Every single day, we are getting closer to a horrific global water
crisis. This world was blessed with an awesome amount of fresh water,
but because of our foolishness it is rapidly disappearing. Rivers,
lakes and major underground aquifers all over the globe are drying up,
and many of the fresh water sources that we still have available are so
incredibly polluted that we simply cannot use them anymore. Without
fresh water, we simply cannot function. Just imagine what would happen
if the water got cut off in your house and you were not able to go out
and buy any. Just think about it. How long would you be able to last?
Well, as sources of fresh water all over the globe dry up, we are
seeing drought conditions spread. We are starting to see massive "dust
storms" in areas where we have never seem them before. Every single
year, most of the major deserts around the world are getting bigger and
the amount of usable agricultural land in most areas is becoming
smaller. Whether you are aware of this or not, the truth is that we are
rapidly approaching a breaking point.Featured Story
Mangroves move inland as seas rise
Adapting to the damaging effects of climate change, plants are gradually moving to where temperatures are cooler, rainfall is greater, f...
Showing posts with label Water Conservation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Water Conservation. Show all posts
9/19/2011
25 Signs That A Horrific Global Water Crisis Is Coming
Every single day, we are getting closer to a horrific global water
crisis. This world was blessed with an awesome amount of fresh water,
but because of our foolishness it is rapidly disappearing. Rivers,
lakes and major underground aquifers all over the globe are drying up,
and many of the fresh water sources that we still have available are so
incredibly polluted that we simply cannot use them anymore. Without
fresh water, we simply cannot function. Just imagine what would happen
if the water got cut off in your house and you were not able to go out
and buy any. Just think about it. How long would you be able to last?
Well, as sources of fresh water all over the globe dry up, we are
seeing drought conditions spread. We are starting to see massive "dust
storms" in areas where we have never seem them before. Every single
year, most of the major deserts around the world are getting bigger and
the amount of usable agricultural land in most areas is becoming
smaller. Whether you are aware of this or not, the truth is that we are
rapidly approaching a breaking point.
4/10/2009
Water cut off in Mexican capital
Mexico City officials have shut down a main pipeline providing fresh water to millions of residents because reserves have fallen to record low levels.
The closure, due to last 36 hours, will affect five million people, or a quarter of the city's population.
Unusually low rainfall last year and major leakage are blamed for leaving reservoirs less than half full.
Hundreds of water trucks have been deployed in the areas worst affected by the cuts.
The local government says it will carry out emergency repairs to the water supply network.
More than 50% of the water carried by the pipeline leaks out before it reaches its destination.
This is the third time the capital has faced such a drastic form of water rationing this year, the BBC's Stephen Gibbs in Mexico City reports.
3/31/2008
Denver Water prepares for long-term climate change
Colorado, USAClimate change is real, and it’s here, so Denver Water recently tried to determine how increasing temperatures would affect stream flows and water supplies. With a temperature increase of two degrees over a 50-year stretch — assuming no change in precipitation — streamflows and water supplies would decrease by 7 percent. A second scenario plugged a 5 degree temperature increase into the model. Streamflows would drop by 19 percent, with a 14 percent impact to Denver Water’s supply. Both temperature scenarios are “modest” compared to what many climate change models are predicting. The point of the studies is to develop a long-term water plan that will work in different climate change scenarios. Some recent climate change models are actually predicting an increase in winter precipitation in Colorado. Under those scenarios, the northern Rockies could see a snowfall regime similar to the Sierra Nevada, with more wet and heavy snow. Future snowpack seasons will be shorter and runoff will occur earlier. Up to now, planners have based their planning on past streamflows, for example using the worst recorded droughts as a baseline. “We need to go beyond that.” Global warming could result in more severe droughts. Denver Water’s long-range planning effort is trying to factor those unknowns into the equation in preparing for long-term climate change.
9/17/2007
Australia says some water cuts permanent
AustraliaPhoto: A man shelters from the rain as he passes a giant mural showing the drought-affected Australian outback in Melbourne.
SYDNEY (AFP) - Some water restrictions introduced in Australia's most populous state because of a long-running drought will become permanent because of the threat of global warming, officials said Sunday.
Banned forever will be the practice of hosing pathways and the daytime use of sprinklers to water lawns and gardens.
The New South Wales government said the restrictions would remain in place even when the drought is over and dam levels are at capacity.
"We know that climate change is real, it's here and the changes brought by climate change are going to change the way we use water," state Premier Morris Iemma said.
"With the decline in average rainfalls, an increase in hot days... it means we have to be smarter about how we use water."
Iemma said the restrictions were common sense in Australia, the world's driest inhabited continent.
9/06/2007
Water restrictions may never end
Breaking Earth NewsAustralia
AUSTRALIA may never fully recover from the current decade-long drought due to climate change, experts have warned.
The nation was facing a "new reality" of harsh water restrictions and a new climate with run-offs and river inflows the first casualty, speakers at today's Bureau of Meteorology national post-winter update said.
It was also revealed that although above-average rain fell along Australia's east coast in June-July, August rainfall in the southeast had been "terrible".
Areas affected by drought included nearly all population centres with Adelaide and Brisbane most vulnerable, although Sydney had enjoyed a bumper winter of rain.
Two months of rain was not enough to stop a 10-year drought and the outlook was grim due to "human-induced" climate change, the Bureau's National Climate Centre head Dr Mike Coughlan said.
4/30/2007
Water Saving Urged To Avoid Bay Area Rationing
California, USA
April, 2007
With California on track to have the fourth-driest winter in history, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission General Manager urged customers to curtail their water consumption in an effort to avoid mandatory rationing in the Bay area during the summer months. In order to avoid a water shortage the SFPUC will need to decrease water usage by 20 percent. Such drastic water saving measures have not been required by the utility since the drought between 1987 and 1992. The Sierra snow pack, which represents 65 percent of the utility's water storage in the utility's reservoirs, is at 46 percent of normal for the season.
Related Story
SAN FRANCISCO - California is not ready to declare 2007 a drought year but water officials are worried about 2008 and how much water will be available for generating electricity and irrigating the state's farmlands.
4/10/2007
Turkey faces looming water shortage
Breaking Earth NewsTurkey
Turkey, with its rising population, may well become a "water poor" country by 2030 and may even be facing a very serious water crisis as early as 2050. As it stands, Turkey's per capita annual water consumption limits are actually below those of Iraq.
Turkey, already faced with the danger of drought as a consequence of global warming, is working on an action plan to combat the threat. Measures focus mostly on economizing water in daily life as well as industry and agriculture.
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