tagged w/ Global Water Crisis
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An excellent commentary by Dr.Vandana Shiva who has been at the forefront of fighting for environmental democracy for many years. In this article she lays out the false solutions for climate change being used and discusses real ones. The problem however, is bringing down the old guard (mainly the WTO and The World Bank) that keeps perpetuating the false solutions for their own economic benefit at the expense of the poor. How can the world's poor gain an equal footing?An excellent commentary by Dr.Vandana Shiva who has been at the forefront of fighting... more
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Severe drought has led to attacks on tribes and women and children carrying water as well as tribal fighting regarding fish stocks.The election that took place last Thursday may well just be the straw that broke the camel's back. Kenyans have been dealing with these crises for years with the threat of civil war, and still international organizations ask for help.Severe drought has led to attacks on tribes and women and children carrying water as... more
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The rice intensification method saves water, increases food production, and does not emit methane. These are the types of solutions we need to look for in this year to avoid a major global water crisis. And again, it will take a moral will on the part of people globally to use water more wisely in tune with more effective agricultural and irrigation methods to meet population demands. India, Asia, and Indonesia are the rice producers of the world experiencing the greatest effects of water scarcity which have also put their mainstay food source at tremendous risk. This is indeed a way to then offer hope and a balance to save lives./////excerpt:With a focus on India ? a country which faces a major water crisis, yet has the world?s largest rice cultivated area ? the study found that the system of rice intensification (SRI) method has helped increase yields by over 30% ? four to five tonnes per hectare instead of three tonnes per hectare, while using 40% less water than conventional methods./////The system is based on eight principles which are different to conventional rice cultivation. They include developing nutrient-rich and un-flooded nurseries instead of flooded ones; ensuring wider spacing between rice seedlings; preferring composts or manure to synthetic fertilizers; and managing water carefully to avoid that the plants? roots are not saturated./////The method was initially developed in the 1980s in Madagascar and has been demonstrated to be effective in 28 countries./////end of excerpt.
The rice intensification method saves water, increases food production, and does not... more
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A harbinger of global climate change that is happening too rapidly all across this world to be just natural. But will the cause really matter should the millions of people who depend on these glaciers for water to survive no longer have it because the world was too busy debating instead of doing something to address it?A harbinger of global climate change that is happening too rapidly all across this... more
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What agreement? To continue just talking as the Earth melts? While I am not sad about this outcome as my expectations weren't that high in the first place, I am not happy with it either. I am at best wary. I wanted targets to be agreed to first because I think that is the only way we will be able to go forward in then working on the solutions to meet those targets. I think it will be too easy for the U.S. and other countries to weasal out of this at a later date regardless of party. I am gratified however, that a framework regarding passing technology to developing countries to help them meet their energy needs sustainably was added. Developing countries and poor countries that are feeling the brunt of the effects of this crisis must be given assistance by those countries spewing the most GHGS into the atmosphere. It is as simple as that. If the U.S., Japan, China, or whichever country does not agree with that, then they must then agree to binding targets to cut their own usage down. I truly do hope this will help in keeping that tipping point further from us, but again at this stage without targets this is just more talk and playing it by ear, and where this planet is concerned we cannot afford to play it by ear any longer. And where was the talk about the global water crisis? What agreement? To continue just talking as the Earth melts? While I am not sad about... more
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This is my passion, and seeing those who need water happy because they now have it truly uplifts me. I hope it does you too. At this season please consider a gift to the organization I linked in this entry. They truly do magnificent and miraculous work in giving people the basic element of life.This is my passion, and seeing those who need water happy because they now have it... more
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Boycotting bottled water, sodas and other unnecessary items in plastic will go a long way in my view in saving this planet from drowning and choking itself. I have boycotted all drinks in plastic bottles, plastic bags, and other useless plastic items and urge others to do the same. The state I live in is now considering doing away with plastic bags in stores. More and more cities and countries are seeing the truth about bottled water. It seems people are waking up to the destruction it does to this planet. And doing this not only saves on trash and pollution, it saves other species that eat the plastic in our waterways and die from it and also saves other resources. It is also the moral thing to do in light of the fact that over one billion people on this planet do not even have a potable source of water. To then think that people here only drink it to look fashionable actually makes me ill. We as a nation have a huge waking up to experience regarding our priorities and world view. This is a great step in that direction.Boycotting bottled water, sodas and other unnecessary items in plastic will go a long... more
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Hopefully, the one important factor we will hear addressed at this meeting and the UN Conference in Bali will be: Population. It is at the crux of what is now happening regarding our environment. We simply do not have an adequate amount of resources to continue to support this growing global population at the same rapacious pace it is wasting them while conducting business the old way. This then will mean a change of mindset for those living on this planet now who are so used to having all they want whenever they want it. It will require people looking towards the future as they look inside themselves and adjusting their behavior to reflect that moral consciousness. Do we however as a global community have the moral willpower to actually think beyond ourselves and the here and now? We are now at a point where we do not have any choice, especially in regards to water. So when do we move beyond meetings to results?
