Climate Change Concerns: PT 2 “Water, water everywhere?”

[Farmers will need to grow 70% more food by that time (i.e., the year 2050) as rising living standards mean individuals demand more food, and meat in particular. UN study, London Free Press, Mar. 12]

We humans are a very demanding bunch of creatures, and as we demand more creature comforts we’re going to run up against shortages in all of our most important resources, one being water. It’s not everywhere anymore.

As our population rises from seven to nine billion in the next few decades, the world’s supply of water will be severely strained by increased demands from three sectors at the very least:

- the agricultural sector; it already uses 70% of the earth’s fresh-water supply and will want about 90% of drinking water to keep up with rising living standards

- the energy sector; it, including Canada’s tarsands projects, can only be described as a freshwater pig

- the sanitation sector; it demands excessive amounts of water for personal hygiene, cooking waste disposal, keeping the car shiny, etc.


["Water, water everywhere? Demands are growing."]

The UN report tells us “a silent revolution has taken place underground... as the amount of water sucked from below the surface has tripled in the past 50 years, removing a buffer against drought. And just as demand increases, supply in many regions is likely to shrink because of changed rainfall patterns, greater droughts, melting glaciers and altered river flows.”

I suppose if we want to watch a perfect storm, we need to look no farther than our rapidly dwindling freshwater supply.

Without question, we must think now about stringent conservation techniques - related to food and energy production, water use and sanitation - that will guide us toward a sustainable future. Just as some turn piggy banks upside down, then shake them, in order to retrieve the very last coin, we must turn our way of life (and our way of doing business) upside down, and vigorously shake, in order to see what human behaviours, including creature comfort habits, are most steering us toward the demise of the human creature.

No stone can be left unturned.

More to follow.

[Photo of north shore, Lake Superior by GHarrison]

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