What Happens when We Run Out of Water?

[Keith Bee]

http://www.salon.com/news/env/environment/index.html?story=/mwt/feature/2011/04/10/the_big_thirst_excerpt

It's a long article by Charles Fishman, well worth reading, but I simply couldn't do it justice with a four-paragraph quote. Suffice it to say, we had better add water to the list of That Which We Take For Granted But Really Need To Wake The Fuck UP On!

[Duer 157099]

1. Ask Mars n/t

[Countdown_3_2_1]

2. This planet is TWO THIRDS water! We not going to lose any water.

Desert countries like the Saudis already utilize desalinization plants.
We will not lose our fresh water either.

this is just silly talk.

[Countdown_3_2_1]

3. Read the article. Sorry. I won't give up my flush toilet.

There is no crisis of water. And if there is, we just build a recycling plant and reuse it.

Panic over nothing.

[Keith Bee]

15. And the energy for all those recycling plants

will come from Jesus. Great! Problem solved.

[Countdown_3_2_1]

20. Build a nuke plant. Just as long as its not in an eathquake zone

then we'll be OK.

Bottom line is: What's important to you? If you are greatly afeared of running outa water, then either recycle or desalinate. Not much choice otherwise. But both take energy. Build a power plant or stop yer bitchin.

[Prometheus Bound]

21. We use sea water for our toilets in Hong Kong.

Some of the seafood restaurants apparently use that salt water for their seafood tanks.

[aquart]

6. For a while we'll have too much water in the wrong places.

But aqueducts are a stupid idea of course.

Try this. Uses the rain barrel water 4 times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7jAkwhTq4c

[pscot]

12. Only 25% of China's surface water

is still potable. Another 25% is so toxic it can't even be used for industrial purposes.

[Countdown_3_2_1]

19. Thats their fault. Let China live with their own mess.

China has no environmental protection agencies. Why should I pay the consequences for a country too cheap to protect their own water?

[pscot]

22. Spoken like a true American individualist.

It's a great life, if you don't weaken.

[fatbuckel]

24. Problem is, it does`nt stay in China.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. I've been dehydrating mine and saving the powder in ziploc bags. You can never

be too prepared for things.

[Keith Bee]

16. That's funny

Remember it when your throat is eight times its normal size.

[EmmettKelly]

5. Every 5th grade science fair I've ever been to has at least 20

water cycle projects. Perhaps this guy should visit one.

[theophilus]

8. I hope you paid close attention. n/t

[Ian David]

10. 10 Worst Natural Disasters of 21st Century

<snip>

8. 2003 European heat wave (Death toll: 40,000)

The 2003 European heat wave was one of the hottest summers in Europe, especially in France in recorded history. There were a serious health crises and droughts in many European countries with a death toll reaching almost 40,000. In France almost 14,802 deaths happened because of this heat wave according to the French National Institute of Health. Extensive forest fires occurred in Portugal with almost five per cent of the countryside and ten per cent of the forests being destroyed due to temperatures reaching 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit). In Netherlands, there were about 1,500 heat related deaths with temperature reaching 37.8 degrees Celsius there. A couple of hundreds deaths were reported both in Spain and Germany, where temperatures reached 45.1 and 41 degrees Celsius respectively. In Switzerland, many glaciers were melted in the Alps causing avalanches and flash floods with a new national record of temperature at 41.5 degrees Celsius (106.7 degrees Fahrenheit) recorded in Grono, Graubunden. The United Kingdom’s highest recorded temperature was on 10 August, 2003 with 38.5 degrees Celsius (101.3 degrees Fahrenheit) in Kent and Scotland broke its record of the highest temperature in Greycrook at 32.9 degrees Celsius (91.2 degrees Fahrenheit). Thousands of people died all across the UK as reported by the BBC. There occurred a crop shortfall in Southern Europe due to long droughts with European Union’s total production reduced by 10 per cent. But the heat wave won nine gold and silver medals for Hungarian winemakers in Vinalies 2003 International wine contest as the grapes ripened faster due to dehydration making concentrated juice and hence increasing their alcoholic degree.

<snip>

6. 2010 Russian heat wave (Death toll: 56,000)

The 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer, also known as the 2010 Russian heat wave, had an effect on most parts of the United States, Canada Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Indochina, South Korea, Japan, China, North Africa and generally the whole of the European continent in the months from May till August with June being the fourth consecutive warmest month on record globally. The whole period from April till June was also recorded to be the warmest for land areas in the Northern Hemisphere. This extreme weather caused forest fire in China with a worst drought in 60 years in Yunnan province. Around 56,000 people died all across the mentioned places because of this calamity. The biggest ice shelf detachment in 48 years also took place in the Arctic Ocean which connects Greenland and Nares Strait to the ocean. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the heat waves, droughts and floodings fall within the predictions based on global warming for the 21st century, but some climatologists disagree saying that such weathers would not have occurred had the atmospheric carbon dioxide been kept at pre-industrial levels.

