Water policies suffer sinking feeling
Rising populations, improving lifestyles and changes to the global climate are all increasing the pressure on the planet’s water resources, says conservation expert Brian Richter. In this week’s Green Room, he explains why there is an urgent need for the world to embrace new ways in which it uses water.
More than one billion people lack access to safe, clean drinking water and more than half of the hospital beds in the world are occupied by people afflicted with water-borne diseases.
More than 800 million are malnourished, primarily because there isn’t enough water to grow their food.
Fish and other freshwater species are among the most imperiled on the planet, in large part because of the ways that we have polluted and exploited their habitats.
The theme of this year’s World Water Week, currently underway in Stockholm, is therefore quite fitting: Responding to Global Changes: Accessing Water for the Common Good.
What global changes, you might ask? Let us start with our global population, expected to rise from nearly seven billion to nine billion in just a few decades. That is why more than half the world’s population will be living in areas of high water stress by 2030.
At the same time, in populous nations such as China and India, improvements in living standards and personal incomes are linked to greater consumption of clothing, meat, and water.
It takes 140 litres of water to produce one cup of coffee; 3,000 litres to make a hamburger; and 8,000 litres to create a pair of leather shoes. All of these processes require a vast amount of water to grow crops, feed cows, or produce leather.
On top of that, climate change will bring less rain to many regions, and cause it to evaporate more quickly almost everywhere.
Accordingly, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that “the proportion of the planet in extreme drought at any time will likely increase”.
These are the nightmares that keep me awake at night.
Just the tonic
These global forecasts wouldn’t look so daunting if we were doing a great job of managing water today. But over-extraction of water for farms and cities is already causing even large rivers such as the Yellow, the Ganges and the Rio Grande to repeatedly run completely dry.
Remarkably, we also continue to foul our preciously scarce water supplies with too much human waste. More than 200 million tonnes of it each year go directly into our rivers and lakes without treatment.
So yes, the challenges we face are vast, but there’s something brewing in Stockholm that is helping me sleep a little better.
While most governments have proven themselves incapable or unwilling to manage water sustainably, a group of non-governmental and professional water organisations is stepping up to lead the way.
You may have heard of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) that certifies sustainably-harvested wood products, or the Fair Trade movement for consumer products, yet no such scheme yet exists for water.
At World Water Week, a group of leading business, social development and conservation organisations will gather as the “Alliance for Water Stewardship” to advance a new voluntary global water certification program that will recognize and reward responsible corporations, farming operations, cities, and other water users for their sustainable use of water resources. …
Segue su
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8205132.stm
Unanimous agreement among scientists: Earth to suffer major loss in species
The thylacine, the dodo, the great auk, the passenger pigeon, the golden toad: these species have become symbols of extinction. But they are only the tip of the recent extinction crisis, and according to a survey of 583 conservation scientists, they are only the beginning. In a new survey in Conservation Biology, 99.5 percent of conservation scientists said a serious loss in biodiversity was either ‘likely’, ‘very likely’, or ‘virtually certain’. The prediction of a significant loss of species is not surprising—scientists have been warning for decades that if global society continues with business as usual the world will suffer from mass extinction—what is perhaps surprising is the practically unanimous expectation that a global biodiversity decline will occur.
“Understanding the degree of consensus within the scientific community will help policy makers to interpret scientific advice, improving the likelihood of successful of conservation initiatives,” said study author Murray Rudd with the University of York. “The extremely high level of consensus demonstrated by these results underlines the urgency of preventing further damage to the natural world.”
In addition, nearly 80 percent of respondents agreed that it was ‘virtually certain’ that human activities were accelerating species loss. Deforestation, habitat loss, climate change, pollution, overexploitation for food or medicine, disease, and invasive species are among a few of the big drivers of biodiversity decline worldwide.
According to the survey, tropical coral reefs are the most likely to see extinctions. Eighty-eight percent of respondents familiar with coral reefs—the most biodiverse marine ecosystems on Earth—predicted that a serious loss was ‘very likely’ or ‘virtually certain’. While coral reefs are suffering from pollution and overfishing, perhaps the most drastic impact is the ongoing rise of greenhouse gas emissions. Ocean acidification from rising carbon levels hurts a coral reef’s ability to calcify, imperiling the ecosystem. In addition, rising sea temperatures and sea levels due to climate can cause coral bleaching, which has devastated whole reef systems.
