Learn about global water shortage and efforts to combat the situation
Learn about the world's decreasing water supply and efforts to deal with the problem.
Contunico © ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Mainz
Transcript
More and more Germans are reaching for the bottle - the water bottle, that is. Water is the beverage of choice for the health-and-beauty conscious, and it's in greater demand than ever before - both as a drink and otherwise. In German households, the average person uses approximately 130 liters of tap water a day. Nonetheless, the life we've grown accustomed to could suddenly come to a screeching halt. While many people are unable to grasp the severity of the situation, water is scarce. Furthermore, experts foresee the world's demand for water rising 40 percent over the next several decades. Only a fraction of the water covering two thirds of the earth is fit to drink. And many developing nations have been left holding the short end of the stick. Currently, 1.2 billion people live without purified drinking water and thousands die everyday from related illnesses.
German development aid workers have come up with innovative means of combating global water shortage. The Federal Republic of Germany spends 350 million euros a year on such water conservancy projects, making it the cause's most generous sponsor in the European Union. Nonetheless, it's a battle against time. This means that both the governments and residents of wealthy, industrialised nations are equally responsible for making a difference. EXPO 2008 in Zaragoza, Spain, is thus devoted to the topic of sustainability, both in connection with water and other natural resources that represent the basis of existence for future generations. The World's Fair has set out to make people aware of how severe the problem is. Spain, for example, has watched drought destroy thriving crops and knows how deadly water shortage can be.
German development aid workers have come up with innovative means of combating global water shortage. The Federal Republic of Germany spends 350 million euros a year on such water conservancy projects, making it the cause's most generous sponsor in the European Union. Nonetheless, it's a battle against time. This means that both the governments and residents of wealthy, industrialised nations are equally responsible for making a difference. EXPO 2008 in Zaragoza, Spain, is thus devoted to the topic of sustainability, both in connection with water and other natural resources that represent the basis of existence for future generations. The World's Fair has set out to make people aware of how severe the problem is. Spain, for example, has watched drought destroy thriving crops and knows how deadly water shortage can be.