Water
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Pollution alters patterns of rainfall, evaporation, and the hydrologic cycle. For more on this, go to Weather.
Saltwater
"Around 150 million metric tons of plastic are already floating in our oceans."
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Scientists have been studying possible “ingestion of microplastic by small planktonic organisms.”
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"Half of the oxygen we as humans breathe comes from the phytoplankton that live in our oceans."
Carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is causing ocean acidification.
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"Acidity makes it hard for...corals and some shellfish and plankton species to...survive,
[which] could potentially lead to drastic reductions in fish stocks."
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"Many...coral reefs that [had] exhibited 70–80% live coral...
presently exhibit less than...10%."
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Also terrible is Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing:
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"On top of...pillaging fish stocks, IUU fishing is associated with organized crime...
drugs and weapons trafficking. Human rights abuses and forced labor...are common."
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For more on this go to Corruption.
"The ocean around the equator has already become too hot for many species to survive."
Freshwater
"Millions of [groundwater] wells are at risk of running dry" in the USA, China, India & Pakistan.
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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 already dry region.
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For a historical map of water as a weapon of violence, click on the "Water Conflict Chronology".
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"Water is becoming increasingly scarce –
by 2050 about half a billion people are likely to be subject to water-stress."
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As with clean air, access to clean water will be partly determined by economic inequality.
“Madagascar...is experiencing its worst drought in four decades.”
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In some spots, there's no water for crops, no water for livestock, and no water for humans.
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It's “because of no rain...and whenever it does rain, it's never enough rain.”
Without tap water, people turn to bottled water.
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"Roughly 32-54 million barrels of oil went into producing...bottled water." (USA 2007)
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"It takes [7] liters of water to make a...half-liter PET plastic bottle."
This not-really--recyclable bottle will end up in a dump, in our air (incineration), or the ocean.
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Private companies (Coca-Cola, Nestle) have tried to take advantage of poor people's efforts to find drinking water. Investors have seen some benefit from this, but the less-well-off, generally, have not.
"Water pollution causes approximately 14,000
deaths per day,
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mostly due to contamination of drinking water by untreated sewage."
There are 3 countries whose citizens use more water, per person, than all others: Niger, Bolivia, and the USA.
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For tips on how to conserve clean water, check out The Wildlife Trusts, or Waterwise.
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How much water does it take to make beer?
Depending on location, the ratio may be: 300 to 1, or 45 to 1.
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Soda-pop? More than 200 to one, including the plastic bottle.
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“Agriculture is both a cause and a casualty of water scarcity."
Crops such as coffee, almonds, cotton, and rice use huge amounts of water.
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"A quarter-pound hamburger [uses] 462 gallons of water [including]...cattle feed...