The Water Crisis Is On Its Way

The water crisis is looming. After looking at the earth and surveying trends from space for fourteen years, the conversation surrounding the water supply has become an issue of concern. It has long been a subject of discussion, but it becomes a little bit more real each year.

NASA launched two satellites up into space in 2002 which observed the planet for fourteen years. And during that time, scientists noted significant changes internationally.

The data demonstrated not only the effect of humanity on the geography of the planet but also the effects of climate change. Roy Brouwer, the director of the University of Waterloo’s Water Institute, described the situation as “eye-opening.”

According to Brouwer, it’s clear that locations undergoing massive shifts in their water supply will become problem areas. In other words, conflict is likely when people start running out of water in the Middle East, for instance.

Education

If we want to avoid the water crisis, we have to start acting. Human beings have to do something to “counter and anticipate some of the catastrophes that may be waiting for us in the not-so-far future,” he explained.

For one, we should urge people to start researching their food. If the average individual understood the effect of what they consumed every day, this conversation would be easier.

Admittedly, there are counter-arguments to these sorts of problems. However, many aren’t willing to accept everything the intelligentsia says to them.

It’s not like they haven’t been wrong before. But, society can’t be stuck in disagreement forever. And there is significant confusion on the topic.

There are thousands of environmental problems on earth. It’s not just “climate change” or “global warming.”

The list includes the water crisis, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, air pollution, groundwater pollution, soil erosion, soil degradation, desertification, pesticide drift, overgrazing, radioactive waste management, and on and on.

Often, people think environmental concerns are merely just arguments over “climate change.” They think, “the earth heats up and cools down in cycles over the course of millions of years. We’re just at the other end of the cycle right now.”

But, there are quantifiable, legitimate issues one can see with their own eyes. However, most don’t know. Or worse, they don’t care.

The Results

The results of one of NASA’s latest expeditions highlights one of our most pressing concerns.

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment began in 2002. It involved two satellites orbiting the earth 136 miles (220 kilometers) apart from each other.

NASA collected data on soil moisture, groundwater, snow cover, surface water, and glaciers. And the results demonstrated the shifting of the water landscape, which, they attributed to both human activity and climate change.

Jay Famiglietti, the upcoming director for the University of Saskatchewan’s Global Institute for Water Security, said that the “human fingerprint” is all over the changes occurring on the surface of the planet.

Future Conflicts Over Water

The shifted distribution of the water supply undoubtedly will lead to conflict in some areas including the Middle East and India. In India, in particular, where they’re pulling out more groundwater than can be replenished. And In Turkey, they’ve built dams that cut off water flow to Iraq.

To make matters worse, in India, the government subsidized electricity which, through its inexpensiveness, has inadvertently incentivized leaders to pull out groundwater as much as they can afford.

Admittedly, some of the changes were due to natural variations across time. But on the whole, the water-supply is becoming a vital concern.

Some of the most striking changes include the ice loss in the polar regions or at the southern parts of the Andes in Southern America.

Either way, this problem is slowly getting bigger over time. Some of the challenges include convincing nay-sayers as well as politicians who think “climate change is a hoax” like Donald Trump.