa and Asia are dying from cholera and other water borne diseases. Do us all a favor and get learned A-sap.

Creator of the thread...I did a sequential prediction paper on what would happen or will happen with the water pattern continuing if you want some facts.
Dec 1 2008 11:22PM
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k-rob
Posts: 14217 - Karma: 2,891
you might want to look a little further into that haha
Dec 1 2008 11:26PM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
The people with sub-par water should move to another location. A water shortage develops when there are too many people taking from a finite source. That, and they are ruinig the water by dumping harmful stuff into it.

If you put pigs in a pen with water and food, chances are they won't shit in their water and complain about it. It takes smart rationing, and smarter control to sustain a healthy amount of drinking water in ther out-of-the-way places.
Dec 1 2008 11:30PM
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andy_boy
Posts: 4434 - Karma: 107
I'd also recommend watching a documentary called Flow, it came out a while ago. I never saw it but it's dead on topic wise and it looked interesting. Try torrenting it.

But from an engineering standpoint you could discuss possible solutions such as reverse osmosis and establish a critical stance on whether or not you think they are feasible solutions economically/environmentally...
Dec 1 2008 11:30PM
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MitchPee
Posts: 8871 - Karma: 1,509
Well no, I know it's existent, but I believe I said not as obvious as Africa and Asia. If I didn't, my bad. I know Vegas is pretty close to using up its supply and same with So Cal. Salt Lake City isn't quite there yet, but it is in the near future. Better?
Dec 1 2008 11:39PM
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k-rob
Posts: 14217 - Karma: 2,891
yeah, close enough. check this out: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21494919/
Dec 1 2008 11:41PM
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Nihiriju
Posts: 2061 - Karma: 27
My solution would be not to live in shitty fucking places that can't support such a big population. Ie. most of africa, middle east, parts of asia, the states, south america...... but i guess that is what humanity is about, pushing the limits.

It depends if your talking about attaining clean drinking water, or just water for crops etc...but i guess in 15 pages you'll be talking about both. There is a bunch of amazing work being done in new desalinization plants. There are also more sustainable water usage practices being implemented around the world. Various methods of harvesting water, through condensation have been developed but these are not large scale enough for agricultural purposes.



There is also the absolutely fantastic idea i had as a child which was to flow like 1/4 of the Antarctic ice sheet into the middle of one of the big deserts and create a giant lake with a forested micro climate around it. And seeing as forests retain something like 80% of the water, plus filter it they would keep recycling the water. It would be sucha sweet paradise.

Totally infeasible and probably wouldn't work for more than 200 years, but it would be siiiickk!
Dec 2 2008 12:30AM
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woolymammoth
Posts: 242 - Karma: 13

well you could site tragedy of the commons and say that as long as a population lives in an area where they are capable of abusing an unregulated source they will, so lowering the population by increased birth control, and family planning. also unregulated robotic killing sprees

also because agriculture is the main source of water consumption mandate farmers to change from the most commonly used gravity flow system which is roughly 60-70% efficient to a drip system that is 85-95% effiecent saving shitloads of water (and in the long term shitloads of money)

Dec 2 2008 2:24AM
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,844
Lets melt those fuckin ice caps.
Dec 2 2008 2:35AM
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,844
Thats right, I can choose to be stupid when and where I want to.
Dec 2 2008 2:44AM
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popNfresh44
Posts: 3757 - Karma: 44
H+ + O2- ==> H20

but you need to figure out an easier way to do it. i'm also interested in solving problems like this, and the global energy crisis. might wanna be an environmental engineer as well, do you need hella good grades?
Dec 2 2008 2:45AM
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MitchPee
Posts: 8871 - Karma: 1,509
Fuck yeah! Then we can nuke Iran!
Dec 2 2008 2:45AM
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whattheshit
Posts: 6562 - Karma: 107
build a dome over the ocean then nuke the whales, all the evaporated water will transpire on the roof of the dome then have it run into some black dudes water bottle in africa.   there.  problem solved.
Dec 2 2008 2:51AM
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,844
I know, FINALLY, right?
Dec 2 2008 2:58AM
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BusyJohnSohn
Posts: 3483 - Karma: 29
If you can find it, the latest esquire with vince vaughan on the front has like a whole section of articles on new alternative methods that use science to fix the crisis
Dec 2 2008 3:37AM
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Scott~
Posts: 2551 - Karma: 49
Click for larger image
Dec 2 2008 4:11AM
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SKIDUBAIGUY
Posts: 3018 - Karma: 8
The solutions relitivaly easy, drink vodka, the russians have it flowing out their taps, why cant we?
Dec 2 2008 7:31AM
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reverendwrong
Posts: 3145 - Karma: 142
well we could just flood some useless country....like france...
Dec 2 2008 7:41AM
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alc
Posts: 566 - Karma: 23
I sure it all depends on what sort of college you would like to go to. I'm actually majoring in civil engineering, with a possible minor in concentration. The hardest part about an environmental engineering major for more people will be all the course you might not be interested in. There are a lot of math and science course. Also a lot of environmental science is just dealing with shit (waste water management).

Thanks everyone for the comments.
Dec 2 2008 9:18AM
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skiP.E.I.
Posts: 7841 - Karma: 22,153
there isn't really a shortage of water, it's just a shortage of water we can use, because so much of it is polluted. Also since the ice caps are melting, there is less available fresh water, because when it melts it of course goes into the sea. The best thing we can do, as with all resources is just use less water, so taking shorter showers, If you take a bath, leave the water in the tub and have a plastic container so you can use the tub water to flush the toilet, don't leave the sink just running. Driving less, using less electricity, and throwing away less stuff is good, because anything that pollutes of course harms the water supply just like everything else.
Dec 2 2008 9:31AM
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coolhandluke
Posts: 4465 - Karma: 153
environmental engineer = waste water treatment plant operator.  smell follows you home.

solution to the global energy crisis/water shortage crisis/global famine is to shoot your neighbor and not have ten kids.  human hornyness and the lack of birth control led us to our current global overpopulation problem, which is the root cause of everything.  everything.  there's no snow on the west coast because of the global lack of condoms.

and clean water is our most precious resource.
Dec 2 2008 10:38AM
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Nihiriju
Posts: 2061 - Karma: 27
purely amazing!
Dec 2 2008 1:49PM
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alc
Posts: 566 - Karma: 23
well fuck it your right, i'm just going to write this in really big font so that it takes up 15 pages.
Dec 2 2008 3:31PM
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neon1peace
Posts: 998 - Karma: -1
NS thinkers
Dec 2 2008 3:51PM
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NevWild
Posts: 249 - Karma: 172
Im writing my thesis on the policy drivers that are causing the implimentation of unsustainable water policy in the western united states. check out www.worldwater.org and http://www.waterchat.com/ Both of those should really help you out.
Dec 2 2008 4:15PM
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SebGuzman-Olmos
Posts: 31 - Karma: 10
I heard than u can make water out of compressing aire... i think israel is doing that shit.
Dec 2 2008 4:50PM
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