Hopefully, the one important factor we will hear addressed at this meeting and the UN... more
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This may well be our last chance. The world is watching.
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Is water a human right, or merely just another commodity to be traded on the global markets? To companies like Suez it is a commodity to be used for its own profit at the expense of the poor... to millions around the globe from Stockton, California to Bolivia however, it is what it rightfully should be: a human right, and a right worth fighting for. This documentary is a truthful depiction of the corporatization of that human right and a look at those citizens who are fighting back. I highly recommend it. Just today I read that Suez is looking for a chunk of water in Southwestern China to privatize to add to its other conquests. These companies are loving the water shortages as they seek to gain profit from them. We the people however, must stand up for our right to water because it is as essential to us as Democracy... which we also thirst for. Is water a human right, or merely just another commodity to be traded on the global... more
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This is a documentary following three men as they run across the Sahara Desert through six countries to bring awareness to the water crisis of Africa. I believe the release date is still to be determined. Matt Damon is the narrator who is also involved with H2O Africa...http://www.h2oafrica.org, a foundation working to build wells in Africa to give people clean water and hope which is also linked in the link to this story. To me for these three men to do this, it surely was an heroic act and I cannot wait to see this film. Thank you to them and to Matt Damon. //// Water is life.This is a documentary following three men as they run across the Sahara Desert through... more
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China must come to grips with the consequences of progress when other factors are not weighed into the process. Building dams is not the answer as they are causing environmental degradation, pollution, and damage to marine life and other ecosystems. The Himalayas are melting faster than expected thus putting millions at risk regarding water scarcity. 90% of their rivers are polluted, many unusable. Desertification encroaches on them causing farmers in villages to look for other methods of surviving. Yet they still bring at least two coal fired plants on line a week. There comes a point when you burn the candle at both ends and it meets in the middle. China is now there.China must come to grips with the consequences of progress when other factors are not... more
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Desalination 'not the solution'
Untapped resource: oceans contain 97% of the planet's water
Turning salt water into drinking water is not a solution to tackle global water scarcity, the WWF has said.
A report by the environmental group said a growth in the energy intensive technology would increase emissions and damage coastal and river habitats.
More attention should instead be paid to conserving supplies, it suggested.
The study was published as Australia announced plans to build one of the world's biggest desalination plants to supply drinking water to Melbourne.
"Desalinating the sea is an expensive, energy intensive and greenhouse gas emitting way to get water," said Jamie Pittock, director of WWF's global freshwater programme.
"It may have a place in the world's future freshwater supplies but regions still have cheaper, better and complementary ways to supply water that are less risky to the environment."
The report called for greater emphasis on managing existing supplies before the go-ahead was given to major water projects.
It added that new desalination plants, which were primarily located in coastal areas, should also be subject to tighter impact assessments to minimise damage to the marine environment.
