Save that Drop (The Importance of Water Conservation) | Spela Kunstelj | TEDxYouth@Bologna
Summary
TLDRIn just nine years, two-thirds of the world's population may face water stress due to overuse, pollution, and climate change, according to the United Nations Water Agency. This crisis will impact agriculture, food availability, and daily life, with potential water scarcity leading to conflicts. The video script explores the role of everyday actions in contributing to water stress, from soap ingredients to household water use, and emphasizes the importance of individual and collective efforts to conserve water and mitigate the looming crisis.
Takeaways
- π§ In nine years, two-thirds of the world's population may face water stress due to overuse and pollution.
- π Water stress means insufficient water for agriculture, industry, and households, affecting 5 billion people by 2030.
- ποΈ Over-extraction from surface waters like the Aral Sea and groundwater aquifers, along with pollution and overconsumption, contribute to water stress.
- π± The year 2030 could see significant lifestyle changes, including water bans, reduced food availability, and contaminated tap water.
- π° Agriculture accounts for 70% of global freshwater use, emphasizing the sector's role in water consumption.
- π§Ό Everyday products like soap can impact the environment, with ingredients like sodium laureth sulfate and sodium chloride affecting aquatic life and plant growth.
- πΏ Experiments show that soap can negatively affect plant growth, highlighting the need for eco-friendly alternatives.
- π Simple domestic actions like turning off taps while brushing teeth, taking shorter showers, and fixing dripping taps can significantly conserve water.
- π Collective efforts in water conservation can make a substantial difference, emphasizing the power of individual and community actions.
- β° With nine years left, there's an urgent need to raise awareness and act on water conservation to prevent a global crisis.
Q & A
How many years does the script suggest before two-thirds of the world's population will be living in water-stressed conditions?
-According to the script, in nine years, two-thirds of the world's population will be living in water-stressed conditions.
What does 'water stress' mean in the context of the script?
-Water stress means there is not enough water for agricultural, industrial, and domestic uses.
What are the four ways people contribute to water stress as mentioned in the script?
-People contribute to water stress by withdrawing too much water from surface waters, withdrawing too much water from underground aquifers, polluting water through poor sewage systems or industrial waste, and overconsumption of water.
How many people are projected to be living in water-stressed conditions in nine years according to the script?
-In nine years, over 5 billion people are projected to be living in water-stressed conditions.
What is the potential impact of water stress on daily life as depicted in the script's story set in 2030?
-The potential impacts include a ban on watering, reduced food availability in supermarkets, non-potable tap water, and possible conflicts over water resources.
How much of the world's fresh water is used by agriculture, as stated in the script?
-Agriculture uses over 70% of all fresh water worldwide and up to 82% in lower-income countries.
What are some of the chemicals in soap that can affect the environment according to the script?
-Some chemicals in soap that can affect the environment include sodium laureth sulfate, sodium chloride, lactose, EDTA, and sodium lauryl sulfate.
What was the outcome of the experiment conducted in the script to test the effect of soap water on plant growth?
-The plants watered with soap water grew slower, were smaller in size, and were less abundant compared to those watered with regular water.
What are three simple ways to reduce domestic water consumption suggested in the script?
-Three ways to reduce domestic water consumption are turning off the tap while brushing teeth, taking shorter showers, and fixing dripping taps.
How much water can be saved by fixing a dripping tap according to the script?
-Fixing a dripping tap can save up to 15 liters of water per day, which over nine years is equivalent to the volume of water in five large cars.
What is the main call to action for the audience presented in the script?
-The main call to action is for each individual to actively decrease their water consumption to make a difference in addressing the upcoming water crisis.
Outlines
π§ Water Crisis in 9 Years: Global Impact and Personal Stories
This paragraph discusses the alarming prediction by the United Nations that in just nine years, two-thirds of the world's population will face water stress due to insufficient water for agriculture, industry, and domestic use. The script paints a grim picture of the future, where water scarcity could lead to dried-up landscapes, reduced food availability, and even fights over water. It emphasizes the urgency of the situation, suggesting that by 2030, the world might experience a dystopian scenario where basic water needs are unmet. The paragraph also touches on the role of individuals, questioning how we will live and produce food without sufficient water, and hints at the broader implications for future generations.
