Water Issues

Jump to Last Post 1-4 of 4 discussions (13 posts)
  1. profile image51
    benbootheposted 14 years ago

    In the southwest there is water, most of it is in the clouds that pass over us from West to East. Billions of tons of water floats above us every day. A large percentage of water is under ground. Only a small percentage of our water is in lakes and rivers.

    98% of the Water in the Southwest is not usable, is salty or brackish.  Only 2% is usable.

    We are rapidly approaching the time when there will be more demand for water than there is supply. In BootheGlobalPerspectives there are a number of articles that addres the water shortage and increase in the price and cost of water that is coming.

    We may see a time when water is more expensive than oil. Oil is a convenience, water is necessary for survival. Thus it is one of the essential elements of survival.

    Think about water. It may be the source of wars and conflicts as our world moves forward.

    1. dutchman1951 profile image59
      dutchman1951posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      you are correct it could be the next oil

    2. Evan G Rogers profile image61
      Evan G Rogersposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      This post shows a lack of understanding of human nature and basic economics.

      If demand outstrips supply, then prices will have to up. If prices go up, then people will restrict their demand for water.

      1. kerryg profile image82
        kerrygposted 14 years agoin reply to this

        The question becomes then, how restricted will they be willing to go? The Southwest doesn't physically have enough water to support its current population - they've been shipping it in from Washington and other states for decades, but many of those states are having water problems of their own now. Personally, I think much of the Southwest is likely to become a ghost town in the next 50 years, certainly in the next 100.

        There are things you can do to reduce water stress, such as rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling, and replacing all paved surfaces with permeable ones to allow groundwater to replenish, but I doubt even those would be enough to support the Southwest at its current levels of consumption. Maybe with some really severe water restrictions so people stop trying to have 30 minute showers, clothes washed after every use, private swimming pools, and landscaping straight off an English country manor in a freaking desert...

        1. profile image0
          DoorMattnomoreposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          big_smile

        2. Evan G Rogers profile image61
          Evan G Rogersposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          There doesn't need to be any sort of central planning (not that you claimed there would be) because as prices go up people will make tough decisions.

          1. kerryg profile image82
            kerrygposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Sure, like getting the hell out of Dodge. But where do you propose to move them?

            http://i54.tinypic.com/nphncm.jpg

    3. Ben Evans profile image64
      Ben Evansposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      There is plenty of water.  Water is not captive to the market forces like oil.  Someone can quite literally go to the ocean grab some water and put it on a black metal and let it evaporate and catch it. They have pure water.  A person can also catch rain or get water in many other ways.  Some one does not have to have technology to get water so in many places.........Water will be very inexpensive.

      Water will be available in areas that have a lot of rain. 

      Areas that don't have rain will have higher expenses for water.  In the past many towns formed near bodies of water or rivers because people needed water to survive and run industry.  Technology and aqueducts allowed areas with very little water like the Southwest and dry parts of the world to have water.

      I don't want this to sound callous but for some there will always be cheap water.  In other places it wont.  The solution as you know is that in some places people will have to use less water or pay a higher price.

      In areas where people don't have the means, they will migrate to places where there is water.  I am not writing this to chastise people but I do want to say that water and oil are not a similar commodity.

  2. tony0724 profile image59
    tony0724posted 14 years ago

    I have been saying for years that water will be more valuble then oil for 10 years and everybody looked at me like I had lost my mind. This water shortage is only the start

    1. rebekahELLE profile image85
      rebekahELLEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      for numerous years, it is already a problem in water rich states, where supply and demand are high. water quality is poor in many areas and causes health problems.

      anyone who claims water issues are as simple as supply and demand shows lack of knowledge on the serious water related issues facing our planet.

      do a simple search on global water shortage..

  3. Rod Marsden profile image68
    Rod Marsdenposted 14 years ago

    Lack of forward planning and general world overpopulation will eventually make drinking water more valuable than gold is today.

  4. profile image0
    ryankettposted 14 years ago

    They could build some resevoirs? Just like Nevada?

    I guess that I am lucky to live in the UK then! On a serious note, it is actually really easy to desalinize water.

    The technology is already there, it is already cheap enough, and with water will always be reusable.

    Therefore, nope, water will not be the next oil. Water never dissapears, it never goes anywhere, it just moves around.

    That means that water can never become more scarce, there will always be the same amount, and that is bleedin loads.

    There are actually THREE completely developed sea water purification technologies, all of which are already in use. One is called Reverse Osmosis, another is Electro Dialysis, and the third is Distillation.

    Reverse Osmosis simply involves passing water through a membrane, whilst Distillation is already widely used.

    50% of the drinking water in Saudi Arabia is supplied via a single desalination plant in the city of Al Jubayl. If one plant can provide drinking water for 13.5 million people (approximately 50% of the Saudi population) then it is entirely clear that you are not going to run out of fresh water.

    Unfortunately I think that proves your point wrong, there will not be any fresh water shortage in the US. Oil cannot be replaced, water can.

    1. kerryg profile image82
      kerrygposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      This is what's happening to Nevada's biggest reservoir:

      http://i56.tinypic.com/35d1caq.jpg

      Desalinization plants are definitely an interesting possibility for a place like California that has ocean access. I'm not sure how practical they'll be for more interior regions of the US, though. Bear in mind that we have 11 states that are bigger than your entire country, 31 if you consider only England itself. You can go almost anywhere in England and never be more than 100 miles from the nearest coast. (100 kilometers, even, upon closer inspection of a map.) I live 1000 miles away from the Gulf of Mexico, more than 1200 miles from the Atlantic, more than 1600 from the Pacific. Saudi Arabia is much bigger (several times the size of Texas), but also has no part of the country more than about 300 miles from a gulf or sea. Plus, it has some of the lowest fuel prices in the world.

      My region is only under moderate stress, but less than 200 miles west of me in Western Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, they rely on the Ogallala Aquifer, which is declining by up to 3 feet per year in some areas and may be completely gone within 25 years. This is an aquifer that took millions of years to form, and has only been tapped by humans since 1911.

 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)