NonA Weekly: THIRSTY

Image by Blake Shelton.

Hi there!

Today, more than 700 million people around the world drink water from unsafe or untreated sources, such as wells, springs and surface water. Climate change is likely to worsen the situation by making water less available in some locations and by changing the amounts and timing when water is available.
Also related to climate change, drylands cover more than 40% of the Earth’s total land surface and are home to more than 2 billion people. Their biodiversity plays an important role in the global fight against climate change, poverty and desertification.
Our research goes on, this time tackling the issues related to water shortage and drylands.

1. WATER SCARCITY IS A GROWING PROBLEM

Determining whether a region has sufficient water to satisfy the needs of people who live there is a complicated and imperfect process. The HUFFPOST research team has developed a new approach to measure water scarcity by using satellites hundreds of miles in space.

2. DRYLANDS

According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), drylands are defined as “areas where the potential amount of WATER that is transferred from the land to the atmosphere is at least 1.5 times greater than the mean precipitation: a calculation known as the aridity index. They are defined by water scarcity and characterized by seasonal climatic extremes and unpredictable rainfall patterns”.

3. ARE WE RUNNING OUT OF CLEAN WATER? 

Despite water covering 71% of the planet’s surface, more than half the world’s population endures extreme water SCARCITY for at least one month a year. Current estimates predict that by 2040, up to 20 more countries could be experiencing water shortages. These statistics raise a startling question: is the Earth running out of clean water? Balsher Singh Sidhu takes a closer look at water consumption in his TED Talk.

4. WE NEED TO TRACK THE WORLD’S WATER LIKE WE TRACK THE WEATHER 

We need a global weather service for water, says entrepreneur and TED Fellow Sonaar Luthra. In a talk about environmental accountability, Luthra shows how we could forecast water SHORTAGES and risks with a global data collection effort – just like we monitor the movement of storms – and better listen to what the earth is telling us.

5. WATER CRISIS – TOWARDS A WAY TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION 

The World Water Vision Report highlights that “there is a water crisis today. But the crisis is not about having too little water to satisfy our needs. It is a crisis of MANAGING water so badly that billions of people – and the environment – suffer badly.”

6. 18 SURPRISING PROJECTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF WATER 

While the future is difficult to predict, available freshwater resources will certainly decrease in the coming years due to the increasing demand of a growing world population. Many areas of the world that are already experiencing a shortage of water resources will see their water issues worsen, causing hardships for millions. HERE are 18 projections that attempt to predict the future of the world’s water supply.

7. DESERTIFICATION, EXPLAINED 

As global temperatures rise and the human population expands, more of the planet is vulnerable to DESERTIFICATION, the permanent degradation of land that was once arable. Humans are driving the transformation of drylands into desert on an unprecedented scale around the world, with serious consequences. But there are solutions.

8. DRYLANDS RESILIENCE INITIATIVE: DIGITAL TOOLS FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN DESIGN IN ARID AND SEMI-ARID URBAN CENTERS

The Drylands Resilience Initiative goal was to test a tool that should enable engineers and architects to make more thoughtful decisions on the integration of STORMWATER capture and reuse in their projects. This aligns perfectly with the Bureau of Engineering’s goal of making Los Angeles the most livable city in the world through the use of sustainable design practices

9. 5 WAYS CLIMATE CHANGE WILL AFFECT YOU

Whether it’s a liquid, solid, or gas, water is vital to our PLANET. We depend on it for drinking and for sustaining our crops and animals, and countless species rely on freshwater ecosystems to live. As the climate changes, so will the freshwater and saltwater resources that form the foundations of our communities and economies. And as the climate changes, so will—so must—our relationship to water.

Stay creative and see you all next week!
Daniela

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