π± The Environmental Impact of Soap and Water Conservation
The second paragraph delves into the environmental impact of soap and its ingredients, exploring how common chemicals like sodium laureth sulfate, sodium chloride, lactose, and EDTA can affect aquatic life and plant growth. It describes an experiment conducted to test the effects of soap on the growth of green beans, radishes, and arugula, which unexpectedly showed negative impacts on plant growth. The paragraph transitions into a call to action for water conservation, highlighting simple steps individuals can take to reduce water consumption, such as turning off the tap while brushing teeth, taking shorter showers, and fixing dripping taps. It concludes with a powerful message about the collective impact of small actions, emphasizing that every drop counts and that collective efforts can make a significant difference in addressing the impending water crisis.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Water Stress
π‘Aral Sea
π‘Aquifers
π‘Pollution
π‘Overconsumption
π‘Soap Ingredients
π‘Eutrophication
π‘Water Conservation
π‘Agricultural Water Use
π‘Domestic Water Consumption
π‘Awareness and Action
Highlights
In nine years, two thirds of the world population will be living in stressed water conditions.
Water stress means there is not enough water for agricultural, industrial, and domestic uses.
Four ways people contribute to water stress: withdrawing too much water, polluting water, and overconsumption.
In nine years, over 5 billion people will be living in stress water conditions.
Agricultural sector consumes over 70% of all freshwater worldwide.
Soap ingredients like sodium laureth sulfate, sodium chloride, and lactose have environmental impacts.
EDTA increases heavy-metal mobilization and causes eutrophication in lakes.
Sodium lauryl sulfate has been proposed as a herbicide and pesticide.
Soap water negatively affects plant growth, causing slower and less abundant growth.
Domestic water pollution is a considerable contribution to water stress.
Simple actions like turning off the tap while brushing teeth can save up to 12 liters of water.
Shorter showers can save from six to forty-five liters of water per minute.
Fixing a dripping tap can save up to 15 liters of water per day.
If everyone fixes a dripping tap, we could save enough water to fill six Olympic-sized pools.
There are nine years to make a difference and solve the water crisis.
Individual actions, like decreasing water consumption, can collectively make a significant difference.
Every drop of water saved matters, as one drop leads to more and can add up to a substantial amount over time.
Transcripts
[Music]
nine years 3285 days 78840 hours four
million seven hundred and thirty
thousand minutes
are you wondering what's going to happen
in nine years well according to the
United Nations of Water Agency and nine
years two thirds of the world population
will be living in stressed water
conditions that means this is the world
population everyone - right here - you
you would be unlucky and you'd be living
in stress water conditions a few of you
here would be lucky for now however what
is water stress what does it mean well
it means there is simply not enough
water for agricultural industrial and
domestic uses and there are four ways
that people contribute to it by
withdrawing too much water from surface
waters life from the aral sea for the
past 30 years or withdrawing too much
water from underground aquifers
polluting water like with poor sewage
systems or let's say paper mill
factories and finally overconsumption of
water well nine years nine years there
will be 8 billion people living on this
planet that means over 5 billion people
will be living in stress water
conditions 5 billion isn't that a lot I
guess that's just me I guess however if
there won't be enough water how will we
live can I tell you a short little story
imagine that it is the year 2030 well
your lush green backyard has changed to
dried brown shrubs
you can't water it because there's an
active ban on watering and when you go
to the supermarket there's fewer and
fewer foods available some of your
favorite foods disappear from the store
shelves and your home tap water is no
longer potable and you have to buy it
from the stores it may get so bad that
you have to actually get into fights
with random strangers just to make sure
that you have enough water but how would
you feel if this little story that I
just said about it this dystopian
universe can happen in our universe in
the short span of nine years yes nine
years safety of 5 billion people in nine
years I'm going to be 27 years old how
old are you going to be your children
[Music]
this is an issue that will not only
affect future generations it will
directly affect ours but wait a second
if we won't have enough water to drink
well then how are you going to produce
our food agriculture is a huge consumer
of water with over 70% of all fresh
water worldwide and up to 82% in
lower-income countries that's a lot of
