LESSON 9.6 Does everyone have enough water?
LEARNING INTENTION By the end of this lesson, you should be able to: • explain how water is used • explain why there is variability in water resources
Tune in FIGURE1 In some countries women and girls can spend up to six hours each day collecting water. The average distance they walk is 6 km. The average weight they carry on their heads or backs is about 20 kg.
FIGURE1 In some countries, women and girls can spend up to six hours each day collecting water.
1. If women and children are spending this much time collecting water, what other opportunities are they missing? 2. Discuss this issue with a partner and document your observations.
9.6.1
Water as an environmental resource
How much water we use can be different depending on where we live. On average, people use 1240 cubic metres of water each year. In some countries, like the United States and Thailand, they use almost twice that. In other places, like Peru and Somalia, they use much less. FIGURE2 shows that most of the world’s water is used for farming, especially in dry areas like northern Africa and western Asia. Places with less rain need more water for farming. FIGURE3 shows how water use also varies by region. In some countries, more water is used in farming and industry than at home, while in other places, people use more water at home than for farming or industry.
SkillBuilder discussion Concluding and decision-making 1. Refer to FIGURE2 .Which sectors consume the largest share of water in Australia? 2. Name any two countries that have the same pattern of water use. 3. Compare the pattern of water use in Australia with that of neighbouring countries.
TOPIC9 Water in the world 271
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