WATER

by David Nuttle

Water shortages are becoming a problem as demands for water increase due to greater populations and needs for crop irrigation to grow more food crops. Of all water 97 percent is in the oceans, seas, glaciers, soil, and air. Only 03 percent is fresh water available for crop irrigation, industry, and domestic use. Currently, 70 percent is for irrigation, 20 percent for industry, and 10 percent for domestic use. The water cycle is: evaporation, condensation, & precipitation causing runoff and infiltration.

Actions being taken to increase fresh water supplies include the following:

a) Desalinization.

b) Protection and recycling.

c) Basin management with terracing, grass waterways, and holding ponds/ lakes.

d) Pollution controls and elimination.

e) Sharing agreements.

f) Demand management.

g) Planting of trees and capture of rainwater.

h) Recharging of underground reservoirs to replace water taken.

i) Pit trapping of rainwater using French Rex burrowing rabbits or acres of dug mini-pits.

The 11 nations developing tree shelter belts for counter-desertification are increasing rainfall, improving carbon sequestration to slow water loss from global warming, & acting to create micro-climates the greatly improve desert crop production on desert lands (1/3rd of all land). Innovative development of desert water resources to support subsurface drip-type irrigation is used to grow trees in hot, dry deserts. Some clay particles & biochar, inoculated with cultured soil microbes, makes sands productive. The biochar soil microbes also provide all the needed nutrients for trees on a long-term basis. Cash crops, such as jojoba & Myrrh are grown on desert lands to help pay for the above efforts.

Exotic means of collecting water from air and the PRC (China) is developing an edible crop, Fa Cai, that collects the water it needs to grow from humidity in the night sky over hot desert lands. Improvements and cost reduction is being made to desalinization techniques to remove salt from sea water to create fresh water. Innovation continues to help provide all the additional fresh water needed.

Innovation and human creativity has often acted to save mankind from disasters!!