Freshwater Resources

Download the Freshwater Resources Lecture Presentation

Watch the Lecture Videos

Click on the icon in the upper right hand corner to view all of the videos in the Youtube playlist.

Additional Resources:

Objective 1: Identify where Earth’s freshwater is located and how much is accessible for human use.

I’ve chosen the following resources to support this objective:

• PBS: The Molecule that Made Us | Water is Life (Links to an external site.) | 5 minutes

 

Objective 2: Summarize freshwater uses by humans (agriculture, industry, domestic).

I’ve chosen the following resources to support this objective:

• USGS. Summary of estimated water use in the United States 2015. (Links to an external site.) Executive Summary.
• USGS. Estimated use of water in the United States in 2015. (Links to an external site.) Full Report.

 

Objective 3: Quantify your water footprint and identify the pathways o water consumption by humans.

I’ve chosen the following resources to support this objective:

• GRACE Communications Foundation. Water Footprint Calculator (Links to an external site.).
  • Directions: Calculate your water footprint and refer to it while watching the 3^rd lecture video.
• FoodPrint. Guides for cooking and eating sustainably. (Links to an external site.)

 

Readings

• What is a Water Footprint. (Links to an external site.) WaterCalculator.org.
  • Directions: Browse 2 articles that are of interest to you.
• What is the Water-Energy-Food Nexus? (Links to an external site.) WaterCalculator.org.

 

Videos

• The Molecule that Made Us | Virtual Water (Links to an external site.) | 2 minutes

• Invisible water, hidden virtual water market (Links to an external site.) | Seth Darling | TEDxNaperville | 15 minutes

 

Objective 4: Recognize the limitations and challenges that exist for protection and managing freshwater resources.

I’ve chosen the following resources to support this objective:

Wastewater Processing

• University of Delaware. What To Do With Dirty Water? 
  • Directions; Read the article linked above or watch the video below.

 

Water Scarcity and The Water Crisis

• The Molecule that Made Us | Disappearing Groundwater  | 7 minutes
• PBS | The Molecule that Made Us | The Impacts of a Megadrought on the Amazon Rainforest | 6 minutes
• NPR | March 19, 2021 | Known For Its Floods, Louisiana Is Running Dangerously Short Of Groundwater | Heard on Morning Edition | 5 minutes

• Explained | World’s Water Crisis  | FULL EPISODE | Netflix | 19 minutes
  • Note: Turn on closed captioning for Spanish translation.

 

• PBS. The Molecule that Made Us | Global Consequences of Drought | 6 minutes
  • Optional follow up from Explained episode above. Scroll down to video.
  • Trigger warning: describes war in graphic detail

 

Drinking Water Standards

• U.S. EPA. National Primary Drinking Water Regulations.  Updated May 2009.
• U.S. EPA. Summary of the Clean Water Act.