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Water and humans

Source: licencja: CC 0, [online], dostępny w internecie: www.pixabay.com.

Link to the lesson

Before you start you should know
  • the layout of climate zones on Earth;

  • what a physical map looks like and what it contains;

  • the circulation of water in the environment;

  • that human life and economy depend on water resources.

You will learn
  • to estimate daily water consumption per capita in your household and compare the result with water consumption levels in different countries;

  • to discuss changes in global water consumption from early 20th century;

  • provide reasons for water shortage in the world;

  • discuss the issue of lack of access to potable water in developing countries.

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Nagranie dźwiękowe abstraktu

Water and humans

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Grafika przedstawiająca tablicę szkolną. Write your daily per-capita water consumption estimates on the board. Then, specify the range of average daily water consumption and compare the resulting values with the date in the graph showing water consumption in selected countries in the “Water and humans” lesson (tu wpisz).

Due to the growing human population in the world, the demand for water for hygiene, agriculture and preparing food is increasing. Water is also needed for industrial production and services. This is the need for it is constantly growing.

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Changes in global water consumption
Source: Dariusz Adryan, licencja: CC BY 3.0.

Gallery 1. Water shortage in developing countries

In areas affected by water shortage, people use untreated water, which may lead to infections with pathogenic organisms. Diseases that spread by infected water include diarrhoea, skin, kidney and liver diseases, and typhoid

These demands are not always satisfied. According to estimates, 1.2 billion people (almost 20% of total world population) lack water due to natural causes. Another 0.5 billion is on the verge of such a situation. Approximately 1.6 billion do not have access to sufficient water as they lack the resources to obtain it.

Water may be chemically contaminated by fertiliser or pesticides leached from farming fields. Another sources of contamination include household sewage, especially in rapidly growing cities of developing countries, and industrial plants and means of water transport.

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Exercise 1
What are the factors behind the growing global demand for water? Select all correct answers. Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. Microorganism contamination in water, 2. Growing global human population, 3. Using water for recreational purposes, 4. Industry and agriculture development, 5. Droughts
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Exercise 2
Categorise the items appropriately. River contamination sources Causes of lowering water levels in rivers Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. badly designed dams and reservoirs, 2. excessive water consumption, 3. fertilisers or pesticides, 4. industry and transport, 5. pathogenic organisms, 6. increased evaporation from artificial reservoirs, 7. household sewage
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Exercise 3
Fill in the gaps. Lack of water for drinking and hygiene is a {uzupełnij} in developing countries. Water obtained from lakes, rivers and even small ponds is usually {uzupełnij} with various microorganisms. A person who drinks such water without treating it first is {uzupełnij}. Around 80% of diseases in developing countries is {uzupełnij} contaminated water. Mozliwe odpowiedzi: 1. potable despite being contaminated, 2. huge problem, 3. trivial problem, 4. a result of using, 5. heavily contaminated, 6. unrelated to using, 7. at risk of contracting a disease, 8. safe

Keywords

water shortage, untreated water, typhoid

Glossary

virtual water
virtual water
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Nagranie dźwiękowe słówka

woda wirtualna - woda wykorzystana w procesie produkcji