By Zachary Shahan •
October 7, 2009
Water scarcity resulting from climate change is the number one issue the world will have to grapple with in the future, according to chief climate scientist and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri.
On the one hand, we will have more water around us with sea level rising. On the other hand, though, drought caused by climate change will leave possibly billions of people without clean water.
This will cause great health and global security issues. Most of these problems will be caused by water imbalances.
By Michael Ricciardi •
September 27, 2009
The appeal of shortwave, geoengineering is in it’s purportedly rapid, remediation impact (although no global experiments have been conducted yet). However, the combined climate impact of GHG increases with a geoengineered reduction in shortwave radiation is not known, but, it is feared, could result in environmental “winners” and “losers”–meaning some regions of the planet could experience severe drought, and even increased conflict over water resources.
By John Chappell •
February 25, 2009
Despite recent rains throughout the state, California has recently instituted water restrictions to many farms in the San Joaquin Valley, the agricultural epicenter of the nation. In fact drought conditions are already so severe that they have forced authorities to eliminate all water for agriculture in California’s San Joaquin Valley for three weeks beginning March 1st. This might not be troubling if it wasn’t happening so early in the year.
The impact on the people and economy of the state could also be severe. The Department of Water Resources has stated in relation to the water crisis in California.
“The drought could cause an estimated $1.15 billion dollar loss in agriculture-related wages and eliminate as many as 40,000 jobs in farm-related industries in the San Joaquin Valley alone, where most of the nation’s produce and nuts are grown.”
Read here for the full Associated Press article on the anticipated drought and its effects.
By Tom Schueneman •
October 14, 2008
As it warms, our world is running out of fresh water - fast. Lakes, aquifers and rivers are disappearing, but we consume more water than ever. What will this mean for North America?
By Gavin Hudson •
July 16, 2008
Researchers turn to international cooperation to save Asia’s 7′th longest river.
Urbanization, growing slums, intensive farming, damming, and warring political ideologies are just a few of the hurdles that researchers from Helsinki University of Technology will need to overcome to protect the Mekong River, one of the most important water sources in Southeast Asia.
Luckily, they have a plan. To save the river, researchers have developed what they are calling the ‘3E principle’: the idea that “waters should be used to provide economic well-being to the people, without compromising social equity and environmental sustainability.”
Putting this principle into practice means working closely with each of the countries that benefits from the Mekong River (China and Tibet, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam) to safeguard the river’s life-giving water.
