Soon to be Worldwide Water Shortage??

Are we really drying up? It's beginning to look that way, maybe now people will pay more attention to droughts and climate changes since it starting to affect more countries worldwide.

Spain is facing the worst drought in decades causing the country's government to have ration water supplies. Fountains are off, swimming pools are empty, golf courses are drying up.
Spain's government turns to rationing as severe drought hits

Where's the vegetation


Portugal is seeing the worst drought in over 300 years
Spain and Portugal in water fight

UK is drying up.
High and dry

Australia, continents away is also facing a severe drought and has been dealing with conditions for months.
Brazil, East Africa and South East Asia all are seeing drought conditions.
Djbouti has asked for Financial aid to deaf ears
DJIBOUTI: No response to funds appeal for desperate drought victims

Keep track here: EarthObservatory

The economic impacts of these droughts are now beginning to show and as we watch droughts in others parts of the world, it makes you wonder, economically how will people survive, food shortages, etc...is this coming soon to an area near you? Being that droughts are beyond our control, what can mankind do? (nothing really I guess, but just help out your fellow man when their hour of need comes )

[edit on 6-8-2005 by worldwatcher]

Excellent info, WW

I think many of us in this world think that the earth will always be there for us. Especially in industrialized countries. And the New World.

We have turned our backs on the traditions passed on from generation to generation that told of cycles in the earth's resources. We've done massive de-forestation to millions of acres throughout Europe and the Americas.

I remember being a kid and seeing all those conserve water adds. Catchy jingle. "Don't waste waterrr!"

It's a big problem. Drinkable water is pitifully low, always has been, but water levels around the world are dropping as you noted. The past two years in the US were very bad, and I suspect this summer will follow that trend.

People really need to think more about what they do in terms of the environment. It may seem like nothing, but down the road odds are it has a number of unexpected side effects.

Meanwhile, there are floods in Western Canada and no doubt other places. The weather and the climate fluctuates. The Rain in Spain will fall Mainly in the Plain Again!

Well I agree that there will be a water shortage, I don't think there's much that can be done about it besides make more water.

Desertification is indeed spreading, and with another decade of heat and increased aptmospheric gasses, we'll probably have a real bad time of it in a lot of places. Add rising waters to the equation, and a good many places become uninhabitable. The good news is that while lakes are disappearing, as are glaciers, they're mostly just going underground. The droughts are the worst part, because we still depend on vegetation for life, even though many of us pipe it through animals first.

I think we need to adopt large scale urban hydroponics, right now, without delay. This will insulate against food shortages and starvation. Fuel cells should be fast-tracked to insure the production of fresh water, and hydrogen resources should be identified and secured before everybody starts scrambling around thirsty in 120 degree heat. Agreed?

Better safe than sorry, as my mum always said.

Thanks to WW for posting this, it's an excellent article. Have faith, mankind can weather the storm, if we use our brains.

Russians and Americans can CREATE rain on an otherwise Sunny day.


What they do is release some kind of crystal into the clouds and poof! it starts raining!

I am not sure where i learned this, and i wish i could find a link... but you are on your own.

I guess, we are not sharing our technology with Spain and Portugal anymore, sorry to hear that. Its only a matter of time before they become a Muslim Nation anyway... and what is a Muslim Nation without a desert?

I'm just kidding, this is horrible, and i wish i could help!

It's been raining a lot here in the southeast US. Very hot and muggy as well. I'd love to share some of this weather with you guys. This thread reminds me of another thread where there seems to be some evidence that the gulf stream flow might be shutting down. Worldwide droughts in some places would make sense. A lot of changing variable weather would also make sense. If I was in control of the weather, I think I would flip a switch and say ok now, make it hot and muggy in Spain and France with storms galore. This thread makes me wonder if there might be some truth to that gulf stream flow slowing/stopping thread. If the gulf stream flow is stopping, expect winters to be colder in Europe.

Found it. www.abovetopsecret.com...

It was unusually cool here in the US until about a week ago. If Europe's weather follows the US, maybe things will return to more normal soon.

sure is green here in west texas

and it ain't suppose to be!

Water will be the new gold of the future I believe.

