Possible Solution to Water Scarcity Discovered?
Have you ever had a day when you didn’t have running water? Maybe you were traveling in the desert or your landlord turned off the water to repair any damage to the pipes. Regardless of the situation, how would you feel if you didn’t have clean, running water for days, weeks, or even months?
A lot of people in the world actually deal with this. If we don’t find a solution to water scarcity, then our future generations will be in this situation, too. Thankfully, some scientists have discovered a possible solution.
How Much Freshwater Is Available?
For those of us living in well-developed parts of the world, it might be a surprise that water scarcity is an issue that many people deal with. Though almost 71% of the surface of the earth is covered in water, only 2.5% of the earth’s water is classified as freshwater, which is the type we drink and typically use in our daily life. Out of the 2.5%, 69% are trapped in glaciers. This means that only 0.78% of the earth’s water is available for our use.
Global Water Scarcity
Here are some statistics regarding global water scarcity:
Water scarcity is ranked #5 for global risk.
771 million people do not have access to safe water.
122 million people depend solely on water from the earth’s surface for their daily needs.
1 million people die yearly due to diseases arising from unsanitary water.
1 child dies every 2 minutes from diseases related to water.
$260 billion is lost globally due to a lack of sanitation and water.
It is predicted that by 2025, 50% of the world’s population will be living in areas with water scarcity issues.
Solution to Water Scarcity?
At NYU, scientists have recently observed a phenomenon that has never been observed before, which is the spontaneous condensation of water followed by the movement of water on a subliming organic crystal. Subliming means the crystal is transitioning from solid directly to gas. They discovered that the cause of the movement of water on the crystal is the small channels on the surface of the crystal and the changes in the width of the channels.
Scientists believe that this discovery will be extremely beneficial in guiding future inventions targeting the collection of water from dew and fog. Though this is a small step, this could lead to a solution to water scarcity experienced around the world.
