One reason that Earth can support life at all is that it is able to maintain liquid water on its surface. Many believe the threat of global warming will have a deleterious effect on water conservation.
Civilizations, in fact, tend
to form where there is an abundance of water. This is one reason that most
early civilizations, such as Sumer, Egypt, and ancient China, emerged in river
valleys since the rivers provided water and fertile ground for their crops.
Today, water remains of
central importance to our civilization in which most food is still produced
through agro-industrial means.
Global Warming and Water Scarcity
The World Economic Forum
considers water scarcity to be one of the three top problems facing the globe,
alongside terrorism and global warming. The last item, global warming, has
particularly exacerbated the problem of water scarcity.
The rise in global
temperature has resulted in more severe droughts in many parts of the world.
Fresh drinking water has historically been provided by meltwater from perennial
glaciers in mountains such as the
Himalayas, as well as melting snowpack.
The increase in the global
temperature is causing these mountain glaciers to melt and, in a few decades,
they will all be gone. Snowpack also continues to get lighter, so melting snow
can no longer provide the amount of water that it previously did.
The problem is further
compounded by how global warming works. Global warming is not simply a uniform warming of all climates of
Earth. Rather, climate scientists predict that, as the global temperature
rises, it will make weather more energetic and more extreme.
Places already experiencing
heat and tropical storms will experience these more fiercely. Places that
experience droughts already will start to experience longer and more severe
droughts. These effects can be seen in places such as California. Other regions,
such as Africa, the Middle East, China, and India, are also either experiencing
increased water scarcity or are at risk of it.
Global “Weirding” and Its Impact on Water Sources
Strangely enough, there are
also parts of the world which may experience the opposite. Places that normally don’t experience a lot of rain will
suddenly start to experience unusually heavy precipitation. Places that usually don’t experience droughts will suddenly
start to experience more dry periods.
There is a reason why some
climate scientists jokingly refer to global warming as “global weirding” since,
although the global average temperature is rising, local climates aren’t
necessarily getting warmer as much as they are getting less predictable. This
is a problem since having things like a
predictable source of water is important
for the survival of civilization.
This is also likely to
worsen since the water supply also affects the food supply. Most of the food in
the world is grown in places facing increased water scarcity. If there is not
enough water to grow crops and quench the thirst of livestock, then a global
food shortage will almost certainly follow.
Experts predict this will
lead to more conflicts over access to food and water. The experts also suggest
future wars may be fought over water resources in the way they are currently
being fought over oil.
Why Water Conservation Is Important
In light of these real problems facing the world, the proper response is
not simply to panic or decide our
civilization is doomed. This
is not the end, but it does mean water conservation is now more important than
ever before. Effective conservation of water may even help to slow the
process of climate change by reducing the amount of energy spent on
transporting water.
Southern California, for
example, receives a good percentage of its water from non-local sources. One
problem with this is the methods used take a lot of energy, which increases carbon emissions and contributes to
global climate change.
Relying more on
local water resources would be less costly energy-wise and would result in fewer carbon emissions and not contribute to global
warming at the same rate as relying on water from distant locations.
This probably will not slow
local, regional climate change. Regions of the world that are becoming hotter
will become hotter regardless of whether
water is effectively conserved there.
Doing more to conserve
local water resources and make local unusable water such as salt water usable for drinking and farming, rather than relying on distant reservoirs or
sources, however, may help to slow the process and, thus, would still slow the
warming of parts of the world that are becoming hotter and drier as a direct
result of global climate change.
As a result, conserving water in one region could, in a small way, slow the adverse effects of climate change globally. Making more efficient use of local water rather than relying on expensive imported water might be worthwhile.
