Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
“There's a fi nite amount of water on planet Earth, and
it's unequally distributed,” says Mumme. He notes that in the
United States—and to some extent Mexico—planning, property laws,
and development have encouraged people to move to arid parts of
the country. “So we're getting more claims on the water in this region
just at the time when Mother Nature isn't cooperating. Whether
that's due to systemic human-induced climate change or other pro-
cesses independent of human beings is immaterial,” says Mumme.
“The fact is there is less water with much higher demand on it.”
The 30th Parallel Conundrum
The U.S. Southwest, with its confl icts over the Colorado and Rio
Grande rivers, is a typical example of how parties worldwide fi ght
over a limited resource. Often, countries that face confl icts over
water are mid-latitude nations located at about the 30th parallel
above or below the equator. That includes the United States (espe-
cially the Southwest and Southeast), Spain, Morocco, southern parts
of Europe, northern parts of Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, Iraq,
Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, China, Australia, and northern Mexico.
“These areas already are or will be impacted generally by cli-
mate changes that create water shortages, because they are already
short of water,” says Hightower.
COUNTRIES MAKE UP SHORTFALLS
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Because the water table in the Mediterranean Basin has dropped,
Barcelona, Spain, imports water from France to satiate its thirst,
and not in bottled form, either.
Turkey has made a business of exporting water. One of its big
customers is Israel, where it's a water-for-arms deal.
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Economic development, population growth, and climate change
exacerbate the confl icts. “The other kicker in the equation is that
not only do these nations need more water to develop, they need
more energy—and that takes more water, too,” Hightower adds.