water but I know that I'm not a farmer I
can't help reduce the amount of water
agriculture uses but is there any way
that we can contribute and help decrease
our water footprint well I was in the
shower and observing those little
bubbles going down the drain and what I
thought well how do we affect the
environment is there a way that soap
which we practically use every day
hopefully but does it really affect the
environment and how does it so I began
researching the effects of soap on the
environment and I realize that there are
a few ingredients that really do make an
impact well or a very important soap in
general
so we first have
sodium laureth sulfate it is a very
important chemical which is the second
right after water and soap however it is
considered so pretty good because it is
still biodegradable and not talked too
sick to aquatic life in the
concentrations found in soap
however then we have sodium chloride
sodium chloride is otherwise known as
table salt while table salt is delicious
in our food and moderate quantities of
course it is terrible for plants it is
the cause of marginal leaf scorching or
when all the leaves turn brown or well
there's a little sprout spots on it how
means it is not good for plants at all
and then we have lactose
now while lactose makes our milk nice
and sweet it is also bad for the
environment it promotes bacterial growth
which then causes oxygen depletion and
soil and water which means that is very
bad for aquatic life now we have EDTA
EDTA is essential in all cosmetics and
products because it is a preservative
however it is not good for the
environment because it increases
heavy-metal mobilization and it is not
biodegradable
however it also increases the
eutrophication of lakes that means that
it increases the rates or how Lakes
future of eutrophication that means
algae blooms then we also have another
very interesting chemical called sodium
lauryl sulfate it is extremely similar
to sodium laureth sulfate but it says
even been proposed as a herbicide and
pesticide in the United States so this
made me think that well maybe soap is
actually pretty good for plants I mean
okay - the sodium chloride but I mean we
hear eutrophication that means will grow
faster and then we have herbicide of
pesticide so I thought that maybe soap
will help the growth of plants so I
decided to test my theory out on green
beans radishes and arugula to see does
it really affect the growth and while I
thought that these plants water those
soap water would grow faster bigger and
more but
in the end there were smaller in size
grew slower and were less abundant from
this I learned that we can't take our
water for granted we are actively
polluting our water we cannot think that
our domestic contribution to water
pollution is not a considerable amount
because we clearly are actively
polluting it we're actively contributing
to water stress so from this how can we
make a difference because we know the
agriculture industry want our biggest
consumers of water and I realize that
I'm not a part of and I'm not an
industrialist I'm not a farmer but to
the reason why I wanted to talk to you
about this topic today is because we're
not talking about it enough I'm not sure
how many of you knew that this in nine
years we will face this crisis not many
and so I wanted to raise awareness in
nine years this is not a long-term
sustainability issue it is short term it
will affect us so while we are raising
awareness for this right now we can
still decrease our own domestic
consumption of water so do you really
need to have the tap running while
you're brushing your teeth if not you
could save up to 12 liters of water
every time your brush in nine years
that's the volume of seven adult
elephants yes seven and do you really
need to take long showers I know it's
really nice and pleasant but it won't be
that difficult to take shorter showers
when you realize that you could be
saving from six to forty five litres of
water per minute and finally fix that
dripping tap in your house dripping tap
can waste up to 15 litres of water per
day that means in nine years that's the
volume of five large cars that means
that if everyone in this room fixes a
dripping tap in your home we could be
saving the water it takes to fill six
Olympic sized pools
and that is a lot of water nine years we
can make such a big difference so I know
why this sounds pretty depressing nine
years we will be facing this issue we
can still make a change we still have
nine years to solve this issue so there
are seven more than seven billion of us
on this planet and if each and every one
of us decides to actively decrease our
water consumption we can make a
difference there's seven billion people
of us and don't think that one drop will
not make a difference because one drop
leads to two drops and in a day that can
lead to 300,000 drops that means that
each and every one of us can make a
difference so what will you do to
protect our water in nine years
you
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