WATER WHAT IS IT

Renewable Resource (replenish hrs – decades) Cyclical Economic – food, dam energy, tourism 97% salt water

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT

Concern: 2050 – 60 countries H2O scarcity Population and thus demand Removing salt – feasibility (possibility) Environmental/Social/Economic… Water Wars?

Mexico’s Loss

Blue Gold video…

WHERE IS WATER

Groundwater (soil lab connection)

Withdrawing Groundwater Advantages: CAN BE renewable, cheap Disadvantages: CAN BE non-renewable, subsidence from over-pump, pollution from extraction

Subsidence Geomorphology Crops Flooding

Aquifers – ¼ of world’s water Underground caverns and porous layers of sand, gravel, or bedrock through which groundwater flows.

HOW CAN WE RESOLVE

Is converting salty seawater to freshwater the answer Is converting salty seawater to freshwater the answer? Expensive Produces large amounts of salty wastewater that must be disposed of properly Can be detrimental to many marine organisms. Methods include distillation and reverse osmosis.

Story of Stuff? An average desalination facility uses 15,000 kilowatt-hours of power to produce a million gallons of fresh water, researchers from the Pacific Institute said. By contrast, a wastewater reuse plant requires 8,300 kilowatt-hours of power for the same amount of water

Desalination video…

Fracking (Hydraulic Fracturing)

Fracking video…

“Man sure do love to control what nature allows to be uncontrollable” Is building more dams the answer? *Cheap electricity, reduce downstream flooding, and provide year-round water for irrigating cropland, but they also displace people and disrupt aquatic systems. *There are more than 45,000 large dams in the world. *The Colorado River is an example of unsustainable water use. 80% of this water is used for agriculture, and much is lost to seepage and evaporation. “Man sure do love to control what nature allows to be uncontrollable”