Why is freshwater a renewable resource

Sunlight replenishes instantaneously. Wood is another renewable resource, because as it is used, new trees are growing back to replenish the supply. Alternative energy sources like hydropower and geothermal energy are renewable because they don't consume the resources they use, so nothing needs replenishing.

The key point is that renewable resources replenish either instantaneously or relatively quickly. Non-renewable energy resources are resources that diminish in total supply as they are consumed, or if they replenish, they do so incredibly slowly.

Fossil fuels like coal and oil are a good example of non-renewable resources, because as more of them are mined and burned, they become less available overall. Coal and oil are both fossilized plant material, which can theoretically replenish, but this is a process that takes millions of years, so the rate of renewal is negligible on a human timescale. Non-fuel resources like phosphorus are non-renewable not because there are less of them overall, but because the way they are used as a resource means less of them are available over time.

Phosphorus is used in fertilizers and naturally cycles locally throughout ecosystems. But as farmers use phosphorus-based fertilizer in their fields, that phosphorus ultimately finds its way into the ocean, and there is no natural mechanism for it to make its way back to land from there. Just because a resource is renewable, that doesn't mean all use of that resource is sustainable. Of all the water on Earth, roughly three percent of it is available for human use at any given time.

With increasing use of irrigated water in agriculture, the productivity of agricultural land has certainly increased, as has the productivity of water usage in agriculture. On the other hand, the lack of good governance in water-using crop production practices gives rise to unwanted social and environmental consequences. The list includes waterlogging and salinisation, aquifer depletion, wetland shrinkage as well as pollution often irreversible.

The water available for food production is closely linked to soil surface, texture and structure of the soil profile. Another close relation is with the land management practices. It is worth bearing in mind that land -- like water -- is also a finite resource at the same time as population growth is causing a steady decline in the global per capita availability of arable land. Water and urbanization Water management challenges differ substantially depending on the type of human settlements.

There have been significant trends worldwide towards the growth of urbanisation. In most Asian and African countries, there is a steady stream of migration from rural to urban settlements. This is most notable in the burgeoning populations in the peripheries as well as in the inner city quarters of the world's megacities. In the developing world, Latin America is significantly more urbanized than Asia or Africa, although some of the world's largest cities are in Asia.

In fact, nearly 48 percent of the world's urban population lives in Asia -- up from 32 percent in Almost half of the global population currently lives in urban areas, and expansion of large cities continues at an accelerating rate.

The implication of this is clear in terms of the seemingly insurmountable hurdles in obtaining good governance in the water sector.

Fast growing urbanization has compounded the problem of water shortage affecting safe water supply, sanitation and drainage. Urbanization is not just a problem of water stress or scarcity; a major part of national, regional and global pollution is more likely to be generated in urban areas. A good example of water predicament in megacities is Dhaka itself. With an estimated current population of over 12 million and at the daily average per capita demand of liters, the city needs about 2, million liters of water per day.

Dhaka WASA is unable to provide more than 80 percent of this requirement, some of which are also lost through pilferage and leakage fancifully called 'system loss'. By , the city's population may exceed 20 million with a daily demand of about 3, million liters! If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.

Check out these ideas for how your students can learn more about freshwater and how to conserve this precious resource. The world's demand for fresh water is high, though there is a limited supply.

How can we be more responsible with this crucial resource and its ecosystems? Availability of freshwater is vital to live on Earth, yet freshwater makes up a tiny fraction of all the water available on the planet.

Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students. Skip to content. Image Freshwater Pump Considered by the United Nations as an essential human right, access to clean freshwater is both necessary for human life to thrive, and an increasingly fragile resource as more and more sources of clean freshwater fall under the threat of climate change.

Photograph by Nishasharma. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom. Rain production is as a result of moisture movements in the three-dimensional zones of temperatures or moisture contrasts which are usually called weather fronts. Precipitation usually falls from the convective clouds including the cumulonimbus if sufficient moisture goes up in motion. Heavy rainfall mostly occurs in the mountainous areas where there is upslope flow happening within the terrain windward sides.

Water is thus one of the renewable resources that we can have as long as there is sufficient rainfall. But with global warming, climate patterns are continually changing. We should avoid things that are causing the depletion of the ozone layer which eventually leads to global warming and climate change.

Use efforts of decarbonization to reduce your carbon footprint. Another method of renewing or replenishing the water resource is through conservation. Conservation efforts can help replenish the water reservoirs when a drought occurs.

The water conserved can be utilized to replenish the reservoirs. So, is freshwater a renewable resource? Putting in place conservation efforts ranging from the simple to complex systems can help supply fresh water to us especially during the dry seasons. Here is how you can conserve natural resources in your home. Since water evaporates, then it is a renewable resource. Evaporation is a process that occurs when liquid water turns into water vapor after it is exposed to high temperatures.

Condensation is another process that occurs as part of the natural water cycle. After water molecules have gone upward through the evaporation process, they meet cooler air eventually at the higher atmosphere levels.

The water vapor is then condensed forming large water droplets that are noticeable as clouds.