Placeholder Image

字幕列表 影片播放

  • - Hey, what's up, everybody?

  • We're here at the world famous

  • Exploratorium in San Francisco

  • and before we get started, I need some water.

  • Why am I eating chips in the first place?

  • Excuse me, ma'am, do you guys

  • have a water fountain somewhere?

  • Right over there?

  • Thank you so much.

  • Well, folks, as water becomes more scarce,

  • drinking toilet water is gonna become a reality

  • for a lot of us,

  • so get used to it.

  • Is it just me or does it seem like there's more

  • news about water shortages?

  • Like, take what's happening in Cape Town, South Africa

  • where the city is in such short supply

  • that they're limiting residents' water

  • and fining people who go over.

  • It's so bad that government officials are even showing up

  • to the most heavy water users' houses

  • and publicly shaming them.

  • Just imagine, they just kick down your door

  • with cameras everywhere like, yo!

  • You flushed your toilet 10 times,

  • it's not even 9:00 a.m. yet.

  • That's a show I might watch, actually.

  • And I live in California where we just came out

  • of a really long drought where we had big water restrictions

  • like bans on watering lawns or washing cars

  • with hoses that don't have shut-off nozzles.

  • On the bright side, it was a good excuse

  • to have a dirty car.

  • So, with all these stories about water shortages,

  • is the world running out of water?

  • First, I wanna acknowledge that lack

  • of clean water is already a major problem

  • for many parts of the world.

  • Over two billion people end up having

  • to drink contaminated water

  • because they don't have access to the clean stuff,

  • and because of this, more than half a million

  • children die every year.

  • In fact, ensuring access to clean water

  • and sanitation is a major goal of the United Nations.

  • Now, it's no secret that we all need water to survive.

  • We drink it, we grow our food with it, we bathe in it,

  • and some of us even use it for water ballon fights.

  • And it's also used in a lot of industries,

  • like manufacturing and power plants.

  • And because water is so awesome,

  • we're using it up faster than we can replace it.

  • According to the World Health Organization,

  • by 2025, half of the world's population

  • won't have enough clean water

  • to meet their basic needs during certain times of the year

  • and that's a major problem.

  • So, you might be thinking, wait a minute,

  • isn't water a renewable resource?

  • I mean, we all learned about the water cycle.

  • Water doesn't just go away, it just changes states

  • as it evaporates, rains or snows, and melts.

  • And what about all those crazy rainstorms

  • and hurricanes we keep hearing about?

  • Those are dropping tons of water on the planet,

  • so we can't possibly be running short, can we?

  • Those are all really good points,

  • but it's a little more complicated than that.

  • I'll let my robot friend, Blocko, explain.

  • - Thanks, Myles.

  • Hey, there, everyone, I'm Blocko from Life Noggin.

  • So, a bit part of the problem is

  • that not all of the water on Earth is usable.

  • About 95.6% of it is in the oceans

  • which isn't exactly drinkable.

  • Of the remaining fresh water,

  • about 68% is stored in ice and glaciers,

  • so most of the Earth's drinking water comes

  • from fresh water lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater.

  • Groundwater is all the water stored below

  • the Earth's surface, in soil, in between rocks,

  • and in aquifers.

  • As water evaporates, rains, snows, and melts,

  • it's constantly moving,

  • so some places can get lots of water

  • while others are super dry.

  • - Thanks for that, Blocko, it was good seeing you.

  • - You, too, Myles and don't forget to keep on thinking.

  • - And you stay above the noise.

  • Man, I love that guy.

  • So, as Blocko explained, water availability varies

  • by region, so it's not like one place

  • that's flush with water can necessarily give it

  • to a far away place in need.

  • And even when we get crazy rainstorms

  • in drought-stricken areas,

  • all that rain doesn't necessarily soak into the ground

  • where it can replenish groundwater and make itself useful.

  • Instead, it can create big problems like flooding

  • and mudslides.

  • So, while the world's not running out of water per se,

  • as our population grows, the demand for water will increase

  • and lack of usable water will become a real issue

  • for a lot of places.

  • In fact, according to the United Nations,

  • by 2030, lack of water could end up

  • displacing 700 million people.

  • That's more than double the population of the U.S.

  • So, why is this happening?

  • For one, some places are pumping

  • their groundwater faster than rain

  • and snowmelt can refill it.

  • In fact, some cities like Mexico City, Beijing,

  • and even places in California Central Valley are sinking

  • as the groundwater is drained.

  • Another reason, just bad water management.

  • I mean, not to point fingers or anything,

  • but that's partially why Cape Town

  • is in this whole water mess.

  • The national government didn't really respond well

  • to the city's warning about water shortages.

  • Then there's the problem of lack of infrastructure

  • or just bad infrastructure.

  • In the U.S., leaking pipes cause us

  • to waste six billion gallons of treated water a day.

  • That's equal to about 9,000 Olympic-size swimming pools

  • of water that goes to waste daily.

  • That's crazy, and climate change isn't helping the matter.

  • As Earth warms up, scientists anticipate that droughts

  • and floods will become more intense.

  • Okay, so that's the bad news,

  • but the good news is, we can do something about it.

  • For starters, we can get better at conserving water,

  • like replacing water-guzzling grass lawns

  • with native plants, taking shorter showers,

  • fixing leaks, buying water-efficient appliances,

  • and if it's yellow, let it mellow,

  • and this actually works.

  • During California's drought, urban areas cut water use

  • by 24% using these kinds of conservations efforts.

  • Then there's desalination plants

  • that turn ocean water into fresh water,

  • but they're also super expensive and energy intensive.

  • My personal favorite, though,

  • is to get better at recycling waste water.

  • Israel, for example, recycles 87% of their waste water

  • and uses it to water crops.

  • The next highest country is Spain

  • which recycles only 20% of their water.

  • And in California, we're getting closer

  • to actually drinking our recycled toilet water,

  • like Orange County super cleans it

  • and pumps it into the ground which eventually makes its way

  • to the drinking supply.

  • Don't worry, though, it's not like you're just

  • dipping your cup into the toilet.

  • This water passes all the health standards and taste tests.

  • Way to go, Orange County.

  • So, we wanna know, how worried are you

  • about water shortages

  • and what kinds of things would you be willing to do

  • to reduce your water use?

  • Let us know in the comments below.

  • Thanks, guys, bye.

  • And before I go, we gotta give a big thanks

  • to Life Noggin and Blocko,

  • you guys are awesome as always.

  • Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us.

  • And if you like this video,

  • you should check out our video on why vaping is so popular

  • and our other video on if trolls are born or made, whoa.

  • Till next time, guys.

- Hey, what's up, everybody?

字幕與單字

單字即點即查 點擊單字可以查詢單字解釋

B1 中級 美國腔

地球上的水用完了嗎?(feat. Life Noggin) (Is Earth Running Out of Water? (feat. Life Noggin))

  • 41 0
    顏宇成 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
影片單字