A little birdie told me that one oil conglomerate is actually starting to make claims to land that has large water reserviors beneath it!

Now imagine what the oil co's would do if they had a monopoly on the world water tables?

Scary isn't it 8|

Cheers

JS

Originally posted by worldwatcher
...Portugal is seeing the worst drought in over 300 years...

and southern California just had the wettest winter in recorded history.

Droughts and floods happen somewhere in the world every year. This year's mix is still within the normal global variance. It's a tragedy for the people involved, but in the long run it all evens out.

Originally posted by dave_54

Originally posted by worldwatcher
...Portugal is seeing the worst drought in over 300 years...

and southern California just had the wettest winter in recorded history.

Really? I thought they came close, within an inch or so . . . Doesn't matter, it is still a LOT of water.

-P

Dave_54 .... I would be very interested indeed in where you get your data concerning this year being within 'normal global variance?"

Really good thread World Watcher!



MischeviouslyWeatherWatching

When I read the word "shortage," I think economics, then I think uh oh, another boondoggle from the hyper upper crust. In the Hegelian problem-reaction-solution process, such announcements although reflecting common occurences as drought, bring vision to GPS water meters clicking away and ripping people off. I see by now they will rename their scheme from the now highly discredited "privatization," to hydrology management and engineering. That of course will mean the same thing, turning your wallet upside down and extracting money, while withdrawing services first of course. I smell Enron for drought, and blood in the water.

[edit on 10-6-2005 by SkipShipman]

So where do you figure the water is going, if there's a shortage? Siphoned off to Mars?

No, the same quantity of water still exists, as it always has. (In fact, the supply is constantly being added to, via volcanic eruptions). Its just a matter of distribution, and the global climate takes care of that. Climate is a very dynamic and variable thing. There are some parts of the world that are chronically short of water (the great deserts), and others where it is constantly wet (coastal Washington/British Columbia comes to mind), and others where they go through cycles of drought (Spain, US/Canadian prairies. Its just the weather, man.

I think it is just all parts of a cycle. Wasnt it in Egypt or something where there is a huge desert now, it used to be green and lush? Here in Missouri the past year has felt like Im in the tropical rain forest. While in Syria (?) there was that snow storm the first week of June. My dad who lives in New Mexico said that people were traveling down to death valley because it was lush and green with beautiful plants and flowers everywhere. All I know is that the earth is constantly changing. That is why it doesnt surprise me at all to hear that the ocean currents are changing. We will just have to wait and see what happ'ns. I read somewhere that that Antarctica used to be in the Indian Ocean where now it is the south pole.
IMO, there have been quite a few quakes on the Mid-Atlantic ridge. So, maybe something has popped up there that is causing that current to slow down.
I know that we want everything to stay the same, but I think this is one of the natural events that controlls the population. For animals, when they get over populated, the get sick and die off. Human population is almost impossible to controll. We can fight almost any kind of illness, and we can keep the death toll from natural disasters down. Nature will find a way to controll our population. Im not saying it will kill us off. That would be horriable. IMO the more environmental stress a human goes through, the less likely they will reproduce in that area. Maybe all areas will go through a drought at somepoint.....kind of natures way of repurifing itself.

[edit on 10-6-2005 by mrsdudara]

So where do you figure the water is going, if there's a shortage? Siphoned off to Mars?

Nope. It`s all coming to Scotland. again!

Eventually though, It`s going to be worth more than oil.

(wonders if there is anyway I can barrel rainwater and sell it to Spain or Portugal or Australia??)

Look you read every word literally people I'm not saying all the water from earth is going to evaporate the way it has on let's say Mars. What I meant by world water shortage is that if you have noticed by reading the articles or keeping up with current events is that there is widespread drought around the world in some places. Granted some of us have excess rainfall, but the what was considered a "normal" dryspell is no longer that. Normal dryspells are extending and expanding to break records not seen in decades. This isn't the end of the world but it is an alarm to world's population to pay attention to our climate.

Global warming doesn't mean it only going to get hot, the effects of global warming is all encompassing and while some areas of the world will continue to dry out, others will be flooded, but in either case, the economic difficulties will soon begin to show themselves as crops fail and potable water becomes scarce.

And yes I agree with those who say that one day water will be worth more than oil.

