The importance of water to human beings

The main topic this class discussion deals with is the importance of water to human beings. The articles raise new issues that few of us know about. The worst thing most humans fear is the disappearance of water as a drinking and irrigating source. The articles discussed subjects beyond the ordinary issues. In fact it deals with water as a natural leaving environment for millions of species. Experts have identified dead zones called Hypoxic areas in which the living conditions for fisheries become impossible since the level of oxygen is too low. Some Fish species even die of asphyxia because they are not fast enough to run away to other areas. The experts identified as the main cause fertilizers and agricultural inputs. In fact, a scientific explanation is that when these chemicals reach the ocean, they support the formation of algae’s that consumes a lot of oxygen especially when they die. We can see these dead areas all around the US coasts and in some other parts of the world.

These articles also deal with the different choices that people should make while they use water. In fact, water is extremely scarce. The article “California's water wars” deals with a source of water that cannot be anymore used because a fish specie is threatened to disappear. As a solution, the government came out with a solution that banned the use of that source of water that is actually an irrigation basis for thousands of farms in California. Consequently, farmers cannot plant anymore and people start loosing jobs. In other words, an environmental problem led to a political solution, which impacted on the national economy.

As part of the additional contribution to the class discussion, I will talk about a smart solution that a scientist came with in order to save our ocean from becoming a dead zone.

Sweden is at the forefront of action to solve a global water crisis that is getting worse. In fact, at Swedish universities, researchers are exploring various technologies that could help restore the health of the Baltic Sea. Among others, Professor Anders Stigebrandt, University of Göteborg ¸ proposes using windmills as giant mixers for injecting oxygen into the depths where the level of oxygen is too low. Markus Meier said: "The oxygenation of the deep layers would prevent phosphorus to rise to the surface – It is that excess of phosphorus that triggers the creation of algae. But it is too early to say whether this is feasible and if it can produce results. "

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