We’re not going dry: A better way to measure water scarcity
Water crises seem to be everywhere. In Flint, the water might kill us. In Syria, the worst drought in hundreds of years is exacerbating civil war. But plenty of dried-out places arent in conflict. For all the hoopla, even California hasnt run out of water.
Theres a lot of water on the planet. Earths total renewable freshwater adds up to about 10 million cubic kilometers. That number is small, less than one percent, compared to all the water in oceans and ice caps, but its also large, something like four trillion Olympic-sized swimming pools. Then again, water isnt available everywhere: across space, there are deserts and swamps; over time, seasons of rain and years of drought.
Also, a water crisis isnt about how much water there is a desert isnt water-stressed if no one is using the water; its just an arid place. A water shortage happens when we want more water than we have in a specific place at a specific time.
So determining whether a given part of the world is water-stressed is complicated. But its also important: we need to manage risk and plan strategically. Is there a good way to measure water availability and, thereby, identify places that could be vulnerable to water shortages?
MORE HERE: http://yonside.com/better-measure-water-scarcity-2/