[Cedars]

Originally Posted by freeztar

On the global level, I think there will be far less fresh water available if we continue to see a climate shift with a warming trend (we already are). And as Erasmus pointed out, a warming trend would narrow the growing range for many crops.

I agree about the less fresh water only because of the increase of human demands (via continued population growth) rather than an ill-effect of GW.

[Jet2]

What about simply combine Hydrogen and Oxygen?

[Michaelangelica]

Much of U.S. Could See a Water Shortage
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Oct 26, 2:27 PM (ET)

By BRIAN SKOLOFF

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - An epic drought in Georgia threatens the water supply for millions. Florida doesn't have nearly enough water for its expected population boom. The Great Lakes are shrinking. Upstate New York's reservoirs have dropped to record lows. And in the West, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is melting faster each year.
. . .
"Unfortunately, there's just not going to be any more cheap water," said Randy Brown, Pompano Beach's utilities director.

It's not just America's problem - it's global.

Australia is in the midst of a 30-year dry spell, and population growth in urban centers of sub-Saharan Africa is straining resources. Asia has 60 percent of the world's population, but only about 30 percent of its freshwater.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations network of scientists, said this year that by 2050 up to 2 billion people worldwide could be facing major water shortages.

Excite News - Much of U.S. Could See a Water Shortage

[Michaelangelica]

Elderly man dies 'in fight over garden hosing'

November 01, 2007 06:04am
Article from: AAP

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* Man charged with murder 'after fight over water'
* Victim, 66, reportedly hosed assailant
* Off-duty policeman intervened

A SYDNEY man was killed while hosing down the garden in the front yard of his home, following an alleged argument with a man over water restrictions.

Elderly man dies 'in fight over garden hosing' | NEWS.com.au

[Michaelangelica]

Greener Grass, Less Water
Scientist Measures Land Used by Lawns

April 1, 2006 — Using census data, satellite images, aerial photographs, and computer simulations, a NASA scientist estimated that turf grass is the single-largest irrigated crop in the United States, three times more than corn. Experts say the environmental benefits of lawns' carbon dioxide intake are not enough to offset the impact of water usage.

Greener Grass, Less Water -- Scientist Measures Land Used by Lawns

I haven't watered my lawn in three years.
I always cut it very high and rarely.

I notice it is growing higher under a outdoor table.
Why do you think that is?
It would be getting less sun there.

[Michaelangelica]

Scientists Discover New Way To Make Water

ScienceDaily (Nov. 1, 2007) — In a familiar high-school chemistry demonstration, an instructor first uses electricity to split liquid water into its constituent gases, hydrogen and oxygen. Then, by combining the two gases and igniting them with a spark, the instructor changes the gases back into water with a loud pop.
. . .
. . .

"Most compounds react with either hydrogen or oxygen, but this catalyst reacts with both," Heiden said. "It reacts with hydrogen to form a hydride, and then reacts with oxygen to make water; and it does this in a homogeneous, non-aqueous solvent."

The new catalysts could lead to eventual development of more efficient hydrogen fuel cells, substantially lowering their cost, Heiden said.

Scientists Discover New Way To Make Water

[Michaelangelica]

The Weight of Water
U.S. states face water shortages
Posted at 3:15 PM on 29 Oct 2007
The catastrophic California wildfires got all the press, but it's worth paying attention to an equally intimidating but slower-moving threat: water shortages. From Georgia to Massachusetts, Florida to New York, the Great Lakes to the West, U.S. states are getting thirstier.
In fact, the government predicts that at least 36 states will face challenges from inadequate water supplies within five years, thanks to a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, sprawl, waste, and overuse. "Is it a crisis? If we don't do some decent water planning, it could be,"

The Weight of Water | Grist | News | 29 Oct 2007

[Michaelangelica]

November 5, 2007, 11:18 am
A ‘Hidden Oasis’ in Las Vegas’s Water Waste
. . .
There’s a back to the land movement of sorts around Las Vegas these days, driven by the desert city’s growing realization that the only reason it can exist — the sapphire, but shrinking, expanse of Lake Mead 30 miles away — is not as durable as the Hoover Dam that created the reservoir 70 years ago.

