Green Options

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.

Monsoon - said to be India’s true Finance Minister and an indicator of the country’s water and livelihood security - has had a delayed arrival this year.

And when it came, it has been more variable than ever before in recent recorded history. Drought and floods have hit the country and put it under a great water stress. The situation is being monitored very closely and the Indian Government is ready with a contingency plan.

Two states have been declared drought hit and the Indian Agriculture Minister has expressed his concern over food production this year. Water wars have already begun in the country that has otherwise been giving a good fight to the global financial crisis. Not sure if its climate change or a result of rapid urbanization, or both, but India certainly needs to do a lot to secure its water resources for today and tomorrow.

Rainfall patterns altered by climate change and worsened by inequity in the water distribution system has led to a water crisis in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

This has led to a spurt in water related violence and conflicts so shocking, we thought they were predicted to take place only in the next 50 years. The local incident mentioned in the news report above was one among many where a mob of about six people killed a family for illegally drawing water from the municipal supply even as onlookers rushed back and forth to collect water before the pipe ran dry.

The incident, which occurred in a below poverty line (BPL) settlement, is yet another validation of how climate change is having much more impact on the poor, especially in the developing world.

Figures on the scale of embedded water use bring home the true unsustainability of our lifestyles. Estimates of actual water consumption include 140 litres for each cup of coffee and 16000 litres for each kilo of beef.

Now, in one simple statement, the EU’s Environment Minister Stavros Dimas has sent a shiver down the collective back of all Europeans. He said:

“if someone who lives near the sea has a swimming pool, then they will have to pay more. It is only logical to tax more heavily those who can afford to have a swimming pool, when they could just as easily swim in the sea”.