Water shortage in AustraliaFirst of all, it is necessary to define what the term “water shortage” means. For some people, this means having to constantly travel long distances just to reach a source of fresh water and collect it. For others, lack of water means making do with water only for part of the day. And finally, there are certain regions in which populations suffer from droughts which result in large numbers of deaths. Therefore, in the modern world, the problem of lack of fresh water has become a burning issue that requires an immediate solution. According to Peter Rogers, it is not fair to consider that the supply of drinking water is a problem that only affects developing countries with large populations. It is easy to see that fresh water shortages are becoming more and more common in developed countries as well, for example the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. In this essay, I will study and analyze the reasons for the critical situation that exists in Australia. (Rogers, 2008) Firstly, Australia is a very dry continent. Compared to other lands, rainfall in Australia is low. Thus, the dry climate over most of the continent leads to droughts and bush fires, corollaries of water scarcity. The most dangerous situation for life is in the Murray-Darling River basin in southeastern Australia, one of the largest river basins in the world. In recent years, the land around it has withered and been ravaged by prodigious forest fires. It is a sequence of incorrect government policies that divided the river among consumers and “allowed participants to trade water and commercialize water rights.” Moreover, this problem concerns not only humans, but also the natural inhabitants of aquatic ecosystems – water and m...... middle of paper ......, and Susan Leal. Lack of water: the imminent crisis and solutions to conserve our most precious resource. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. “Water Use” print. Australian Water Resources. Australian Government National Water Commission, 30 May 2011. Web. .J. Henderson, G. Woodard “OPERATION OF LOW CONSUMPTION AGING TOILETS IN TUCSON” 2000http://www.map-testing.com/assets/files/Henderson,%20J.%20and%20G.%20Woodard%20%282000%29 %20Operation%20of%20Aging%20Low-Consumption%20Toilets.pdfWade, Beth. “Harnessing solutions to water scarcity”. June 1, 2000. Penton Media Inc. April 7, 2008. “What Do We Do About It?” » State of the Environment South Australia. South Australian Environment Protection Authority, nd Web. .