A
new study from the Netherlands underscores the urgency of water as a
global issue. Professor Marc Bierkens and a team at Utrecht University
evaluated groundwater as a source and found that its depletion rate has
more than doubled between 1960 and 2000, with aquifers losing almost 70
cubic miles of water per year.
For most aquifers, such an
extraction rate far exceeds their ability to replenish. With total
groundwater quantities being unknown, scientists are unable to say
exactly when the global supply would be exhausted.
However, the
matter could be critical in countries like the United States, where
groundwater supplies 95% of the country’s needs resource. In the
Midwest, for example, the 800-mile long Ogallala aquifer provides eight
Midwestern states with drinking water and irrigates one-fifth of the
nation’s farmlands.
Yet it is being drained at a rate that some
experts say will cause it to run dry in as little as 25 years. Moreover,
the researchers found that 70 to 80% of the water is being used by
agriculture, with much of it consumed through the production of foods or
other items.
According to the Stockholm International Water
Institute, the most significant use of agricultural water is through
meat production, with animal-based diets consuming vastly more than
their vegetarian counterparts. Experts have also found meat consumption
to be one of the major causes of global warming.
In an interview
with Supreme Master Television, British Member of Parliament Mr.
Virendra Sharma highlighted the need to adjust our diet to address
climate change and improve public health.
Supreme Master TV:
Meat production uses much more water than growing vegetables. Do you
think lifestyle changes like eating less meat are important to saving
energy and water?
Virendra Sharma – Member of Parliament, United Kingdom (M):
For both points: Health first, that it is important as there’s
scientific proof, all the health experts, all the specialists, all the
campaigning bodies also indicate that it is true that veganism can help
in reducing the health diseases. I do firmly believe in that and I
support that. And I feel it that yes, eating less meat will help in
reducing the carbon footprints, reducing use of water.
VOICE: We
thank Professor Bierkens and colleagues at Utrecht University for
highlighting the urgent depletion of precious ground water supplies, and
Parliament Member Sharma for reaffirming the value of the plant-based
diet for conserving resources as well as our own well-being. May we act
swiftly and wisely to ensure a safe, plentiful future for humans and
animals alike.
Virendra Sharma (M):
Hi, I am Virendra Sharma, Member of Parliament for Ealing Southall,
United Kingdom. You are watching Supreme Master Television. Be Veg, Go
Green 2 Save the Planet!
Supreme Master Ching Hai has often
explained why a meat-free diet is a priority today in protecting the
Earth’s drinking water supplies, as in this October 2009 videoconference
in Formosa (Taiwan).
Supreme Master Ching Hai: We
tell people to do organic farming, how to conserve rainwater, ground
water, and conserve land, planting trees to attract rain, etc. In the
Alwar district of Rajasthan, India, one Indian village was able to guide
the water enough that it brought back to life five flowing rivers -
five flowing rivers – that had been dead before, been dried up before
due to withdrawing too much water.
We could learn from them as
well. But even these water losses pale in comparison to the incredible
amount of water that is wasted for animal production. It takes
approximately 4,664 liters of water to produce just one serving of beef,
but an entire vegan meal can be produced with only 371 liters of water.
The livestock sector is probably the world's biggest source of water
pollution as well.
Water means everything to our existence. We
must conserve the water; we must do everything we can. And the first
step to begin is to be vegan.
http://news.discovery.com/earth/groundwater-aquifers-agriculture-irrigation.htmlhttp://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/09/groundwater-overuse-hitting-all-time-highs-future-supplies-hitting-lows.phphttp://www.wateronline.com/article.mvc/Groundwater-Depletion-Rate-Accelerating-0001?VNETCOOKIE=NO
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