What will happen when they world runs out of water?

Question

What will happen when they world runs out of water?

Answer 1

Well, as you probably know, the problem isn't with the world running out of water; the problem is running out of DRINKABLE water.  Obviously there are vast oceans that aren't going anywhere, but are way too salty for human consumption.

The water limitation problems come from the fact that human populations are growing faster than freshwater reserves can sustain them.  Plus, with global climate change going on, weather patterns are shifting.  This means that areas which once received plentiful rainfall aren't getting much anymore.  Other areas are getting MORE rainfall than they previously did, but that doesn't help people living in areas that are experiencing droughts.

So what do we do when the wells finally run dry?  Worst case scenario:  you can always pipe water in from elsewhere, or if you happen to live near the ocean, it's possible to desalinate seawater for human use.  Unfortunately, both of those processes require energy, and that's another thing we're having trouble producing.  Energy costs are on the rise, which means that any facility capable of "producing" potable water must do so at a high cost.  You (the consumer) will be the one who ultimately has to pay that price, meaning that the price of clean water will, like everything else, start to rise.  People of limited means will be unable to obtain clean water without government assistance, and depending on who's in office, government assistance may not be easy to obtain.  People who cannot afford clean water and yet do not qualify for government assistance will therefore be forced to use unsafe water, which will lead to an increase in disease among the poor.  With local populations rising, there will be more poor people living cramped into smaller areas, which means that these diseases will spread faster and become more dangerous.

Okay, that's the scary version, but there's another possible ending; if we could develop an alternative means of producing energy (solar, geothermal, wind, etc) that does not involve burning coal or oil, that would mitigate a lot of the cost of producing clean water.  We would still be faced wih the problems of overpopulation, and this is NOT a guarantee that diseases won't break out, but it would certainly help if clean water were accessible to everybody.

I hope that helps.  Good luck.

Answer 2

We will not actually run out of water since it is naturally recycled in the water cycle.  We may find it more difficult to obtain the amounts we need and not be able to get it as rapidly as we would wish - it may also become too expensive to process for drinking purposes.  It is worth noting that some water is gained as comets melt as they pass near the Sun as they are mainly ice!  If the climate changes drastically the Earths water may evaporate away or become frozen underground.  Mars and Venus are interesting models.

Answer 3

We'll die

Answer 4

that's very unlikely

thew earth is still in existence because of continuous recylcing.

water never just disapears, when it rains it evaporates and forms in the sky and then falls as rain again. the water that's used up by animals and factories are still recycled in one way or the other.

so very unlikely

Answer 5

wont happen

Answer 6

Dnt worry

the world will NEVER run  out of water

x

Answer 7

Has someone left the plug out?

Answer 8

ther is no way.

Answer 9

everyone would die, just think positive-

that won't happen

Answer 10

The amount of water on the earth hardly changes, the amount of clean water does.

In London the average bottle of water has already been drank by 6 other people, so we have ways of making water safe and clean again.

The biggest problems will be in developing countries and unfortunately this is one of the ways their populations will stop increasing.

Answer 11

There's a lot of water about, we just need to manage it better.

Answer 12

We us alternative water and you know what is it...? US HUMANS cause our body is made of 75% water so bacially we'll die anyway

Answer 13

we die

but I am Legend

I can fix this.

Answer 14

drink beer

Answer 15

what do you mean run out of water? 71% of the earth is covered in it...If you're talking about clean, salt free water, some middle east countries already don't have enough drinking water, so they desalinate sea water.

Answer 16

Just like any other life form we adapt.

We learn how to extract water from minerals and rocks.

Or we move on.  

By the time the world runs out of water, we should be colonizing the rest of the planets of our solar system.

Answer 17

We fry

Answer 18

The amount of water on Earth never changes.

The amount of clean, potable water is of concern. You can probably figure out what will happen. The price of water will shoot up, the poorest will die of dehydration, etc. There are some methods of sanitizing water that are not widely used because of price. We'd have to use those, which means the money would come out of other things we currently have available.

Answer 19

We would die, humans need water :)

Answer 20

Not going to happen.If you listen to the trash the climate change doom mongers trash then we're going to have too much water

Answer 21

We would be real thirsty!

Answer 22

If we did run out of water on earth, yes, we would die.

But we aren't going to run out of water. It's a renewable resource.

Answer 23

thats impossible.. but if it did... we would all die because of dehydration. no more plants NOTHING!!!! AND I THINK THE WORLD WORLD WILL END IN 4 YEARS!!!!!