The average human cannot live more than three days without water. Many fresh water sources around the world are drying up or contaminated, especially in developing countries, leaving many people without safe drinking water. Only two and a half percent of Earth's water is fresh water, and less than one percent is accessible to humans (not tied to ice sheets). This 1% of the planet's water reserves should be enough to feed a population of more than 7 billion people, each needing 2.6 liters per day to stay in perfect health, plus all the water necessary for agriculture and industry. These scenarios will only become more prevalent as time goes on and we consume more water. The United Nations has classified our planet as being in the grip of a “global water crisis.” Global water supply and shortages are becoming an incredibly real and serious problem, and planning for the future is essential to prevent population decline due to lack of clean water. Shortages of clean water lead to wars and serious international conflicts to meet the basic survival needs of humanity. One of the most popular and commonly proposed solutions to this problem is to create seawater desalination plants to remove salt from ocean water to make it drinkable. However, these water desalination plants do not constitute a viable option for projecting us into the future due to their potentially harmful impacts and expenses. Before examining what is actually wrong with seawater desalination plants, it is important to establish that there are many alternatives available. One of the best alternatives is to adopt more efficient practices, such as water conservation and recycling of rainwater and gray water (from washing machines and bathrooms...... middle paper ......sequences and are far less expensive Works Cited1. : Water Geographies (March 2013), pp. 2702. “California Water Boards Fact Sheet.” California Water Boards.ca.gov, May 23, 2013. Web, April 25, 2014.3. it of the poor and the environment? Gregor Meerganz von Medeazza, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 41, No. 11, Money, Banking and Finance (March 18-24, 2006), pp. 949-9524. Ocean of Problems.” Food and Water Watch 1 (2009): 1-20. Postel, SL, GC Daily and PR Ehrlich 1996. Human Appropriation of Renewable Fresh Water.. 271:785