Humanity's Greed │Oviya of Class Seven │

Man, an incredible creation by nature ceases to comprehend that they are destroying the only home they have, that is Earth. Earth is remarkable because of its beauty, water, resources and ability to create life. Our homeland is situated at the ‘Goldilocks zone' where it had a chance to spark new life. Us, human beings have used our home too much and haven’t given much in return, we continue to waste and destroy, create and flourish. Because of our inability to take care of our Earth, it plots against us. Now, of greed for power and fame, we have made water scare and our resources damaged.

About 40% of the total population of India would not have access to clean water by 2030. A study on the state of India’s water scarcity would bring other threats including food security risks until action is taken to conserve and protect water. “We are all going to pay a heavy price when the water runs out. Why not pay a reasonable cost for its proper management to avoid that situation?” says Ramesh (Author). New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and other major cities would run out of groundwater in less than a year, affecting nearly 100 million people.

“The rich will still waste water if you increase prices, while the poor won’t be able to afford it” claims Singh (Winner of 2015 Stockholm water prize) we must conserve water instead of corporate control of water. Singh revived an ancient method of conserving water by restoring underground reservoirs as water reserve banks. Global warming results in climate change and changing rainfall patterns, our choices and poor management of dumping waste into rivers, streets and canals, blocks drains and water flow.

Earlier in the month, women in the state of Gujarat protested against the worsening water shortages by breaking their water pots. The Prime Minister had witnessed the tensions over the water allocation for two reservoirs connected by the Narmada River. In March the Gujarat state government halted irrigation water from the rivers and appealed to farmers not to sow crops.

The water crisis also gives political tension in the region of 11 Indian states and looked in seven major disputes over river water sharing state. Rivers between the southern Indian states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. India is also caught up in a long standing dispute with neighboring countries, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh over the sharing of water from rivers across National boundaries.

Small drops create a large ocean, likewise small steps to conserve water taken at home and your workplace or school could help in conserving water nationally and in the whole world. March 22 is international water day, it might have passed (based on the time you’re reading this) but, steps can be taken at home to conserve water that can help prevent droughts worldwide.

Small leaks can waste up to 5 gallons per day. Fixing a small leak or simply closing taps so that no water drips from it can be largely beneficial.  Practicing rain water harvesting also lets us be more dependent on nature. The water that is used in cooking or washing vegetables can be used to water plants.

Currently Chennai the capital of Tamil Nadu has a major problem of the ever reducing ground water many homes are without water. The effect is here, if we start conserving water a lot more we could regain our lost water from mother nature’s revenge or more accurately humanities greed. Let’s rise together and start conserving.