Glaciers & Global Warming

“If our sacred glacier cannot survive, how can we?”

-          Jia Son, a Tibetan farmer who lives in a village where a catastrophe is unfolding in China’s mountainous Yunnan Province

In Asia, the ice and snow from glaciers that feeds into rivers is the main source of freshwater for 2 billion people in more than 12 countries , which nearly ONE THIRD OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION.

The Tibetan Plateau is more vulnerable to climate change than anywhere else in the world. This is due to the rare combination of high altitudes and low latitudes.

The majority of these glaciers are shedding more ice than they are adding. To be exact 95% of the 680 glaciers that Chinese scientists monitor closely are demonstrating this behavior.

There are many devastating side effects which include:

Too much water…

·         Surging meltwater has carried away topsoil and has also caused more frequent flooding and landslides

·         Thousands of glacial lakes formed, which are unstable

Too little water…

·         Plunge in food production

·         Widespread migration

·         Possible conflicts between Asian powers

There are some responses to the threats of climate change:

Ø  Artificial Glaciers: simple stone embankments that trap and freeze glacial melt in the fall for use in the early spring growing season

Ø  Remote monitoring system: gauges when glacial lakes are in danger of bursting & has the technology to drain them

Ø  Building reservoirs: China aims to build 59 reservoris to capture and save glacial runoff



Radical Changes Must Be Made

A question that many people unaffected by the water crisis may be thinking is “Why should I care about water?”

This video may help answer that question:

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/about-freshwater-initiative/?source=freshwater_module_whycarewater

There are solutions to the water crisis, so why is the problem not being solved? Why are things getting worse instead of better?

Answer: There are significant political and economic barriers, but another major impediment is values. Self-interest is leading to collective ruin.

"The only hope for effective conservation of  resources like water is a change in human values or ideas of morality.” 

~ Barbara Kingsolver

 Kitra Cahana, National Geographic Magazine

Nevada, USA, 2009

Shaped like a water drop, this 17-foot-tall steel “meditation space” was made by Kate Raudenbush for Nevada’s annual Burning Man event. Her goal is “to bring awareness to the element of water on our planet and its vital importance to our evolutionary balance.”

Feasible but not Affordable--Failing Governments Prevent Access to Water

This is an interesting excerpt from National Geographic's article "The Burden of Thirst:"

Water is most expensive to provide for those least able to afford it.

The best that can be done in some villages is to put in a well near the river. The water is no closer, but at least it is reliable, easier to extract, and more likely to be clean. However, many villages do not have wells because it requires geological know-how and expensive heavy machinery.

"People who live in slums and rural areas with no access to drinking water are the same people who don't have access to politicians."

- Paul Faeth, president of Global Water Challenge

Photograph by Amit Dave, Reuters

This is a picture taken in India of a vast well in the village of Natwargadh, Gujarat. In this drought-prone western state, yearly monsoon rains can total less than eight inches, and summer temperatures have topped 115°F.

Problems for Women In Developing Countries

Why do the women fetch the water?

The reputation of a woman rests on hard work. If boys older than seven or eight fetch water, people gossip that the woman is lazy. 

What that time could be used for instead...
The time that  millions of women and children spend hauling water could be used to grow more food, raise more animals, and even start businesses. Girls would be freed from water slavery which would allow them to go to school and choose a better life.

To this end, NGOs are working to bring clean water to forgotten places, using technology, like a sand dam to capture rainwater in Ethiopia.

To learn more about sand dams, check out the video using the link below.
http://www.thewaterchannel.tv/index.php?option=com_hwdvideoshare&task=viewvideo&Itemid=4&video_id=231

Lynn Johnson, National Geographic Magazine

Kenya 2009

Tribal Gabra women in northern Kenya may need five hours a day to lug jerry cans laden with murky water across the desert.

Behind the Scenes: The Concept of Virtual Water

Virtual water is a term used to describe all of the water used to create a product.

Here are some numbers to consider:

·         1,857 gallons of water are used to produce one pound of beef.

·         37 gallons (enough to fill the average bathtub ) are used to produce a cup of coffee

·         2,900 gallons are used to producea pair of jeans

To find out more about how much water is used to create the things you use and consume on a daily basis, click on the link below. You can see the details of all of the steps that require water in order to create a product. You can also compare products with one another to see which one requires less water. http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/embedded-water/# 

You probably had no idea how much water was used to make the foods you eat every day. The diagram from National Geographic illustrates the water that we unknowingly consume.

If you ever wondered the benefits of being vegetarian, here’s one for you:

Where the Thirst Is

Water: It’s a resource we all need, but also resource with an ever-increasing demand that Mother Nature can't match in many regions of the world. Less than 1% of all water on Earth exists in drinkable, freshwater form that is not locked in ice. Combine that fact with population growth of 83 million more people on this planet every year, and you get a recipe for thirst.

The map below illustrates the varying degrees of stress in the world today with pink being the most stressed.