Sea levels rise, while water becomes scarce
04 11 08 - 03:32In parts of the US supplies are so vulnerable that last autumn the Red Cross delivered water parcels to the town of Orme in Tennessee. 'I thought, "That can't be the Red Cross. We're Americans!"' resident Susan Anderson told a reporter. In California, some farmers abandoned their crops this year as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared the first state-wide drought for 17 years. Meanwhile Barcelona was so desperate that it began importing tankers of water from cities along the coast. Even in the notoriously wet UK, water has become such a problem in the crowded southeast that one company plans to build a desalination plant, the sort of desperate measure associated with oil-rich desert states.
The Stockholm International Water Institute talks about 'an acute and devastating humanitarian crisis'; the founder of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, warns of a 'perfect storm'; Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations Secretary General, has raised the spectre of 'water wars'. And, as the population keeps growing and getting richer, and global warming changes the climate, experts are warning that unless something is done, billions more will suffer lack of water - precipitating hunger, disease, migration and ultimately conflict.
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Most of us at times have had to cut back on our water use, perhaps installing a toilet that has a half-flush function, using a shower rather than bath, or throwing out water used for washing dishes into the garden, careful to avoid hitting grandma in the deckchair, when it hasn't rained in a while. But it was a shock to me when I realised how much water goes into making so many things, from food to clothes, and all objects resulting from industry. The little we conserve from our personal attempts is as insignificant to the environment as a nation turning to eco lightbulbs while building a new runway at Stanstead Airport. In other words: spitting into the wind.
It is remarkable to learn that it takes 13 litres to grow just one tomato, and 1000 litres to produce a litre of milk. 8000 litres are needed to produce a pair of leather shoes, and clothes manufacturing is particularly wasteful with one cotton t-shirt requiring 2000 litres of water (and heck knows how many thousands of litres of toxic chemicals).
Many of these products are produced in countries that suffer from worse water shortages than westerners do, so we are effectively using up their water supplies. You may dryly dismiss that as being just their problem, and not worth crying a river over, but it has implications for manufacturing in the long-term because something has got to give. Producing goods at such a price cannot continue much longer. As water's cost rises so will the cost of nearly everything else.
Each Briton uses about 150 litres of tap water a day, but if you include the amount of water embedded within products our water consumption is around 3400 litres every day!
If present levels of consumption continue, two-thirds of the global population will live in areas of water stress by 2025. Increasing human demand for water coupled with the effects of climate change mean that the future of our water supply is not secure.
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Water consumption varies widely from one country to another, with Americans being the biggest drips, using 600 litres each a day, while Europeans soak up 250 and Africans paddle in a mere 30 - which sounds like what you would need simply to quench thirst and avoid BO (no I don't mean any future US president). But how much water does it take to produce an African? Some economising by reducing the expansion of the population wouldn't be a bad idea. Yet it is astounding the amount of water, never mind immigrants, flooding from there to the west.
About 70 per cent of the water consumed by people in the UK, for example, comes from overseas, according to Waterwise, a UK government-funded body that aims to reduce water usage by businesses. It is imported in the form of food, clothing, computers and cars. These imports give people in developed countries a far higher “water footprint” than people in poor countries.
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But the west has been feeling the pain of droughts in various countries, and global warming is set to bring further problems like this.
.In the world today, over a billion people lack safe drinking water. As tension mounts between states competing for diminished supplies of “blue gold,” the global water industry is expected to become a trillion-dollar-a-year operation within a decade.
Up until now, no single publication has given shape and meaning to statistics about water use, re-use, and control. With a range of maps of startling clarity and richness of detail, The Water Atlas brings together the latest findings to show water distribution worldwide, the real cost of use in water-rich countries, and the dangers of a future where privatization and profit dictate availability. The atlas covers a wide range of topics, from consumption and scarcity to areas of political tension and looming catastrophes. Including detailed profiles of vulnerable regions—such as California, the Middle East, and India—as well as bold summaries of the global picture, The Water Atlas will be a unique resource for general readers as well as health professionals, advocates, and students
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There are beneficiaries of this crisis, achieving a sinister level of global influence and vast profits, and who must be moist with excitement and anticipation of heavier cash flow. These capitalists aim to make money out of water, controlling the supply like Moses commanded the Red Sea. Water should be free, like the air we breathe. But we can't even take clean air for granted as pollution levels rise. Overpopulation is a critical factor but, to the profiteers, the thirstier the people the more liquidity for them. And money is power: the power that decides the policies.
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