🛡️ Water Security is a Matter of International Security
This op-ed was published today in the My Climate Journey community newsletter
For decades scientists have spoken about extreme weather events as the result of climate change. Well, “climate change has arrived,” and water change resulting from a changing climate will come primarily in two forms — drought and flood. Dilapidated water systems only exacerbate the problem.
Some recent examples include:
Floods in Western Europe have claimed almost 200 people with hundreds still missing.
The Western United States is in a historic megadrought and shortage limits loom.
The Great Salt Lake, the largest salt lake in the Western Hemisphere, is shrinking rapidly. It could become one of the larger dust emission sources in North America.
In Tampa, Florida, 600 tons of dead fish washed ashore possibly as a result of the 215 million gallons of leaked polluted wastewater.
An estimated 1 billion marine animals were killed on Canada’s coast from a “Heat dome.”
Water will be at the center of many of the headlines, from rising sea levels, to desertification, to drought and famine. It could get much worse with an estimated ~1 billion climate refugees this decade.
Water is personal for me. I grew up on a lake where I swam, fished, and played ice hockey. The lake suffered from season ending algal blooms during my childhood and rarely freezes over any more. 9 years ago this fall, Hurricane Sandy hit New York and my experience cleaning up in the aftermath led me to founding MakeSpace. Three years ago I took a pledge to never drink a single use plastic water bottle again after having an epiphany when I couldn’t find a water fountain on Google Maps.
Our current water systems were built during an age of water abundance. Accurate measurement and the actual cost of water weren’t a concern as there was plenty. Cities along the Colorado River, like Las Vegas, became an oasis due to inexpensive, abundant water.
Infrastructure that fueled that rapid development has fallen apart. It’s common for cities to lose 30-50% of their water due to leaks. “Every country faces different types of water challenges and will need to prioritize different tasks to achieve sustainable water management, such as treating wastewater, delivering clean drinking water, adopting stronger water management policies and investing in vital infrastructure” — it could only cost 1% of GDP.
Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations (1776) presented the paradox of the low value of exchange of water. But we have since entered the age of water scarcity. If we don’t accurately value and measure our most valuable resource, what will happen as climate change and water change worsen? It’s a harsh reality: Much more life on Earth will die.
Like many of you I am an optimist. Solutionists have to be. I believe we have the power to change the world. So what do we do?
1. Invest and rebuild our water infrastructure. Water is one system and it spans almost every sector: agriculture, infrastructure, marketplaces, microchips, smart cities, etc. Wired Magazine recently called water “the next hot investment.” Every dollar invested in water access and sanitation yields an average $6.80 in returns. ClimateTechVC just featured a column about #watertech’s watershed moment.
2. Demand action from government officials. Bottled water exists because of a failing tap water system. In the US, the EPA has failed to act on drinking water regulation for years. I recommend subscribing to Erin Brockovich’s newsletter and reading Troubled Water by Seth Siegel. Regardless of where you live, start the conversation and demand action with your local politicians about PFAs in drinking water, what corporations in your state pay for water, and resiliency of your local water systems to weather events.
3. Pay the real price of water. Residents of the Western USA in particular will see water restrictions. Shortening your showers isn't going to be enough. Salt Lake City residents paid one of the lowest water rates of major US cities — about half of what New Yorkers paid, a third of what Atlantans paid, and a quarter of San Franciscans. Block pricing is the best mechanism to encourage conservation and to democratize access to water to the poor. This is the opinion of the leading water economist, David Zetland. A higher price is an incentive to reuse water, install water-saving hardware devices, and ensure it is a human right. Israel leads in policy and technology and recycles 90+% of water. The US is at 5-6%.
Water security is a matter of international security [1, 2, 3, 4]. I began a vow of silence on July 1st to raise awareness for the global water crisis. As a spiritual person of the Jewish faith, the rainbow is a reminder of the covenant with G-d that s(he) wouldn’t wipe the face of the “entire” Earth clean ever again. May the memories of those lost in recent events be a blessing, and serve as a reminder that we all have the power to end the climate and water crises. If it turns out that the climate crisis is World War III, then I know that We Can Do It!
Respectfully,
SIR
Samuel Ian Rosen, aka the artist Captain Planet, is the Founder of Tap, MakeSpace, PodSnacks and an angel investor in watertech. He is on a mission to eliminate the single-use plastic water bottle and democratize access to clean water by connecting it to the Internet. He graduated from The University of Virginia and is a nomad currently in Mexico City.