Curmudgeon alert!
This infographic was Tweeted to me a few days ago. Who sent it to me is immaterial; the source of the infographic is GOOD.
So what is wrong with the infographic?
It is hard to to see but the water drop at the top center shows the breakdown of Earth's freshwater: about 70% polar icecaps; 30% lies underground; less than 1% is surface water. No problem, right?
Wrong!
The problem is the text associated with the last two figures:
30% (Most of which is too expensive to tap into and filter)
which of course means that:
Less than 1% of the world's freshwater is available for human consumption.
These passages are wrong.
My basis for these statements? After all, citations are provided for the statements on this infographic But they are still wrong. My basis for saying that? Last month I took The Nature Conservancy to task for its egregious claim as depicted in this graphic that was making the rounds on Twitter.
Circle of Blue also deserves to be called out. They say groundwater isn't 'readily accessible'.
Organizations like to dismiss groundwater's importance to society to further their own agendas, which may involve fundraising. Shame on them!
When are organizations going to realize that by marginalizing groundwater they are encouraging people to neglect its protection? Since it is 'inaccessible and undrinkable' why bother taking care of it?
Ignorance is no longer an excuse; this is 2014, folks.
Read my post from last May. Like Rodney Dangerfield, groundwater gets no respect.
“Facts do not cease to exist just because they are ignored.” - Aldous Huxley
This infographic is really interesting, I saved it on my PC. I didn't know that only 1% of the fresh water is surface water.
Posted by: Rose Woods | Tuesday, 11 November 2014 at 05:46 AM
Just told my minder that the assumption that groundwater is not available for human consumption is wrong. Even in floodprone sinking countries below the sea-level 60% of the drinking (tap) water originates from groundwater.
But, as stated before, even the UN does not seem to get the basic numbers right.
The point of this infographic, however, is that people do not manage water wisely, which is a valid message. It would even be better if they would use the right numbers.
To quote Rodney Dangerfield:
"
When my wife drives, there's always trouble. The other day she took the car. She came home. She told me, "There's water in the carburetor." I asked her, "Where's the car?" She said, "In a lake."
"
No good, sir, no good!
Posted by: Namesake | Sunday, 29 June 2014 at 03:14 PM