Thinking Spatially - AP Human Geography and Current Issues

The infamous T. Dawa has always predicted that the world’s third world war would be over one of the simplest commodities…water. Climate change, pollution, and natural disasters are already occurring in our society today, and these predictions might soon become a reality. In Cape Town, one of Africa’s most prosperous metropolises of over four million people, water is one of, if not the least, abundant resources. Because of world population growth and a record high, three year drought, the Theewaterskloof Dam is running dry and the city may soon have to turn off all taps and water access points. It’s funny to think that what is stereotyped as the world’s most abundant asset covers 70% of Earth’s surface. Yet fresh water, the water that we drink, shower in, and use for our livelihood, is incredibly rare. Out of the 70%, only 3% of the world’s water is fresh, and two thirds of it is unavailable to use. Over 1 billion people worldwide can’t reach the plentiful water needed to survive, and...

Right now, the world population is at 7.6 billion, and the U.N. projects by 2100 the world to reach a staggering 11.2 billion. With the rapid growth in population, many experts are warning that our current agricultural practices will not sustain our planet. "We're not talking about the future. We're talking about right now," says Stefan Janson who works as a plant researcher in Sweden. Many are asking what can we do to solve this issue? What is going to have to change? Today people want cheap fast food, but with the way our companies are using up food reserves, (McDonald’s) we can’t expect to continue this process. Just one ounce of beef requires more than 100 gallons of water. The factories and farms that the cows go through emit large amounts of carbon dioxide which is a key greenhouse gas and an estimated 20% of animal protein from the entire world is lost due to illnesses and bacteria growth. There have been some improvements in the search for something...