Our Drinking Water: Is the Earth Drying Up?
We all know that if there is no water on the earth, it will cease to exist. Without them, all living things including us humans would not be able to survive. In the past, water was a highly renewable resource through a reliable water cycle. The water evaporates into the atmosphere, condenses into clouds, and then falls as rain, covering 3/4 of the surface of the earth, such as oceans, rivers, glaciers, etc. Over 4.5 million millennia have passed since the birth of the earth, and the water cycle has not failed us. So far, that’s it.
The specter of climate change, a burgeoning world population and record increases in demand for water from industry and agriculture have thrown the water cycle out of balance. There is growing concern in the scientific and environmental communities that the planet may soon be depleted.
The Earth’s temperature has been rising steadily since World War II. Increased heat causes more water to evaporate, which is then converted to more water vapor, leading to increased rainfall and flooding. Because the planet is hotter, glaciers are like giants.
The Aletsch Glacier in Switzerland, which provides water to millions of people in Central Europe, continues to melt and lose about 2% of its mass every year. This instability threatens everyone and everything that needs water to survive, as only a fraction of the fresh water available on Earth.
A whopping 96.5% of the water on Earth is the undrinkable salty water found in our oceans. The remaining 3.5% is fresh water, which is stored in the form of ice and snow in the poles, glaciers and various mountains around the world. Meltwater from glaciers helps replenish rivers and aquifers. But we also waste these freshwater catchments because many rivers now flow directly into the ocean because they are dammed or turned into large water highways to support industry and transportation.
Scientists around the world are now using technology to delve into ancient water management techniques and history to find solutions to the looming water scarcity crisis. For example, scientists can now fly large electromagnetic-wave sensing antennas over areas to locate fresh water underground. Even the Mediterranean seafloor off the coast of Malta is currently being scanned using similar techniques to uncover previously unknown freshwater deposits on the seafloor, as reported in Antiquity.
Malta in particular has hardly any natural water sources and is currently being desalinated for consumption. However, they continue to study their ancient water management system, including a vast network of cisterns, and how they can help solve today’s water problems. Peru is following suit, successfully restoring the Amunas, a 1,400-year-old Inca technique for diverting rainwater or excess water to pre-selected areas so it can seep back into the ground in large areas.
Although we are on the verge of running out of water, there is hope, especially if the entire international community works together. We all need to act and adapt to how we use and conserve water, to be creative in our use of technology, and to look to nature and the past for solutions.
Directed by: Hannes Schuler
