Science Unit 7 Lesson 5 Flashcards
What are the three different types of controversies over water in the United States?
- privatization of water treatment
- bottled vs. tap water
- building dams on rivers
Why are people talking about water privatization?
Currently in most major U.S. cities, the treatment, distribution, and recycling of water is funded by taxpayers. But as municipalities struggle with weakened infrastructures, many are considering privatizing all or part of this process
Public water faces many concerns due to what?
lack of funding, public water utilities are facing challenges with
replacing and updating outdated infrastructure and aging pipes.
How do privately owned companies help municipalities?
they pay local, state, and federal tax
Private water corporations can do what faster than public water corporations?
private corporations can raise money or acquire loans faster than the
government to repair and build new water infrastructures
What is the main focus of private water companies?
profit
Do the private comapsnies ultimately answer to stakeholders or consumers?
Private companies ultimately answer to their
stakeholders, not consumers.
Who would charge more private companies or goverment companies?
Private companies may charge citizens more than a government would.
Explain the controversy involving the privatization of water taking place in Michigan.
On April 2, 2018, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality approved a plan that would allow a bottled water company to pump 400 gallons of water a minute from White Pine Springs. That equates to over 210 billion gallons of water a year. The only requirement is that the company pay $200 a year to the state of Michigan for the permit fee.
How many gallons of oil are used to make and transport plastic bottles?
Fossil fuel consumption. Approximately 1.5 million gallons of oil–enough to run 100,000 cars for a whole year are used to make plastic water bottles, while transporting these bottles burns thousands more gallons of oil. In addition, the burning of the oil and other fossil fuels (which also are used to generate the energy that powers the manufacturing process) emits global warming pollution into the atmosphere.
How does bottled water contribute to the water shortages?
Water consumption. The growth in bottled water production has increased water extraction in areas near bottling plants, in some cases leading to water shortages that affect nearby consumers and farmers. ery gallon that goes into the bottles.
How many gallons of water are wasted during the purification process?
In addition to the millions of gallons of water used in the plastic-making process, 2 gallons of water are wasted in the same purification processes for every gallon that goes into the bottles.
Bottled water manufacturers’ marketing campaigns capitalize on isolated instances of contaminated public drinking water supplies by encouraging the perception that their products are purer and safer than tap water. How does this claim appear to be false?
The reality is that tap water is actually held to more stringent quality standards than bottled water, and some brands of bottled water are just tap water in disguise.
Only about __ percent of plastic water bottles are recycled, leaving the rest in landfills where it takes thousands of years for the materials to decompose.
10
Compare the cost of bottled water and tap water?
bottled water can cost up to 10,000 times more per gallon than tap water
Factors Affecting River Levels:
- The amount of precipitation is the largest influence on water levels. Regions with more precipitation will have more water draining into the stream.
- In very hot periods, such as summer, evaporation can lead to river level decreases. During the winter, snowfall accumulates and is stored until the
spring. In spring, melting snow and spring rain empty into streams and this increases water levels and flow. - Water is removed from a watershed through human consumption and municipal, industrial, and agricultural use.
- Constructing a dam creates a reservoir of water upstream. This increases the water level but decreases the water level downstream.
- Due to global climate changes, expected water levels are beginning to change as well. Areas on the U.S. East Coast are experiencing more precipitation, while areas in the western U.S. are experiencing drier
summers. Many areas rely on snow melt to fill rivers. As the temperatures stay high in the mountains, snow will melt earlier in the season. This means by summer no snow melt is left to fill rivers and streams.