The lake is below half its capacity after years of drought in the Colorado River basin.

So under turf removal programs initiated by the city and regional water agencies, homeowners and businesses have been paid up to $2 a square foot to roll up and cart away lawns and replace them with “xeriscapes,” desert-friendly plantings.

A Hidden Oasis in Las Vegass Water Waste - Dot Earth - Climate Change and Sustainability - New York Times Blog

I rather like my patch of lawn. It's doing its bit for the planet surely?
Many golf courses are using underground, dam or grey water.
I noticed sprinklers on at midday at the golf course last week
I thought 'that's strange I usually water at night to conserve water'. But then I thought Golfers won't be out in the sun at mid-day and greenkeepers go to bed at night so.. .

We have had some good rains in the last week and as I went past the golf course yesterday the greenness of the fairways was so intense -searing my eyeballs with such 'greeness'-a colour you don't often see here of late.

[InfiniteNow]

Cool special I caught on PBS tonight (not sure it was new or not) about Peak water.

Wired Science . Peak Water | PBS

Two of the fastest-growing cities in the United States - Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada - are smack in the middle of the desert. While there's plenty of land to build houses on out there, the same cannot be said of another commodity : water. With hundreds of thousands of new residents moving to those areas every year, scientists are warning that they may soon hit "peak water" - the point where there just isn't enough of the wet stuff to go around.

Massive-scale engineering is the only thing that makes it possible for so many folks to live in such an arid environment in the first place. The Hoover Dam, built on the Colorado River near Las Vegas in the 1930's, created Lake Mead, the nation's largest artificial body of water. The lake now provides water to Arizona, California, Nevada and northern Mexico - but after several recent years of drought, on top of ever-heavier demand, it's seriously depleted.

To keep its taps flowing, Phoenix has come up with a 50-year water management plan. One part of the strategy is conservation. By enforcing strict plumbing codes and restrictions on watering large turf facilities, in addition to providing low-flow toilets to low income households, the city has cut the amount of water each resident uses daily from 267 gallons in the 1980s to 198 gallons today.

But Phoenix isn't just cutting the amount of water it uses; they're also storing gigantic quantities of the stuff in an underground waterbank. Water from the Colorado Riveris pumped through canals and delivery channels into an interconnected set of aquifers lined with sand and gravel, creating a vast subterranean lake. Engineers control the flow in and out of this complex with a system of computer-controlled gates.

It's an exemplary system, but unfortunately it's also an exceptional one. Few other Southwestern cities are so well organized, hydrology-wise. WIRED SCIENCE takes you on a guided tour of Phoenix's water woes - and introduces you to some of the desert-dwelling folks outside the city with even bigger problems. And if that's not disturbing enough, check out Worldwide Water Worries for a look at other areas around the world where serious water shortages are already a dangerous reality.

[Michaelangelica]

Las vegas is PAYING people to rip up their lawns and plantdesert species like peyote
MSSmith
etc.,
SEE NY Times
A Hidden Oasis in Las Vegass Water Waste - Dot Earth - Climate Change and Sustainability - New York Times Blog




From an interesting article with a tiny hard to read -for me (need-new-glasses) font!!
EarthTrends: Feature - Will There Be Enough Water?

Yet another "Doom and Gloom Report"

Climate Change Could Diminish Drinking Water More Than Expected

When saltwater and fresh water meet, they mix in complex ways, depending on the texture of the sand along the coastline.
by Staff Writers
Columbus OH (SPX) Nov 07, 2007
As sea levels rise, coastal communities could lose up to 50 percent more of their fresh water supplies than previously thought, according to a new study from Ohio State University. Hydrologists here have simulated how saltwater will intrude into fresh water aquifers, given the sea level rise predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

A crisis? Good ! another way of making money

The World Water Crisis:
The Earth's Most Precious Resource May Be the 21st Century's Most Lucrative Investment...

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