Around half of the researcher (50.3 percent) would like to see criteria laid out for ‘conservation triage’. Conservation triage is a controversial idea whereby conservation priorities—much like triage in an emergency room—would be more strictly determined given limited funds and resources. The idea, however, portends that some species would be allowed to go extinct without conservation-efforts because their situation would be perceived as too dire to ‘waste’ resources.
According to the IUCN Red List, over 19,000 species are currently classified as Vulnerable, Endangered, and Critically Endangered. However the Red List has only had the capacity to date to analyze around 3 percent of the world’s known species. Even more alarming no one knows just how many species inhabit Earth with estimates ranging from 3 million to 100 million (currently almost 2 million have been described).
CITATION: Rudd. M. Scientists’ Opinions on the Global Status and Management of Biological Diversity. Conservation Biology, Wiley-Blackwell, DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01772.x
Read more: http://news.mongabay.com/2011/1108-hance_survey_extinction.html#ixzz1zGHWT98l
The Facts On Global Warming: Do You Know the Truth?
It is important to know the true facts about global warming. Because it is not a small or localized environmental problem, it is going to require international cooperation as well as personal change from all of us to stop global warming. In fact, it may be the largest challenge humanity faces in the twenty-first century. Unfortunately, it has also become a highly politicized issue.
You need to especially carefully about the information concerning global warming– you can learn which facts are accepted by the scientific community and which are created by ill-informed or political sources.
Global Warming:
A Fact or Myth?
It is a fact, not a theory. Global warming is a measurable process that is already underway. Temperature changes, alterations in rainfall patterns, and an increased frequency of storms are occurring and being measured around the world as we speak. The evidence against global warming is not convincing in light of the effects we are witnessing already.
Warming is destroying ecosystems worldwide that you and other people depend on, according to a highly detailed new study conducted by scientists at the Goddard Space Institute. The study found a trend of change all over planet Earth, including the “timing of plant flowering, bird nesting, ice melting, salmon migration and pollen release; declines in populations of polar bears, krill and penguins; and increased growth of Siberian pines and cool-water ocean plankton.”[1] This extensive study adds to the already voluminous evidence that global warming is real!
A Scary Figure:
150,000 Dead Every Year
Global warming has changed precipitation patterns around the world, disrupting traditional agricultural practices that you and the rest of the world depend on to live. The area of land on the Earth suffering from drought conditions has doubled since 1970.[2] Insurance costs in the coastal areas of the United States have escalated dramatically. These are the effects you can see already, and climate change is only beginning to make itself felt.
Climate-related deaths will double in 25 years according to a 2005 report from the World Health Organization. Climate change is already tied to 150,000 deaths globally every single year.[3] These deaths are caused by more frequent heat waves and droughts, as well as by floods and more powerful storms linked to climate change. Global warming has increased deaths in urban areas as heat waves have exacerbated the effects of smog and related respiratory problems.
We Cause The Problem
The basic global warming facts are well understood. Human activities are pumping increasing amounts of carbon dioxide, methane, and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The elevated concentration of these gases is raising the temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere, thereby warming the surface of the Earth. This process has been repeatedly demonstrated in laboratory experiments and is now being measured on the Earth as a whole.
Interesting Effects on Weather
Global warming does not mean a universal and uniform warming of planet Earth, nor does it mean the end of highly unpredictable weather patterns. However, weather patterns are the result of an enormously complex process, and the effects of global warming on this process could be horrific.
There is a lot of uncertainty about how the different “feedbacks” operate, given the complexity of global weather systems. There is concern that global warming could cause changes in massive ocean currents like the Gulf Stream, which is part of a global system referred to as the oceanic “conveyor” because it propels enormous volumes of heat around the world.[4] If this happened, it would cause huge changes in global weather patterns.
The consequences will be enormous no matter which systems are disrupted first. Scientists are unsure about which systems in the world’s climate — tropical currents versus polar currents, or events on land versus in the ocean — cause or trigger changes in other systems. Even though you may live in a relatively stable climate, at some point the ecosystem you live in is greatly affected by climates around the world.