Advances in technology meant that it was also possible to develop alternative "manufactured water" systems, such as treating waste water, the authors wrote.
end of excerpt.///
As I have written before, I too believe that desalination (reverse osmosis process) is an expensive GHG emitting procedure that is simply a bandaid on a crisis that will not be solved by looking to methods that actually exacerbate the problem of emitting GHGs, particularly the Co2 that causes drought, wildfires, and water shortages.///
In many cases it is only through the wasteful practices of humans that water becomes scarce. Seventy percent of the water that is wasted in this world is lost through wasteful irrigation practices. Why then is it easier for man to expend countless hours and dollars in building these huge desalination plants that do nothing to replace the water lost and threaten the habitat of other marine animals, instead of simply looking to their moral compasses and conserving what we have?///
Is it because we simply do not wish to admit that we are the cause of this crisis?///
However, that is not to say that I am against desalination as a process when it is absolutely necessary to provide water to people, as in the case of the Middle East where water scarcity makes it necessary to emply such methods. I personally prefer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_desalination///geothermal desalination as the best method to protect marine life and cut down on carbon emissions.///
This http://www.pacinst.org/reports/desalination/desalination_report.pdf report from the Pacific Institute dated last year is a totally comprehensive and expert analysis of desalination globally and in the United States with both pros and cons explained in detail. There is no doubt that as we head further into the 21st Century in a world where water will be in greater demand desalination can be a part of a water management plan if absolutely needed (especially regarding using it in agriculture to conserve fresh water for human use,) but certainly not as the solution to this crisis and at the expense of other species and our environment especially regarding the clean up process. Only through moral courage to conserve and to devise ways to use irrigation water more effectively and funds more effectively to shore up substandard water systems can we find the balance necessary to preserve all life.Desalination 'not the solution'
Untapped resource: oceans contain 97% of... more
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Want an easy way to help save this planet? Stop drinking bottled water.
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As people in places like Ethiopia, Kenya, and other water scarce areas dig deeper into the ground searching for even a drop to sustain themselves, we here in America guzzle millions of gallons of water a year without giving a thought to where it comes from and the affect it has on our world. We can no longer afford to continue down that path.As people in places like Ethiopia, Kenya, and other water scarce areas dig deeper into... more
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excerpt:
When saltwater and fresh water meet, they mix in complex ways, depending on the texture of the sand along the coastline.by Staff WritersColumbus OH (SPX) Nov 07, 2007As sea levels rise, coastal communities could lose up to 50 percent more of their fresh water supplies than previously thought, according to a new study from Ohio State University. Hydrologists here have simulated how saltwater will intrude into fresh water aquifers, given the sea level rise predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC has concluded that within the next 100 years, sea level could rise as much as 23 inches, flooding coasts worldwide.
Scientists previously assumed that, as saltwater moved inland, it would penetrate underground only as far as it did above ground. But this new research shows that when saltwater and fresh water meet, they mix in complex ways, depending on the texture of the sand along the coastline. In some cases, a zone of mixed, or brackish, water can extend 50 percent further inland underground than it does above ground.
Like saltwater, brackish water is not safe to drink because it causes dehydration. Water that contains less than 250 milligrams of salt per liter is considered fresh water and safe to drink.
Motomu Ibaraki, associate professor of earth sciences at Ohio State, led the study. Graduate student Jun Mizuno presented the results Tuesday, October 30, 2007, at the Geological Society of America meeting in Denver.
"Most people are probably aware of the damage that rising sea levels can do above ground, but not underground, which is where the fresh water is," Ibaraki said. "Climate change is already diminishing fresh water resources, with changes in precipitation patterns and the melting of glaciers. With this work, we are pointing out another way that climate change can potentially reduce available drinking water. The coastlines that are vulnerable include some of the most densely populated regions of the world."
In the United States, lands along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico -- especially Florida and Louisiana -- are most likely to be flooded as sea levels rise. Vulnerable areas worldwide include Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and northern Europe. "Almost 40 percent of the world population lives in coastal areas, less than 60 kilometers from the shoreline," Mizuno said. "These regions may face loss of freshwater resources more than we originally thought."
Scientists have used the IPCC reports to draw maps of how the world's coastlines will change as waters rise, and they have produced some of the most striking images of the potential consequences of climate change.
Ibaraki said that he would like to create similar maps that show how the water supply could be affected. That's not an easy task, since scientists don't know exactly where all of the world's fresh water is located, or how much is there. Nor do they know the details of the subterranean structure in many places. One finding of this study is that saltwater will penetrate further into areas that have a complex underground structure.
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So not only will we have diminished fresh water supplies, we will also have to worry about brackish water penetrating further into the fresh water left underground. It is quite a conundrum we are creating for ourselves.
excerpt:
When saltwater and fresh water meet, they mix in complex ways, depending... more
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