Can the earth run out of water?
Came across this article. I don’t think we CAN run out of water. There may be drought in some places, but other places are flooding. There may not be access to clean drinking water, but that’s not the same as “running out.”
Can we run out of water the same way we will be running out of fossil fuels?
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No, because water is a stable end product. Fossil fuels are burned and energy released by breaking the molecular bonds. (One of the by-products of burning fossil fuels is water vapor). That doesn’t happen with water.
It’s been a while since I took Chemistry, and there are many people on here up to date. It takes a lot of energy to break water apart into hydrogen and oxygen.
There are whole areas that don’t have clean safe drinkable water at a cheap cost. That’s the problem, not the supply. We know how to desalt water, but it’s not cheap.
Keep in mind that some fossil products can be recycled.
Even so, we’re still going to run out, because most of it is not recycled.
No. Potable water, yes. All water, wherever found, is contaminated with pharmaceuticals.
@kritiper All water, wherever found? That’s a bit of a stretch. Pharmaceuticals aren’t mixed in with rainfall (yes, I know other stuff is) and rainfall through clear skies isn’t polluted with acids or other stuff.
Yes, pharmaceutical pollution is a widespread problem. But blanket statements like that are why people turn a deaf ear to discussing the problem.
@zenvelo Please don’t shoot the messenger! This statement I made was based on very reliable scientific information that I heard several years ago and all I was doing was repeating what I had heard. The report also stated that this contamination might be causing sperm counts in all species to be diminishing to the possible future point where all males of every species could be rendered sterile.
I suppose rain water would be an exception. But rain, while being water, is probably considered condensation rather than water and possibly therefore not mentioned as a water source. (An assumption on my part.)
I know we are having a hard time here in Texas because we are draining the Aquifers (such as the Ogallala and Edwards) that provide the water for drinking, agriculture, etc.This water was put in place between 2 and 4 million years ago and all the while trying to bring in more people to live and work in the state because that is what defines progress.
As I understand it, the recharge rate is drastically lower than the rate we are removing water. So, at least on an aquifer by aquifer basis, I suppose we will run out of water on the level that most of us care about and that is “do you have something to drink or grow crops with”.
San Antonio is trying to install a desalination plant to be able to use other, deeper water to provide for their population and I would surmise that most of the other big Texas cities have similar plans for the future.
@kritiper You’re not making a lot of sense there. What about ice in Antractica? No pharmaceuticals there. What about lakes in the High Sierra? No pharmaceuticals there. Pharmaceuticals are prevalent downstream from wastewater processing and in groundwater in some areas, not “everywhere.”
I suppose the deep ice is also an exception. The high Sierra lakes might not be as pure as you think. Any spring fed lake, creek, stream, river, etc. is polluted. If I go camping and take water from a high mountain spring, it is contaminated. The problem is throughout the Earth’s entire moving water systems, if I understood the report correctly. And I am 100% sure I understood correctly.
@kritiper Then the report is wrong. Link the report or else quit referring to it.
Yes, high mountain waters are contaminated and need filtration, but not by pharmaceuticals. They are contaminated by giardia, a microscopic parasite transmitted by animal droppings. And upstream spring fed lakes are not polluted by groundwater contamination. Pollution doesn’t move up hill.
@zenvelo I suppose if some woman who is on birth control goes hiking to those lofty High Sierras. takes a piss along the shore and it at some point gets washed into the lake isn’t contributing to the contamination the report mentioned? If I had the report at this late stage I would link to it. Suffice it to say it was from a noted news authority, whether it was a national news syndicate, Newsweek, Time, “The Week,” or just some cable news network. To withhold the report, however old or whatever the source, isn’t doing anyone any good. If you don’t believe it, disregard it.
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