Water covers 75% of the Earth’s surface, but most of it contains high concentrations of salt and is unavailable. Desalination is expensive for developing countries, making that salt water unsuitable for consumption or irrigation. Consequently, access to fresh water is a growing issue as countries share the same water sources. This even has the potential to become an issue of national security.

Think of the issues that come from circumstances in which countries share the same water source. For example, consider disputes over the Jordan river between Jordan and Israel, or the Tigris River between Iraq and Turkey.

NoTIPS FOR ANSWERING THE DQ:

1. Discuss the issue globally by briefly examining the water issue as it exists in either in the dispute over the Jordan River between Jordan and Israel, OR the Tigris River between Iraq and Turkey.w consider what would happen if your state or community had only limited fresh water access. How involved do you feel local governments should be in controlling water access?

2. Discuss the consequences of having limited access to limited fresh water in a local community. Be sure to apply the facts you learned from the discussion in (1). You might mention current problems in the US such as the water issue in Flint, Michigan.

3. Then answer the question offering a rationale – How involved do you feel local governments should be in controlling water access?You might consider the current water market in answering this question where drinking water is a commodity traded on the international market.

Answer preview

Water supply is an important factor to human being. 75% of the earth’s surface being covered by water does not give a guarantee that the earth itself has a sustainable means of water supply. This is because most of the water masses contain salty waters which are not safe for drinking neither can it be used for irrigation purposes. Desalination is the process by which this salt is removed from the water though it is an expensive process which not many countries can afford to do year in year out (Gleick, 2013). This leaves some scrambling for the available waters which has led to conflicts between countries over the fresh waters left.

Global Water Issues

One example of countries that have been having water issues is that of Jordan River between Jordan and Israel countries. According to the boundaries river Jordan is located in Israel, but other countries like Palestine and Iraq have had interests in the waters (Shuval, 2015). This is because most of these countries…

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