More:
http://www.tiptoptens.com/2011/03/28/10-worst-natural-disasters-of-21st-century/



See also:

Droughts

Well-known historical droughts include:

1900 India killing between 250,000 and 3.25 million.
1921-22 Soviet Union in which over 5 million perished from starvation due to drought
1928-30 northwest China resulting in over 3 million deaths by famine.
1936 and 1941 Sichuan Province China resulting in 5 million and 2.5 million deaths respectively.
As of 2006, states of Australia including South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales, Northern Territory and Queensland had been under drought conditions for five to ten years. The drought is beginning to affect urban area populations for the first time. With the majority of the country underwater restrictions.
In 2006, Sichuan Province China experienced its worst drought in modern times with nearly 8 million people and over 7 million cattle facing water shortages.

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_disaster#Droughts

Billion Dollar U.S. Weather Disasters, 1980–2009
Source: National Climatic Data Center

The U.S. has sustained 90 weather-related disasters during the 1980-2009 period in which overall damages and costs reached or exceeded $1 billion at the time of the event. Seven occurred during 1998 alone—the most for any year on record, though other years have recorded higher damage totals.

Two damage figures are given for events prior to 2002: the first represents actual dollar costs and is not adjusted for inflation. The second (in parentheses) is the dollar cost normalized to 2002 dollars using a GNP inflation/wealth index. The total normalized losses for the 90 events are over $700 billion.

Sources include Storm Data (NCDC publication), the National Weather Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, other U.S. government agencies, individual state emergency management agencies, state and regional climate centers, and insurance industry estimates.

2008
Widespread Drought (entire year 2008); preliminary estimate of over $2.0 billion in damage/costs; no reported deaths.
Hurricane Ike (September 2008); preliminary estimate of over $27.0 billion in damage/costs; 82 deaths reported.
Hurricane Gustav (September 2008); preliminary estimate of at least $5.0 billion in damage/costs; 43 deaths reported.
Hurricane Dolly (July 2008); preliminary estimate of over $1.2 billion in damage/costs; three deaths reported.
US Wildfires (Summer-Fall 2008); preliminary estimate of over $2.0 billion in damage/costs; 16 deaths reported.
Midwest Flood (June 2008); preliminary estimate of over $15 billion in damage/costs; 24 deaths reported.
Midwest/Mid-Atlantic Severe Weather/Tornadoes (June 2008); preliminary estimate of over $1.1 billion in damage/costs; 18 deaths reported.
Midwest/Ohio Valley Severe Weather/Tornadoes (May 2008); preliminary estimate of over $2.4 billion in damage/costs; 13 deaths reported.
Southeast/Midwest Tornadoes (February 2008); preliminary estimate of over $1.0 billion in damage/costs; 57 deaths reported.


2007
Great Plains and Eastern Drought (entire year 2007); preliminary estimate of over $5.0 billion in damage/costs; no reported deaths.
Western Wildfires (Summer-Fall 2007); preliminary estimate of over $1.0 billion in damage/costs; at least 12 deaths.
East/South Severe Weather (April 2007); preliminary estimate of over $1.5 billion in damage/costs; nine deaths reported.


2006
Wildfires (Entire year 2006); preliminary estimate of over $1.0 billion in damage/costs; 28 deaths, including 20 firefighters.
Widespread Drought (Spring-Summer 2006); preliminary estimate of over $6.0 billion in damage/costs; some heat-related deaths, but not beyond typical annual averages.
Northeast Flooding (June 2006); preliminary estimate of over $1.0 billion in damage/costs; at least 20 deaths reported.
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes (April 2006); preliminary estimate of over $1.5 billion in damage/costs; 10 deaths reported.
Midwest/Ohio Valley Tornadoes (April 2006); preliminary estimate of over $1.1 billion in damage/costs; 27 deaths reported.
Severe Storms and Tornadoes (March 2006); preliminary estimate of over $1.0 billion in damage/costs; 10 deaths reported.

More:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0882823.html






"Hey, Mad Max... tell us again how the Ann Coulter said there could never be a shortage of something that "literally falls out of the sky!'"

[Keith Bee]

17. Fifth-graders to save the world

And when you, yourself, reach the fifth grade, you can participate in said salavation. Yay!

[theophilus]

7. Short answer: many of the poor will die. Longer answer: We will have to use their

blood to do our fracturing for NG instead of the millions of gallons of potable water we are ruining now. Oh well.

[Ian David]

9. We can irrigate our crops with Brawndo-- Plants crave it! n/t

[L0oniX]

11. Just wait ...NG fracturing is going to take out NYC.

[Zoeisright]

13. We can make water. It's just too expensive at this point, and dangerous.

Eventually, it will get to the point where the expense is moot. And perhaps we can manage the danger.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/manufacture-water.htm

[bertman]

14. There will be LOTS of sand, so we ostriches will have some place to put our heads.

Plus, there's millions, maybe billions to be made on cleaning up the water in our aquifers that we are so busy filling with nasty man-made ingredients.

One has to think of the possibilities here.

We can just convert all of our tanks and Humvees and helicopters and jets to desalinization plants.

REC.

[Keith Bee]

18. Heh

I think you get it.

[Uncle Joe]

23. Mangling a 1920's song comes to mind.

"Urine the Money."

Thanks for the thread, Keith Bee.