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Water tables falling, rivers running dry. So what's the plan?
August 6, 2007 - 6:42pm
The same is happening in Canada, although it's not directly mentioned in this particular report. Given climate change, how far south will Americans want to pump water from Canada? (This is all part of "security and prosperity," right?) Will they pump it all the way to a hotter southwest, or will American populations move north, like into Montana, the Dakotas, Canada itself?
What is the future of desalination plants? Will we see more? Of course this will mean huge energy demands, for the desalination and pumping/transport of the desalinated h2o. It would also entail centralization of power.
ETA: So what's the plan - in Canada, N. America, globally? Or is there none?
[ 08 August 2007: Message edited by: gram swaraj ]
But all that said - honestly, the US are a lot bigger, stronger and meaner than we are - if the US government feels that Canadian water is the key to American prosperity, they'll get it, whatever the laws are.
Charlotte
Could it be possible to dig underground storage areas in desert regions to create artificial aquifers with water coming from icebergs? In the deserts of the southern hemisphere Antarctic ice might be tranported in huge quantities to the Kalahari, Atacama, and Australian deserts and in the northern hemisphere icebergs could be buried in the Sahara, the Gobi and other deserts.
This sounds far-fetched and such a plan would have to include water conservation and recycling, but conventional thinking won't work if we are to adapt in the future crisis.
There just not is an urgent need for it yet.
It would likely be an energy intensive method. And since we already pay an arm and a leg for electrical power with exporting massive amounts of electricity and other energy sources to the U.S., it would end up costing us an arm and a leg. Especially with the U.S. declaring our water and other resources their national interests. Stephen Harper and Liberal "opposition" voting with his "minority" government on SPP and NAU are working hard to give away what's left of Canada's economic sovereignty to Yanqui imperialists.
When you look at the cost of moving Canadian water south, recycling and de-salination aren't as out of reach as customarily thought. Much of the American Southwest, including Los Angeles, is a desert. Residents need to learn to conserve water.
The old-fashioned method of de-salination used solar power. That's how Gandi got salt out of sea water.
Countries, such as Saudi Arabia, on the Persian Gulf already do this on a large scale, and there are many such plants around the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desalination
The transportation of polar ice caps to the areas, as well as the equipment needed to load and off load, and then place the ice and covering it, would have huge costs incurred, and not just monitarily. The transportation of it melted would probably be more effective. Whereby if it was melted, somehow using solar energy, at site, and then transported in water tankers with pipelines from the ports running it to where it would be stored, would be less so. But again it still would be costly environmentally and monetarily.
[ 11 August 2007: Message edited by: remind ]
Fresh water is cheap only on a small, local scale. On a larger scale, it is only cheap if the environmental costs are ignored.
Recycling of water may be one way to stretch the use of a scarce resource. But how about some mitigating measures, instead of inadequate techno-solutions for a problem passively accepted as inevitable?
Like, how about just using less? e.g., reduce the number and size of vehicles people feel they need to wash. And replace more private lawns (the stupid things) with permaculture, ie, plants that retain moisture, instead of watering the things only to cut them again, emitting GHGs in the process. As much as possible, I try to save grey water in a bucket for toilet flushing (and water conservation generally means saving on energy used to purify and pump water.)
How much water doesn't make it to aquifers now, due to land being covered by concrete? How much is Canada going to suffer to keep the swimming pools of Beverly Hills replenished?
That is why I said "fast and cheap".
I dont think the tecknology is available yet. But I can see some sort off power plant/desalinization plant as one giant facility.
I think we are a few decades away.
If the human race is going to have a future we are going to have to forget about capitalist market-based belief systems. It would require an international effort but I think the creation of new agricultural regions from deserts must be seriously explored.
Unfortunately, even if it is technologically possible the present economic order and political strife won't allow it.
What did people do 50 years ago? They used less water. One big reason why rivers are drying up is because all the drains go straight into the nearest river. Before drains, the water soaked into the ground and lots of it never got to the river (got sucked up by grass and trees instead).
We need to ban deep wells now. The wells just put the water table out of reach of plantlife. Wells kill plants!
The oil industry injects lots of water into the deepest rock formations to force the oil out.
Long term, it is probably not that bright of an idea because you will have billions of gallons of oily water oozing to the surface at some stage.
We can get by with a whole lot less water.
Perhaps genetic engineering will come to the rescue! We can excrete uric acid like birds (uses less water).
We did use less water per capita. But there were also fewer of us.
It makes more sense to try to prevent desertification of agricultural regions.
Ships propelled by sails with additional power generation created by wind turbines and solar panels could fill storage containers with ice. Then, these sailing ships transport the ice from the Antarctic to seaports in Namibia or Australia where it can then be deposited in huge underground chambers that would become aquifers to support new farms.
I think it is technologically possible and the only impediments to such a plan are the false constraints of capitalism and global politics.
Anyways, just want to point out (particularly to any Free Dumb Minion types that may be lurking around) that all the flooding around the world does not refute the Earth Policy Institute's report. Sudden downpours run off towards the ocean, they do not soak through the ground into aquifers.
[ 30 August 2007: Message edited by: gram swaraj ]
That would speed up warming even more. No thanks.
The plan should be to selll our water, as Canadians are NOT refusing to consume the fruit and vegetables that are grown there, eh.
But no, Canadians are too stupid to make a buck, they would rather just have hypocritical protests.
Punishing drought has California fearing the worst
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/punishing-drought-has-california-fearing-the-worst/article16650342/
280
Quite the contrast.
January was England's wettest winter month in almost 250 years
Last month's seasonal total was higher than any since 1767 and three times the average level
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/feb/01/january-uk-wettest-winter-month-250-years
Sell it? No we'd just rather give it away. Seriously, I think rather than mega-projects to move or desalinate water people will just move. That's what happened in the '30s, and there is no reason to think it wouldn't happen now.
the idea of selling bulk water should be fought at every level. 2nd thought maybe it should be sold to the fracking and tar sands companies who use more than their share.
Policywonk
Except they want their sunshine and warm weather too.
Seriously, how much longer will the USA wait before they come after our fresh water?
Not too much longer I fathom.
Enjoy it while it lasts Canadians.
California farmers brace for little or no water amid extreme drought
Federal officials to announce Friday how much water is available for farmers, fish migrations and communities this year
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/21/california-farmers-brace-li...