[edit on 6-10-2005 by worldwatcher]

The problem is not that the water will disappear during a global warming cycle, the problem is that the water will be suspended in greater quantities in the aptmosphere (due to evaporation), which will make the air like soup, and lead to many dry lakes and rivers.

It's not that the water is going anywhere, it's just morphing into a less usable, more harmful form.

I'm sure there are procedures and inventions that will come along to combat the thick air, but it's my humble suggestion that we get started on those inventions as soon as possible.

The prospect of war over water is not that fanciful, and the water shortage crisis facing many is very real.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Two-fifths of the world's people already face serious shortages, and water-borne diseases fill half its hospital beds.

...The world cannot increase its supply of fresh water: all it can do is change the way it uses it.

...Water is not running out: it is simply that there are steadily more of us to share it.

...And water-borne diseases already kill one child every eight seconds, as day follows day.

Climate change will also have an effect on water - just what effect, though, nobody can really say.

Some regions will become drier, some wetter. Deserts may well spread and rivers shrink, but floods will also become more frequent.

If there's to be war over water, the Middle East (again) looks likely to be one of the main flashpoints:

news.bbc.co.uk...

After signing the 1979 peace treaty with Israel, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat said his nation will never go to war again, except to protect its water resources. King Hussein of Jordan identified water as the only reason that might lead him to war with the Jewish state.

Former United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali warned bluntly that the next war in the area will be over water.

...Ariel Sharon went on record saying that the Six Day War started because Syrian engineers were working on diverting part of the water flow away from Israel. "People generally regard 5 June 1967 as the day the Six-day war began,'' he said. "That is the official date. But, in reality, it started two-and-a-half years earlier, on the day Israel decided to act against the diversion of the Jordan.''

It's not impossible to change the water situation. Huge investments in water management are needed worldwide, and so is sane rational negotiation and planning. The main part (and, of course, the hardest part) of the solution is that we need to work together, but to be honest I doubt that'll happen; We've still got a lot more petty things to argue about first. If there is conflict over water, it'll probably be every man for himself.

A while back I was speculating that we may have already seen the first of the wars influenced (in part) by climate change, in Sudan.

Sudan has always been subject to periodic droughts, desertification and conflicts rising from the effects of shortages of water and arable land. For centuries the conflicts were largely settled with dialogue and negotiations, but that has obviously changed. Since the 1970/80's global warming has led to a vast increase in desertification and drought, and along with it the increase in violence.

www.sundayherald.com...

The water and soil resources of the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit became targets for the post-independence Sudanese government, through its Janjaweed surrogates. Unusually severe drought, desertification and over-population on Darfur's plains put the nomadic Arab tribes under severe stress from the early 1980s onwards. While there had always been localised skirmishes with Africans at the height of the dry season, when the Arabs moved their camel and goat herds into the Jebel Marra foothills, there has been a systematic drive since 1985 by the nomads to occupy permanently stretches of African land.

Before 1985 the skirmishes were largely spontaneous and of low intensity, settled by local negotiation. Since then the conflict has grown ever more intense.

"The nomadic scramble into the rich agricultural central heartland is the cause of the continuing conflict," says Dr Mohamed Suliman, a Sudanese academic at the Swiss Institute for Conflict Resolution. "It is the contest of the drought-stricken for the green oasis.

"Whatever the perception of the Darfur conflict, it is one that is being fought primarily over the control of a thriving resource base in the middle of a zone of scarcity. It is a classic ecological conflict."

[edit on 24-8-2005 by kegs]

Cycle Spin

Originally posted by worldwatcher
Spain is facing the worst drought in decades causing the country's government to have ration water supplies.

One of the problems I have with the atmosphere of alarmism surrounding climate change can be found in this statement.

“Worst drought in decades”, “worst flood in centuries”, etc. etc. all have one thing in common: precedent.

Decades ago, apparently, there was a drought as bad as this one. So what does that mean?

It means it used to be just as bad.

If so many major corporate players didn't stand to make so many trillions of dollars off this stuff, I would be less skeptical, I suppose.

But evidence of climatological cycles actually works against the interests of the Alarmism Industry.

At least, that's how it looks from my little corner of the world.