Water Scarcity Not Just a Third World Problem?

Canada - the great white north. Home of 10% of the world's fresh water. That's a huge proportion of the very scarce resource of fresh water.

So you'd think that Canadians north of the border wouldn't have to worry so much about water scarcity and the future of the water supply.

Well... You'd be wrong.

According to the United Nations "think tank on water," the developed world (countries like Canada, the United States, and others) need to be more concerned about water scarcity.

"As our climate patterns shift, the water cycle shifts. We're seeing that there are water problems in areas where we didn't expect them before or didn't encounter them before," said a UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health representative interviewed by CBC.ca

Things like increased urbanization means that the water supply becomes more stressed. Add to that climate change and unpredictable rainfalls and the picture starts to become grisly.

Remember the 2014 South Carolina flood (that was so bad it was called a "once in a thousand years" flood) and the droughts hitting other areas of the country? Yup. These are all problems related to scarce fresh water and climate change.

And as we all know, areas like First Nations reserves in Canada and cities like Flint, Michigan don't even have access to clean drinking water.

This is in the supposed "first world."

So yes, it's a huge problem - even for the developed nations of the earth. And it's something that needs to be taken seriously.

If you don't have a water plan for your home and family, you need to make one. A great first step is learning about water filtration and getting yourself good water purifiers/filters.

Don't wait until it's too late. This will be a real problem for each and every one of us.