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>The world fresh water supply is renewable and renews at a rate several orders of magnitude greater than human consumption. I'm gonna need source on that one,

>The world fresh water supply is renewable and renews at a rate several orders of magnitude greater than human consumption. I'm gonna need source on that one, please.

adrusi 12y ago
The problem with freshwater is not that the global supply is limited, rather that supplies in some high-population areas are. The Amazon river sends 209,000 cubic meters into the Atlantic every second[1]. That's 18,100,000,000 per day. A single human drinks about two liters (0.02 cubic meters) every day. There are 7 billion humans, so the global requirement is 140,000,000 cubic meters of water. The Amazon alone contains 130 times more than the global requirement for drinking water. This is domestic consumption, which comprises 10% of water usage[2]. That means that 13 times more water flows through the Amazon than all of humanity uses. That's just one river. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_River https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_River [2]: http://www.lenntech.com/water-food-agriculture.htm http://www.lenntech.com/water-food-agriculture.htm
- logfromblammo 12y ago
  First, 1 L = 0.001 m^3. A liter is one cubic decimeter. 0.1 x 0.1 x 0.1 == 0.001 . Humans use more fresh water than just the quantity that they actually drink. You also have to include the quantity used for sanitation, personal hygiene, and recreation. Even discounting non-household use, a single person can easily clear 100 L (0.1 m^3) per day through their water meter, without even trying. Go read your water bill some time. Divide your metered usage by 30.5 and restart your calculation on a new bar napkin or envelope. That gives you a multiple of about 26, if the whole planet consumes water like American households, and agricultural and recreational uses are completely ignored. Use that same 10% figure, and the whole Amazon could be completely consumed by only 18.2 billion people. That's just one river, but it is the one with the most water in it.
  - _almosnow 12y ago
    Also take into account the much bigger amount that is needed to grow crops and feed livestock; you may be able to use graywater for that, but definitely not saltwater. Also, water needed by industries and water spoiled by pollution.

>The world fresh water supply is renewable and renews at a rate several orders of magnitude greater than human consumption. I'm gonna need source on that one, please.

adrusi 12y ago

The problem with freshwater is not that the global supply is limited, rather that supplies in some high-population areas are. The Amazon river sends 209,000 cubic meters into the Atlantic every second[1]. That's 18,100,000,000 per day. A single human drinks about two liters (0.02 cubic meters) every day. There are 7 billion humans, so the global requirement is 140,000,000 cubic meters of water. The Amazon alone contains 130 times more than the global requirement for drinking water. This is domestic consumption, which comprises 10% of water usage[2]. That means that 13 times more water flows through the Amazon than all of humanity uses. That's just one river. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_River https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_River [2]: http://www.lenntech.com/water-food-agriculture.htm http://www.lenntech.com/water-food-agriculture.htm

logfromblammo 12y ago
First, 1 L = 0.001 m^3. A liter is one cubic decimeter. 0.1 x 0.1 x 0.1 == 0.001 . Humans use more fresh water than just the quantity that they actually drink. You also have to include the quantity used for sanitation, personal hygiene, and recreation. Even discounting non-household use, a single person can easily clear 100 L (0.1 m^3) per day through their water meter, without even trying. Go read your water bill some time. Divide your metered usage by 30.5 and restart your calculation on a new bar napkin or envelope. That gives you a multiple of about 26, if the whole planet consumes water like American households, and agricultural and recreational uses are completely ignored. Use that same 10% figure, and the whole Amazon could be completely consumed by only 18.2 billion people. That's just one river, but it is the one with the most water in it.
- _almosnow 12y ago
  Also take into account the much bigger amount that is needed to grow crops and feed livestock; you may be able to use graywater for that, but definitely not saltwater. Also, water needed by industries and water spoiled by pollution.