In 2020, climate change activism was very much in vogue - but water is not always a part of the conversation
Approximately two thirds of the world is affected by water shortages at least one month a year. Yet 95% of farmland is irrigated with the least efficient method; simply flooding the fields.
As water becomes more scarce, we will realise that it is a precious commodity, not a disposable, infinite resource. If we don’t take decisive personal and political action now, water shortage will be the defining existential challenge of the 21st century.
In 2020, climate change activism was very much in vogue - but water is not always a part of the conversation. Governments and corporations are setting their ‘carbon-neutral’ goals. School children globally have taken to the streets in protest. Red meat is becoming taboo. But who are our water activists? When will we see water-neutral declarations from the agriculture industry? Where are our G20 water conventions?
Climate change and water scarcity are inextricably linked. As temperatures rise, evaporation increases which leads to further temperature rise. This causes droughts, floods, hurricanes and the expansion of arid land. We cannot focus on climate change without remedying what is perhaps it’s most pressing effect: water scarcity.
continue reading
