Officials talk about changes needed to prevent a global water crisis (Kat McCullough/MNS)
Washington – “We need an Al Gore for water.” This was the consensus of several attendees at the Water Summit hosted by The Atlantic today at the National Press Club. In preparation for the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December, the focus today shifted from global warming to another environmental problem quietly making an impact on both developing and industrialized nations. Water industry leaders and government officials spoke and debated about how to stop a global water crisis.
“Access to clean water rivals climate change as a top environmental concern, but with far less public awareness,” said Anne Castle, Assistant Secretary for Water and Science for the Department of the Interior.
“Here’s the equation that we’re dealing with. On the demand side we’ve got increased population, we’ve most likely got increased water needs for domestic energy production whether it’s conventional or alternative energy, and we’ve got increased recognition of the need for water for sustainable ecosystems,” Castle said. “On the supply side, we have decreased supply and increased variability and volatility caused by climate change.”
“You simply cannot balance that equation without water conservation and demand reduction. The good news about conservation is that it works. And I can tell you today that the U.S. is actually using less water than it did during the peak years around 1980.”
Castle said that the last water census was in 1978 and stressed the need for the new census.
“A water census is intended to give us a standard way for understanding water availability,” she said. “A new water census will also asses the opportunities for hydropower, which is an important vehicle of maintaining energy independence and addressing alternative energy and energy security issues.”
Castle added that the water census would provide a baseline from which the impacts of climate change on the water supply could be measured.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allotted one billion dollars to Castle’s department. She explained that 135 million dollars would be going to 27 projects throughout the country for development of water recycling, reclamation and reuse projects.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin followed Castle and explained the other ways a water shortage would hurt the country.
“The global water crisis is a threat to stability and the global economy. And to our nation’s security,” Durbin said.
“A while back Goldman-Sachs held a meeting to assess the top five risks facing the world economy,” Durbin said. “Resource scarcity, including competition for water, food and energy were at the top of the list. Fortune magazine has predicted that the global water crisis will be as serious a threat in the 21st century as the oil crisis in the 20th century, potentially leading to warfare.”
Durbin spoke of the passion of his predecessor, the late Paul Simon, had for water conservation and concluded by quoting the Senator.
“Political leadership on water issues as in every other field tends to be short-sighted, but on water, short-sightedness could be cataclysmic. It is no exaggeration to say that the conflict between humanities’ growing thirst and projected supply of useable, potable water will result in the most devastating natural disaster since history has been accurately recorded, unless something happens to stop it.”