[Back to Physical Challenges]
The control and use of water is an increasingly important aspect of the modern world.
Water is the most fundamental of our needs, and the most powerful natural factor shaping our planet. It is important in many different ways.
- Drought
- Flooding
- Provision of fresh water
- Disposal of sewerage and waste
As climate change melts glaciers and alters rainfall patterns, we are seeing droughts and floods affecting ever more people - which means that even more ecosystems are being disrupted, with consequences we cannot predict.
As sea levels rise and fresh water is extracted from aquifers, marginal and low-lying ground becomes affected by salt water. This destroys traditional agriculture, and these areas have been abandoned as a consequence. But we are discovering how to manage the salt water and use perennial halophytes to stablise the land, produce crops and massively increase biodiversity. See 2 Billion Acres of New Farmland for a description of one scheme in Spain.
An interesting perspective on this topic has been published by Psyche: What Does Water Want?
There are no easy solutions which will work everywhere, but there may be many ways to make small improvements.
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