A future of thirst: Water crisis lies on the horizon

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Paris (AFP) - The next time your throat is as dry as a bone and the Sun is beating down, take a glass of clean, cool water.

Savour it. Sip by sip.

Vital and appreciated as that water is, it will be even more precious to those who will follow you.

By the end of this century, billions are likely to be gripped by water stress and the stuff of life could be an unseen driver of conflict.

So say hydrologists who forecast that on present trends, freshwater faces a double crunch -- from a population explosion, which will drive up demand for food and energy, and the impact of climate change.

"Approximately 80 percent of the world's population already suffers serious threats to its water security, as measured by indicators including water availability, water demand and pollution," the Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned in a landmark report in March.

"Climate change can alter the availability of water and therefore threaten water security."

Already today, around 768 million people do not have access to a safe, reliable source of water and 2.5 billion do not have decent sanitation. Around a fifth of the world's aquifers are depleted.

Jump forward in your imagination to mid-century, when the world's population of about 7.2 billion is expected to swell to around 9.6 billion.

By then, global demand for water is likely to increase by a whopping 55 percent, according to the United Nations' newly published World Water Development Report.

More than 40 percent of the planet's population will be living in areas of "severe" water stress, many of them in the broad swathe of land that runs along north Africa, the Middle East and western South Asia.

Yet these scenarios do not take into account changes in rainfall or snowfall or glacier shrinkage caused by global warming.

- Wetter or drier -

As a very general rule, wet countries will get wetter and dry countries will get drier, accentuating risk of flood or drought, climate scientists warn.

But whether people will heed their alarm call is a good question.

http://news.yahoo.com/future-thirst-water-crisis-lies-horizon-042831078.html

[luckytxn 2,264]

Well I am in a wet place so I am good.

[Operator 1,927]

Some interesting facts on water:

Human bone is approximately 22% water so the term dry as a bone is kind of silly.

Three-quarters of the Earth's surface is covered with water, yet 98 percent is salt water and not fit for consumption.

Less than one percent of all the water on Earth is freshwater available for human consumption.

Amount of water it would take, per day, to support 4.7 billion people at the UN daily minimum: 2.5 billion gallons

Amount of water used, per day, to irrigate the world’s golf courses: 2.5 billion gallons

The average distance that women in developing countries walk to collect water per day is four miles

Over 40 billion work hours are lost each year in Africa to the need to fetch drinking water

Number of golf courses in Japan before World War II: 23

Number in operation or soon to open in 2004: 3,030

[lostinblue 1,989]

The largest use of irrigation water in the united states are for lawns,

http://scienceline.org/2011/07/lawns-vs-crops-in-the-continental-u-s/

Four times more lawn than corn: Top U.S. crops by land area

There may be more acres of lawn in the U.S. than of the eight largest irrigated crops combined. Here are figures for the top four.

[luckytxn 2,264]

I always strive to have among the best looking lawns where I live.

The largest use of irrigation water in the united states are for lawns,

http://scienceline.org/2011/07/lawns-vs-crops-in-the-continental-u-s/

Four times more lawn than corn: Top U.S. crops by land area

There may be more acres of lawn in the U.S. than of the eight largest irrigated crops combined. Here are figures for the top four.

[Operator 1,927]

The number one use of water in my house is to make the ice cubes that go in my bourbon.

#1stworld

[Crashed~N2~Me 970]

I always strive to have among the best looking lawns where I live.

Yard work rocks! Gardening too.

[luckytxn 2,264]

For sure. We have an awesome Gardening thread in Off Topic you may like.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/360979-gardening/

Yard work rocks! Gardening too.

[Crashed~N2~Me 970]

For sure. We have an awesome Gardening thread in Off Topic you may like.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/360979-gardening/

Nice. I will check it out. Thanks!

[luckytxn 2,264]

anytime. We are here for each other.

Nice. I will check it out. Thanks!

[B_J 2,752]

Amount of water it would take, per day, to support 4.7 billion people at the UN daily minimum: 2.5 billion gallons

Amount of water used, per day, to irrigate the world’s golf courses: 2.5 billion gallons

Which do I choose, water or golf?

How long do I have to make my decision?

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Awesome.. So we go large scale on desalinization or get rid of our lawns (I'm all for it - less work) and golf less and we are good to go.

On the climate change: They really don't know the exact changes that will take place at any given location - we could all be ankle deep in never ending rain or dry like a desert.

Edited May 13, 2014 by OnMyWayID

[decocker 7,198]

probably would help if we crafted our lawns to be a more natural environment. we should all be planting plenty of "bee" flowers and encouraging growth - not necessarily overgrowth, but there's no need for the whole of the u.s. to reach for impeccable cookie cutter edward scissorhand lawns.

Edited May 13, 2014 by val erie

[GandD 5,966]

The largest use of irrigation water in the united states are for lawns,

http://scienceline.org/2011/07/lawns-vs-crops-in-the-continental-u-s/

Four times more lawn than corn: Top U.S. crops by land area

There may be more acres of lawn in the U.S. than of the eight largest irrigated crops combined. Here are figures for the top four.

Wow, that seems insanely wasteful.

[Operator 1,927]

Which do I choose, water or golf?

How long do I have to make my decision?

I don't see a need to choose, these are daily amounts not lifetime limits. Choose golf every other day if that suits you, there is no shortage of bourbon for the off days.