{"id":218435,"date":"2022-08-29T12:00:25","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T11:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=218435"},"modified":"2022-08-23T05:57:21","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T04:57:21","slug":"and-of-water-we-made-every-living-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2022\/08\/and-of-water-we-made-every-living-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018And of Water We Made Every Living Thing\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

22 Aug 2022 – <\/em>This is how the Muslims\u2019 Holy Book–the Quran–refers to the most precious element of life…<\/p>\n

\"Water<\/p>\n

Over 2 billion people live in water-stressed countries, which is expected to be exacerbated in some regions as a result of climate change and population growth. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo\/IPS.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Religions aside, also UNESCO<\/a> underlines <\/a>that \u201cwater is a unique and non-substitutable resource.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now comes the question if water is finite or infinite? UNESCO says that it is \u201cof limited quantity.\u201d And the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO<\/a>) reports<\/a> that water use has been growing globally at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century.<\/span><\/p>\n

Essentially, it says, demographic growth and economic development are putting unprecedented pressure on renewable, but \u201cfinite\u201d<\/strong> water resources.<\/p>\n

Anyway, the reality is that, over the last decades, Planet Earth has been facing an alarming problem of water scarcity.<\/p>\n

Indeed, it is estimated that over 2 billion people live in water-stressed countries, which is expected to be exacerbated in some regions as a result of climate change and population growth.<\/p>\n

Why is water scarce?<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

Before going further, it might be convenient to report that there are several dimensions of water scarcity that can be summarised<\/a> as follows:<\/p>\n

\u2013 Scarcity in availability<\/strong> of fresh water of acceptable quality with respect to aggregated<\/span><\/span> demand, in the simple case of physical water shortage;<\/p>\n

\u2013 Scarcity in access<\/strong> to water services, because of the failure of institutions in place to ensure reliable supply of water to users;<\/p>\n

\u2013 Scarcity due to the lack of adequate infrastructure<\/strong>, irrespective of the level of water resources, due to financial constraints.<\/p>\n

Globally, at least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dangerously polluted<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

These three explanations are aggravated by another fact: water is not only scarce \u2013 it is also highly contaminated. See these findings<\/a> by the World Health Organization (WHO<\/a>) and other UN bodies:<\/p>\n