Personal Proactive Solutions to the Water Crisis

Ron Duncan is deeply concerned about water availability in the world, in California and in his hometown of Soquel, near Santa Cruz. It is the most important life and death issue worldwide and in many third world countries, women spend hours each day carrying water jugs – and the water is unsafe and there are no sanitary facilities to prevent disease.


Although the situation in Soquel does not compare to parts of Africa, the situation is dire. Between 1960 and 2000, the US water consumption doubled but the amount of available water stayed the same.


In Haiti, after the earthquake, there was water to drink but no toilets or showers. And cholera broke out as a result.


And in the US, even where there is plenty of cheap, safe water, people don’t drink enough.  In the US, the average person uses 180 gallons of water a day, mostly in the bathroom and toilet. In recent years, toilet tanks have gotten smaller, which has saved much water. There are also now “two-flush” toilets that use more or less water depending on what is being flushed.

Marine Geology, Climate and Sea Level

Guest: Mahlon C. Kennicutt II, PhD (College Station, TX), Professor of Oceanography, Texas A and M University. “The effect of oceans on human life.”

Dr. Kennicutt is a professor of oceanography at Texas A and M University with a specialty in oceans and climate change.

If Earth’s climate warms and the polar ice melts, he says, seal levels could rise and over several decades, they could rise substantially. He believes that greenhouse gases from human activity (cars and factories) are affecting Earth’s thermostat. These pollutants are quickly distributed over the globe and carry trapped energy which tends to melt ice.

Sharon asked if protection of terrestrial fresh water sources (other than polar ice) would be prudent. Dr. Kennicutt noted that rising temperatures would create more climatic extremes, with some areas wetter and some dryer. As is Pakistan, there would be extended droughts followed by violent floods. In wet areas, drought periods would be longer and closer together. So the answer is yes, absolutely. It is also wise to create diversion and runoff channels in dry areas.

There was considerable discussion of air humidity, and both Dr. Kennicutt and Sharon agreed that indoor, climate controlled air is usually too dry. It was noted that drought affects evaporation into the air but that most of the air’s humidity comes from the ocean. The warmer the temperature, the more water will vaporize, thus increasing the humidity.