Water Demand, Economic Blocs, Soil Conservation & Sustainable Practices

The Demand for Water

Fresh water is a renewable resource, but it is in increasingly scarce supply on our planet.

Pollution, overexploitation of aquifers, and wasteful use of this resource pose serious dangers, especially due to high consumption in developed countries.

The availability of drinking water for people and animals doesn't solely depend on a country being dry or wet, but significantly on its level of development. Countries in Central Africa often lack adequate sewerage systems or water networks.

Therefore, the availability of water depends more on the level of development than on the climate.

Current Economic Blocs Across the World

• Asian Tigers: Technological development and growth in some countries has led to the emergence of a group known as the Asian Tigers: South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. They have been joined by other countries from Southeast Asia: Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand.
• Countries with Petroleum: These belong to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), headed by Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in the world. They are very important because petroleum is the most widely used energy source globally.
• BRICS: This group is made up of the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. While not a homogenous group, all of them have rapidly growing economies and are becoming increasingly important on the world stage.

The Soil and Its Conservation

The destruction of soil leads to desertification. This can happen after a fire, when trees are cut down, or on over-exploited agricultural land. In any of these cases, the vegetation is eliminated, and the soil is not protected against erosion caused by rain.

The soil is then eroded by water, and the land cannot support vegetal life in the future.

Ecological Agriculture

Raised Beds

Using raised beds instead of planting directly in the ground offers several advantages and disadvantages:

• Advantages: Improved drainage, the soil warms faster in spring, and root health is enhanced.
• Disadvantages: Can be problematic when there is little precipitation.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a concept that regards the exploitation of any resource while respecting its capability of renovation, therefore allowing future generations to exploit the resource.

Fracking

Fracking is a technique to enable or increase oil and gas extraction from underground. The procedure is not new in the industry. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is used in the exploitation or production of hydrocarbons and is also starting to be used for CO2, gas, and geothermal energy storage in medium and high enthalpy environments. It has a negative impact on fresh water and soil.

Oil and gas are extracted from porous rocks using this technique: the introduction of water at high pressure in the ground. This has a negative impact on fresh water and soil.