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| Source - cartoonstock.com |
The difference between "junk" and "antique" is predominantly one of perspective.
Perspective is, of course, itself influenced by many factors that vary widely because these factors are very individual and extremely personal in nature.
It's much the same condition with safe drinking water:
- Those that have enough cannot see how they could ever do with less
- Those that don't have enough seem to find a way to survive with what they can get
Of course those that can only get less than the necessary minimum suffer ill heath and other debilitating impacts.
Is piped water available 365/24/7 the definition of no scarcity?
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| Bathroom plumbing Source - avivimprovements.wordpress.com |
Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, a large part of humanity does not get piped water 365/24/7 although all permanent houses have the necessary plumbing in place - for these house dwellers, supply of water may be intermittent or only available for a few hours a week on a unpredictable schedule.
Using the definition of 365/24/7 piped water supply, a large part of humanity already is experiencing scarcity with more people joining this group daily.
Perspective is ruled by Existing Circumstances
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| Esher's Waterfall Source - en.wikipedia.org |
The former see water dropping from where they are, while the latter see water falling to where they are.
For everyone else, water is simply moving at the same level as, of course, water cannot rise against gravity.
When asked if receiving freshwater 365/24/7 is necessary, most people who don't have 365/24/7 water supply do not label regular continuous unavailability a problem. From their perspective, they can live with much less than 365/24/7 piped water supply.
The opposite is true for those that are used to having water run out of a tap when they turn the tap on. For them scarcity has arrived, if there is no water, even for a few seconds, running out of any tap.
Unpredictability creates scarcity
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| Women fetching water Source - artwolfe.photoshelter.com |
Once predictability is assured, scarcity disappears for most every individual wherever they may live and under whatever circumstances.
Take the case of people, mostly all of whom are women and girls, who make daily long difficult treks for drinking water.
In their minds, fetching necessary drinking water is just a necessary chore they must perform daily. That's just part of their life.
They don't even consider fetching water a burdensome chore. It is those with piped water that call fetching water an unnecessary and unfortunate chore.
What is the Absolute Minimum amount of freshwater for Humans?
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| Water Meter Source - caes.uga.edu |
At a United Nations conference in 1977, it was decided that an average human being requires 3 liters (3.2 quarts) of water under average conditions i.e. an person living in an average climate and doing the things that people do on an average.
But, of course, there is no average human being or average climate or average life condition. And, the 3 liters do not include water needed for cooking and sanitation and human hygiene.
Adding up these numbers in a practical way, the minimum required freshwater per capita is 50 liters (13.2 gallons) per day, it was agreed, for maintaining a person's body water balance and ensuring acceptable healthiness.
Is 50 liters/day/person truly enough?
Yes, if we ask those 2+ billion who live on less than 50 liters per day!
No, if we ask those that live on more than ten times the 50 liters per day!
So what's should be the freshwater supply target per head per day?
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