Water Crisis! Duck, Duck...Human?

[Mrs. Morrison]

Use only what you need.

[Alanna McColl]

Use only what you need? To certain people that sounds crazy, to some it sounds ideal. Though everyone wants to make a change, i don't think it would be possible. We take too long of showers, and let the water run when brushing our teeth. We don't realize we do these things until we are told, and then we make the decision of changing our habits or not. This may or may not be a slight part of a water crisis, but how do we actually know there is one? With technology accelerating, scientists are now creating methods to clean ocean water, salt water, etc. making it soon possible to have more potable water. With the amount of water deteriorating, yes, we should be cutting back on how much we use. Though people will not until they begin to see the impact it has on the society. This means they will only stop when they see water not going throw there taps, and or shower. People will begin to worry, and maybe even have another world war towards countries that aren't having as bad a crisis.

[caitlingreen]

Use what you need, for some that’s true for others it’s not. We all don’t have access to clean drinking water around the world and we should be promoting the right for access to clean water. Environmentally water seems to be everywhere, but that’s not the case for some countries. We now have a struggle to get clean water, and for the opinion of saying “use what you need” can go into two different reactions which are that it can sound rude or that we should be promoting equal use of clean water for everyone. We can all help by making a change, by watching how we use water, examples: taking showers then baths, not dumping toxic or other things down the sink since it takes longer to clean, and etc. We can’t predict the future but we can try to change it. Why start something negative when we can change it.

[Sydney Tessler]

Water is for everyone. Why should we be able to drink safe clean water while other humans don't have safe drinking water? Why should rich countries benifit from taking water,selling it and making a HUGE profit while poor countires can't even aford that basic nessecity? Humans are all in this together and people who keep the water for themselves or sell it for money are just selfish. They don't care about others or how people everday in developing countries die of unsafe water. Why can't Canada help? How many times has a Canadian just let the tap run? 44% of Canadians admit to engage in water wasting activities!! If canadians only used what they REALLY needed, Canada could save alot of water, and even better, they could ship it to developing countries. It's horrible to think that as humans, we have lost the need to help others and instead we have retreated to an "Every man for himself" type world, which is basically, how it has always been. Why can't Canada be the example and show the world what it means to care about others?

[sadievilleneuve]

Many people to this day are un-cable of this. When we leave a room, we leave the lights on. We leave water taps going for longer then needed. We are no longer looking at trying to save the resources we have. Many people say water is a renewable resource, But is it really? Is it always going to be clean and drinkable? We can’t use contaminated water. This is only true to a certain point. There is no point in having it if it becomes a risk to us. What if we ruin it to such a point were we can’t even use what we need? Where we don’t have the resources to do this.

We should not wait till we are at a do or die point in time. Where we can’t do anything to help ourselves. Before get there we should do exactly what you’re saying. We should be conservative and use the minimal amount. I believe that if everyone did this, it may not be too late. If we can stop the future contaminated water. We may also be able to reverse effects over time. Technology is constantly changing and evolving for the better. They can now clean the water. However should we allow ourselves to use this as a back up? Or should we try and be self efficient? Try to save the water we have now?

[kaylaPaquette]

That seems like it would be easy right? Using only what we need. Well people don't actually take into consideration the amount of water they really use. Turning off the water when brushing your teeth, or taking shorter showers, even putting your washing machine on a shorter cycle. These little things make an impact. To most people this doesn't even occur to them, though people don't see it our water supply is slowly running out. It's the little things we do that make the difference. The sad part about is, that no one will completely take action until they see it happening to them. We all have to start somewhere. Even if it’s taking a shorter shower or turning the water off when brushing your teeth, it makes all the difference. Society is selfish, that is why only when they see that things are being taking away from them, like the simple use of the tap. Will they take notice & then decide to do something. But what if, by then - it will be too Late.

[Vanessa Coelho]

Though I agree with many of the things the people in this particular forum are saying, one thing I disagree with is the desalination of water from our oceans.
It is a very good idea but it definitely has negative aspects to it as well. Why should we be thinking we can't change our habits? Sure like Kayla said it is easier said than done but it most certainly can be done! We cannot depend on the desalination of water.Thinking- "Oh well if we begin to run out of drinkable water we will just take from the oceans"- endangering many species, not to mention the green house gases it will let out into the air. Have we not done enough to harm the earth already? The coral reef for example is in danger due to pollution causing the glaciers to melt, drowning the coral. I really think that before we jump into solutions on how to create more potable water we should learn how to preserve what we've got. We have got to let go of the "its all about me" state of mind. We are dealing with something much larger than ourselves and I don't think messing with the environment any further is the answer to our problems, but the cause to more problems in the future.

