This video was made in collaboration with the National Center for Science Education.
The Central Valley of California is one of the United States’ breadbaskets, or, more
accurately, “produce” baskets. For folks who live here, common-sense water conservation
is second nature. Linda, an agricultural laborer, has lived here all her life, and she carefully
teaches her children to be conscious of their water usage. They use shorter showers and
are careful with their tooth-brushing routines. They know to give their unfinished drinking
water to the house plants, and the family yard outside reflects an awareness of California’s
increasingly dry climate: it’s an appealing rock garden, lined with cacti and succulents.
Yet the surrounding tomato and almond farms where Linda has worked for the last 15 years
are thirsty industries. During the last several decades, as California has experienced an
extended drought, the Central Valley has been forced to rely on groundwater, steadily drawing
down the level of the water in the underlying aquifer. The drawdown has been so extreme,
in fact, that the land above the aquifer is noticeably sinking.
Climate change is expected to make freshwater scarcity worse, both in the water-stressed
Central Valley and around the world. Because when greenhouse gases accumulate and the atmosphere
warms, the water cycle changes. With the rise of global temperatures comes the accelerated
melting of sea ice and glaciers, which returns water that’s been locked up for thousands
of years back into the dynamic water cycle. Warmer temperatures lead both to greater evaporation
of that newly introduced water and an atmosphere that can hold more of that water as vapor.
Because water vapor is a potent greenhouse gas, increased evaporation leads to increased
warming, and so on: a phenomenon known as a positive feedback loop. And ultimately,
as evaporation increases, so too does water scarcity. On the other hand, increased amounts
of atmospheric water vapor and heat energy can also combine to fuel events like hurricanes.
It may seem counterintuitive, but big storms can actually intensify water scarcity. When
too much water arrives all at once, much of it will simply run off leaving aquifers unreplenished.
On top of all of that, a big hurricane can also cause extensive infrastructure damage
and contamination that further worsens water scarcity.
These global scale phenomena have local consequences. In California’s Central Valley, residents
like Linda have seen firsthand how sustained drought has pitted individuals against industry
in the struggle for a finite and critical resource – water. The Central Valley grows
the bulk of California’s produce and accounts for an estimated 12% of overall agricultural
production in the US. When the industry began to develop, California’s climate was much
wetter. Through years of drought, however, the Central Valley has sustained its agriculture
by drawing heavily on its aquifers and reservoirs But, this diminishing water reserve is increasingly
contaminated with agricultural byproducts like nitrate and arsenic, which concentrate
into a potent concoction as the water level drops. Linda is well aware that her well-water
is undrinkable. Even showering in the water gives her youngest daughter, Sara, a rash,
and she currently relies on donations of potable water from a local non-profit. But that water
never seems to be enough, which is one of the reasons she teaches her children to be
so careful with water. And Linda and her family are not alone; California’s current Governor
estimates that 1 million Californians have unsafe drinking water. But this is just the
beginning. Scientists expect climate change to exacerbate California’s droughts along
with its fire seasons, which means it’s likely that the state’s water woes will
only get worse.
But California isn’t alone in experiencing water scarcity. The Amazon rainforest has
experienced unprecedented droughts in the last few years and the fires that roared through
the system in 2019 are indicative of that dryness. The Amazon is important for many
reasons — biodiversity, carbon storage, and culture — but the sheer volume of the
forest and its component trees means that it drives its own weather system. About half
of the rainwater that falls on the Amazon is generated from transpiration by the trees
themselves. Recent research has shown that large, mature trees withstand dry conditions
better than the shorter agricultural vegetation that often replaces it following deforestation.
However, when exposed to sustained drought, even big trees die. Because trees play such
an important role in the local water cycle, their loss is expected to fundamentally transform
the Amazon ecosystem, with jungle eventually transforming into savannah. And the more trees
lost, the worse the drought, which in turn stresses and kills more trees. It’s another
positive feedback loop. And unfortunately, there is also a third loop: when the bodies
of the dead trees are decomposed, stored carbon is released back to the atmosphere, strengthening
the greenhouse effect and further driving climate change.
This problem isn’t limited to the Central Valley and Amazon rainforest, however. Approximately
70% of the world’s population faces water scarcity at least one month a year, with 500
million people — about 6% of the population — exposed to severe water scarcity all year
round. Most often this scarcity is exacerbated by poor distribution, management, and political
practices more so than by an overall global shortage of freshwater. Humans have become
larger consumers of water as our population has boomed over the last several decades,
but consumption is not equitable. The agricultural industry is responsible for consuming almost
70% of the world's freshwater, with large corporations that enjoy political and economic
clout consuming heavily, as in the case of the produce companies who employ Linda in
the California Central Valley. There Linda and her community suffer the consequences
of environmental and water mismanagement, while the agricultural industry continues
to drain local aquifers.
But there are alternatives to our current practices: water-efficient solutions such
as improved irrigation, cover cropping, and agroforestry can help reduce agriculture's
drain on freshwater. In addition, to protect the limited amount of freshwat
er we do have access to, we must regulate water pollution and improve wastewater treatment.
all the while employing water recycling techniques with proper filtration and purification to
conserve as much water as possible.
Addressing freshwater scarcity globally – much like addressing climate change – however,
requires a multifaceted approach. And because the two issues are intricately connected,
addressing freshwater scarcity will require a concerted effort to mitigate climate change.
With just 2 degrees Celsius of warming it’s estimated that 40% of the global population
might be exposed to extreme water scarcity. Climate change solutions then, like combining
strategies to sequester carbon with those to reduce emissions, are water scarcity solutions.
These strategies, though, must require systemic socio-economic change to address the increasing
demand for freshwater. They must tackle the problem at its source with policies to protect
the rights of the people from industrial overuse.
Water scarcity is a recurring reality for the majority of the world’s population,
and as climate change alters the water cycle and exacerbates extreme weather, it’s likely
that more people will suffer. Without transformative action, the water-saving techniques that Linda
uses today will become the new normal for more and more people worldwide. For Linda
and especially for her daughter, Sara, water shortages and contaminated water are all they
know. Yet, there are ways forward. Addressing climate change and alleviating water scarcity
will require immense political action, as will assuring that their consequences do not
fall disproportionately on those who are most vulnerable. But for such a vital resource
as water, the effort will be well worth it.
Hey everyone, Charlie here. If you've been watching Our Changing Climate for a while
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to patreon.com/ourchangingclimate and become an OCC patron. The script for this video was
written by Annie, a graduate student research fellow at the National Center for Science
Education. She did an amazing job and it was a lot of fun to work with her. Thanks for
watching and I’ll see you next time!