Water

Pollution alters patterns of rainfall, evaporation, and the hydrologic cycle.

https://gpm.nasa.gov/education/water-cycle/hydrologic-cycle

Saltwater

We're polluting the seas. "150 million metric tons of plastic are ... in our oceans."

"Half of the oxygen ... humans breathe" is produced by oceanic phytoplankton.

The small planktonic organisms ingest microplastic, which can end up in seafood.

As pollution creates an atmospheric greenhouse effect, oceanic temperatures rise.

Water "around the equator has already become too hot for many species to survive."

ClimateDashboard-ocean-heat-content-graph-20211004-1400px.jpg

Ocean Heat Index

CO2 pollution also causes Oceanic Acidification.

"This process harms [shellfish] and reduces the ocean's" ability to act "as a carbon sink".

When the saltwater warms, the world's magnificent coral reefs die.

Also horrible is Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing:

"On top of ... pillaging fish stocks, IUU fishing is associated with organized crime."

"Human rights abuses and forced labor ... are common."

For more on this, visit the Corruption page.

Freshwater

Nearly "half of the [USA’s] rivers and streams" are unfit "for swimming, fishing, or drinking."

Agricultural pollution is often the biggest culprit, i.e., from the (1.) raising and (2.) killing of cattle.

1. They’re fed grains from "fertilizer-intensive monocultures." "Excess fertilizer causes water pollution.”

2. Slaughterhouse pollution stimulates "algal growth, sucks up oxygen, & creates 'dead zones'."

Slaughterhouses "paid little to no fines for their illegal water pollution."

https://ourworldindata.org/fertilizers

“Water pollution

causes approximately

14,000 deaths per day,

mostly due to contamination

of drinking water

by untreated sewage.”

https://ourworldindata.org/water-access

People drink contaminated water when they can’t find clean water.

"Water is becoming increasingly scarce –

by 2050 about half a billion people are likely to be subject to water-stress."

As with clean air, access to clean water is often determined by economic inequality.

“Madagascar ... is experiencing its worst drought in four decades.”

In some spots, there's no water for crops, no water for livestock, and no water for humans.

It's “because of no rain ... and whenever it does rain, it's never enough rain.”

Droughts create

a variety of problems

"for the environment and

[for] human populations.

With diminishing precipitation ...

soils & crops dry out [or] die."

“Millions of [groundwater] wells are at risk of running dry” in China, India & Pakistan.

Worryingly, China doesn't get along with India, which doesn’t get along with Pakistan.

Unfriendly neighbors Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia also live in an especially dry region.

To see a map of where water has been used a weapon, click on: Water Conflict Chronology.

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https://ourworldindata.org/water-use-stress

With no access to clean tap water, people look to buy bottled water.

"Roughly 32-54 million barrels of oil went into producing ... bottled water." (USA 2007)

"It takes [7] liters of water to make a ... half-liter PET plastic bottle.” See Plastics page.

This not-really-recyclable bottle will end up in a dump, in our air (incineration), or the ocean.

Private companies (Coca-Cola, Nestle) try to profit from poor people’s lack of drinking water.

Investors have benefited from this, but, generally, the less-well-off have not.

Three countries' citizens use more water, per person, than any others: Niger, Bolivia, and the USA.

For tips on how to conserve water, check out The Wildlife Trusts, or Waterwise.

How much water does it take to make beer?

Depending on location, the ratio may be: 300 to 1, or 45 to 1.

Soda-pop? “As much as 132 gallons of water to make a 2-liter bottle ...

and about 500 gallons ... to make a pair of Levi’s stonewashed jeans."

“Agriculture is both a cause and a casualty of water scarcity."

Crops such as coffee, almonds, cotton, and rice use huge amounts of water.

"A quarter-pound hamburger [needs] 462 gallons of water [including] cattle feed ...

a [cotton] T-shirt takes 712 gallons.” Discover your water footprint: here.