[Kailina Hennink]

"use only what you need". as an individual you need to realize that there are only a certain amount of things in this world and eventually we may run out; using water as an example. water you can't just make like that, eventually we will run out because this is a natural thing that comes with life. we should save this sacrid thing called "water" because without it we could not survive so we might as well try our best to make our lives last longer as well as others on this planet. if we all take into concidaration "use only what you need" our lives would last longer and we would be saving the enviornment and everything around us: nature, animals, other human beings, etc.
if we turn off the tap when brushing our teeth for example. we could save a huge amount of water. if we only use what we really need we could make a huge difference in this water crises. or if there is even one. and in my opinion there is because at least one person is this world is taking advantage of the water by not caring about the enviornment and wasting water for instance while brushing their teeth. we could save water and save the earth but only if others make a difference also and keep in mind use only what you need. you have been given water to live so dont take advantage please-kailina hennink

[Victoria Barrett]

Use only what you need? That is a great thing to think wish for, but let’s be honest... how can that ever happen? We don’t even know for sure that there is a water crisis, no one has proven this for sure to everyday people. Who really wants to change their lifestyle and monitor everything just because of a potential water crisis?
To only use what we need would also mean for many companies to go out of business, especially companies that manufacture appliances that use water (dishwashers, washing machines, etc.) We would no longer have a need for them as the alternatives use much less water.
Using only what we need would mean shorter showers, no pools or hot-tubs and probably the installation of a water schedule.
There is a “crisis” all the time, why live with so many restrictions for something you don’t even know exists? If there is a crisis... We are living in an advanced, brilliant society that has learned from example and before we know it, we’ll have a solution!

[SirTimothyMacDonaldPlante]

The world we live on is huge and there is a lot of water on it. From all around the world there are places with water. So, why don't we do something to keep it? We have an abundance of water. Wouldn't it be a good idea for someone to sell it? But then you think about all the places that are in need of water. They're having their water taken away from them by large companies such as Nestle. So that’s why we're stuck with the expression, Duck, Duck, Duck... Human. Which means we should sell the water. Or should we? All though we have a lot of water, there is a limited supply of drinking water. My opinion isn't much, but I am pretty sure that we should do what ever will benefit both our world and its economy.

[Kailen Pollitt]

Use only what you need. Well, how much do we need? We must take into account how much we need for basic necessities, hygeine, leisure, and all of the other things we use water for. Maybe many people think, “water is cheap, we can use what we want.” Not everyone consideres by using however much you want, the prices will rise to meet the demand. Prices, amount of water being drawn, and effects on the environment, all seem to be forgotten in the battle for this growing profitable resource. It all comes down to money. We do not need money to live. We need water. Every species needs water, but why are we the only ones trying to hoarde it all for ourselves? So, I think water prices should be higher for those of us who waste it. It should be proportional to how much we use, so we end up using only what we need.If less is more, why not try using less, so we could see what the “more” is?

[Nivine. A]

“Use only what you need”, you might say that your already doing that, however most of us use way more water than we need without even thinking about it. Everyday we wake up, take a shower, brush our teeth and flush the toilet, without even thinking about the precious resource right at our fingertips. Even though water is life's most basic need, the biggest challenge we face today is managing it. The fact is that too many of us take it for granted. Most of time we don't really think about how much we waste water everyday, however all of us do. We waste it in numerous ways, including over-watering our front lawns or allowing the bathroom tap to run while we brush our teeth. That doesn't mean we can't start changing our habits towards wasting water. Even though we don't know what's going to happen in the future we can still start making a difference today, therefor changing it to something positive. Just like Kailen said “If less is more why not try using less, so we could see what the “more” is?”.

[Thomas Sullivan]

I think some people try to limit their water supply and find other ways of using less amount of water but, still using it for our necessities. For example: the new toilet, which is typically in hotels. The new toilets feature two settings one for pee and the other for crap. The first setting uses less amount of water and the second feature uses a little more water to flush it down the drain. What I mean is that some people have noticed that we don’t need to utilize as much water as we once did, also that we can still use the same water but not as much. You can see some of the efforts that mankind is trying to change. Even small things help, like while brushing our teeth or washing our face not to let the tap running. The people who do know but don’t put effort into it use more than should be used. Not saying that every one of those people.

[Brendon Pryor]

Use only what you need probably something no one understand only because most people buy a lot of stuff that will just site in a corner and attract dust . Every one has done this and people will keep on doing it because everyone always buys more then they need because that what they things right. But by using what you need will not only save you money but also help the environment such as turning of the tap when brushing your teeth, take showers then baths, buy only then amount of food you need instead of buy 10 items you will never use. If everyone only used what they need North American wouldn’t be so worrying about water shortage. When you only use what you need then you’re not wasting anything .so only using what you need is probably some thing very important that every one should take into consideration.

[Aliya_Roumeliotis]

Using as much water as you need sounds perfectly ideal, but then why is canada second to the united states on wasting the most water? I think canadians have the mentality to use as much water as they please because we know we are a country rich in water.
Most of us have never experienced living in a water scarce country where when you use the amount of water given thats all you have until the next time they get water which could sometimes be days or even weeks.
Too many of us take using as much water as we want for granted, we waste water without even thinking about the consequences. For example leaving the sink on while brushing your teeth is wasting unnecessary fresh water.
Even though Canada has about 20% of the worlds fresh water, doesn't give us a right to waste it, because when we need it the most we wont have it.
Preserving our water is very important and we should start practising habits that will enable us to conserve our natural fresh water.

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