| Less than one percent of fresh water available for humans. DataAFF1 #362637 The amount of water doesn't seem as a concern due to its large abundance on earth, but the real concern is the amount of fresh water. |
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+Citations (1)
- CitationsAdd new citationList by: CiterankMapLink[1] Human Appropriation of World's Fresh Water Supply
Author: GlobalChange.edu
Cited by: Romualdo Devilla 3:57 AM 1 November 2014 GMT
Citerank: (2) 3626341. Limited supply of fresh water available for human use.Although most of the earth is made of water, only a small percent of it's fresh water is available to humans.89BC9C76, 3626352. We will run out of water.Without the development of water on the moon, the earth will run out. Yes, there is a large abundance of water on the earth, but of that, only 2.5% of it is fresh water which is critical to sustain human life. Of that, 70% is frozen in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland which leaves an accessible amount of less than 1% to meet the demands of the greater than 6.5 billion human population.906B9362
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| Excerpt / Summary The Water Resources of Earth
Over 70% of our Earth's surface is covered by water ( we should really call our planet "Ocean" instead of "Earth"). Although water is seemingly abundant, the real issue is the amount of fresh water available.
97.5% of all water on Earth is salt water, leaving only 2.5% as fresh water
Nearly 70% of that fresh water is frozen in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland; most of the remainder is present as soil moisture, or lies in deep underground aquifers as groundwater not accessible to human use.
< 1% of the world's fresh water (~0.007% of all water on earth) is accessible for direct human uses. This is the water found in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and those underground sources that are shallow enough to be tapped at an affordable cost. Only this amount is regularly renewed by rain and snowfall, and is therefore available on a sustainable basis.
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