Is Uncertainty a Cause for Doubt?
Briefly, the answer is no. While we will never comprehend all there is to be known about such a vast and interdependent system, the larger trends are clear. You should use these uncertainties as a springboard for action, not a rationalization for further, unnecessary debate.
We Must Act Soon
The most alarming danger is that once warming reaches a certain level, it could cause global climate and weather patterns to shift quickly and dangerously. We now have a fairly detailed understanding of the Earth’s climate from the last 600,000 years and more. In the past, the climate has not changed slowly, nor has it changed in a linear, incremental fashion.
Abrupt changes dramatically alter life on Earth. Sudden shifts in temperature or ocean currents result when a certain amount of pressure to change is put in place. Ocean currents like the Gulf Stream that distribute heat and moisture around the world have historically changed course in a matter of a few years, or even a few months.[5] The historical record has shown us the devastation this sort of change can wreak on entire ecosystems.
Runaway Global Warming:
A Scientific Possibility
There is a chance we may trigger a runaway warming effect that would amplify itself uncontrollably. The most likely source of such runaway warming is the arctic tundra. In the polar regions, there are great expanses of tundra that have remained frozen year round for tens of thousands of years. These ice-locked fields contain enormous stores of organic matter. If these areas thaw, the decay of that organic matter will accelerate, releasing stored carbon and methane.[6] That could create a powerful positive feedback loop catalyzing further warming.
It could mean and end of life as we know it. Runaway warming could produce an Earth like the one that existed in the age of the dinosaurs: a steamy planet with sea levels hundreds of feet higher than they are now.
Figures on Carbon Dioxide Levels
The scary fact is that we are seeing changes faster than any of the climate models had predicted, and that the rate of accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is accelerating. Before the industrial revolution started pouring carbon dioxide into our atmosphere, the level of carbon in the air was about 275 parts per million (ppm). The average rate of carbon increase in the atmosphere from 1960 to 2005 was 1.4 ppm per year. But over the decade from 1995 to 2005, the average increase was 1.9 ppm per year,[7] and in 2007 the increase leapt to 2.14 ppm.[8] Carbon is accumulating in our atmosphere ever more quickly.
Figures on Growth in Methane Levels
In 2007, levels rose much faster than in previous years.[9] Although there is much less methane than CO2 in the atmosphere, methane is by far the more potent greenhouse gas per unit volume. Scientists are worried that this spike in methane levels may indicate that global warming is escalating the release of methane from the arctic tundra. This could be part of a positive feedback loop that will lead to further warming, as mentioned earlier.
In spite of all the attention global warming has been getting lately, we are headed rather decisively in the wrong direction. That is why you have to act, and act now!
Sources:
[1] Marris, Emma, “Warming world altering thousands of natural systems: Analysis shows effects of climate change on almost 30,000 biological and physical phenomena,” Nature News, 14 May 2008
[3] Eilperin, Juliet, “Climate Shift Tied To 150,000 Fatalities Most Victims Are Poor, Study Says,” Washington Post, 17 November 2005, p. A20, also published in Nature, Volume 438, Number 7066, p. 257-394
[2] Brown, Lester, Plan B 2.0; Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble, Norton, NY NY, 2006, p.63
[4] Pearce, Fred, With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate Change, Beacon Press, Boston, 2007
[5] Pearce, Fred, With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate Change, Beacon Press, Boston, 2007; Speth, James Gustave, Red Sky at Morning; America and the Crisis of the Global Environment, Yale University Press, New Haven, 2004, p.60
[6] Pearce, Fred, With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate Change, Beacon Press, Boston, 2007, p.74-85
[7] Connor, Steve, “Carbon dioxide rate is at highest level for 650,000 years,” The Independent, 3 February 2007
[8] Adam, David, “World Carbon Dioxide Levels Highest for 650,000 Years, Says US Report,” The Guardian, 13 May 2008
[9] Greenhouse Gases, Carbon Dioxide and Methane, Rise Sharply in 2007, ScienceDaily, Thursday 24 April 2008
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