The Problem

The world’s fresh water use is nearing the total available. Similarly, the world’s food use is nearing the total available. But the world’s population is still growing. Clearly, this is a disastrous situation in the long run, but for right now, the existing water distribution system and the new high yield crops have delayed the impact of the problem. Let us look at the longer term and try to investigate this problem in a little more depth and look for solutions.

The Evidence

Most of the population of the earth inhabits river basins. Let us first look at normal basin operation, and then explore the problem. Water moves in a basin as follows:

Salty ocean water is blocked from moving inland by the river’s gravity flow and by salt tolerant vegetation such as grasses and cypress and mangrove forests that form in wetlands at the mouth of the river that drains the basin.
Water evaporated from the ocean moves inland in the air.
The air rises and cools, it rains, and forests grow. Respiration from vegetation puts water back into the air and it moves further inland. The excess water flows to the ocean in the river.
If mountains are met, the air rises and cools more and water in the air then precipitates as snow and is stored until summer. Then the snow gradually melts and collects in the river to flow to the ocean.
On the way, water is dispersed in wetlands and purified. Sediments settle out and bacteria break down the pollutants and the water moves back into the river.
Water in the river moves through the Oceanside wetlands and cypress and mangrove forests and on out to the sea.

Man’s impact on a river basin is as follows.

First, man produces greenhouse gasses (carbon dioxide and methane) that collect in the atmosphere. The result is:

Earth’s average temperature increases, so climate zones change, generally moving further north in the northern hemisphere (south in the southern hemisphere). Water then shifts into different basins, unavailable to its former users.
In some zones, the warmer temperature dries the area out, and some of the land becomes unavailable for man’s use especially for farm use.
Glaciers and snowcaps melt and water storage for release in the summer is disrupted. Rivers then dry up in the summer and water for irrigation and domestic use is reduced. Without freshwater flow, saltwater from the ocean penetrates inland and salinates aquifers and coastal wetlands.
Ice shelves near the north and south poles melt making this important source of fish food unavailable.

The permafrost melts, so the frozen vegetation decays, generating carbon dioxide and methane resulting in a further increase in earth’s average temperature. This can, under some circumstances, result in runaway warming where the climate warms without human carbon dioxide input.

Sea level rises and inundates valuable coastal areas used for farming and other purposes.
Reefs and the fish that they support begin to die off because the ocean temperature increases.

Second, too much water is removed for irrigation and city use and is replaced with wastewater. The result is:

The oxygen level in the river goes down and the water becomes unsuitable for fish, irrigation, and humans.

Third, fertilizer and industrial wastes are produced and contaminate the rivers. The result is:

The intensive agriculture used to feed the current population depends on heavy use of fertilizer made from natural gas with a by-product of carbon dioxide-a greenhouse gas.
Fertilizer contaminates the rivers, stimulates algae and bacteria growth, and when they die, they use up oxygen and the river becomes unsuitable for use by fish or man.
If industrial waste is dumped into the river, bacteria cannot break it down (it is foreign to the bacteria), and fish and humans cannot digest it, and it is often poisonous to both, so the river becomes dead.

Fourth, wetlands are removed for farmland and development. The result is:

Sediments are not settled out.
Bacteria that normally operate in the wetlands are unable to break down the pollutants in the water, so pollution is passed on.
Floods that normally fan out and become absorbed by wetlands are passed through full force. Thus floods are higher and more common.

Fifth, inland forests are cut for wood and agricultural land. The result is:

Lack of respiration from forests keeps water from moving inland and providing inland rain and mountain snow.
Soil, normally held by forests, starts to erode and pass into the rivers.

Sixth, coastal wetland plants, cypress forests and mangrove forests are cut and flooded. The result is:

Ocean salt water moves inland and makes the coastal zone useless for agriculture.
Fish hatching areas in these coastal wetlands are eliminated and so fish populations are reduced.

Is Action Required?

The simple answer is yes. Examples exist of every negative man made problem given above. The result has been a gradual deterioration of the earth’s environment until we face the following future.

We are running out of fresh water.
We are running out of land to grow food on.
We are changing our climate in a way that will reduce the earth’s habitability for humans.

This deterioration is not happening everywhere or at simultaneously or with the same intensity. However, such important areas as the Nile river basin, the Yellow river basin, the Colorado river basin, The Mississippi river basin, the Volga river basin, the Amazon river basin, the Ganges river basin and others provide enough examples of this deterioration to prove this point. Yet it is possible to stop and even reverse this deterioration if we are willing to do so, and relieve the pressure on the resources while usage reforms are made.

The Solution

What can be done to reverse this deterioration? The following steps must be taken to reverse this negative trend.

First, we must reduce the carbon dioxide and methane content of the atmosphere. Many have assumed that this step is impossible, but it is quite feasible. Carbon dioxide can be sequestered deep in the rock formations of the continents and deep in the ocean. This requires energy that does not generate more carbon dioxide, and special sequestering equipment. Two methods have been proposed to accomplish this goal:

Use energy from deep thermal wells to sequester carbon dioxide in rock formations around the wells. A prototype is under construction now.
Vessels operating on the oceans can harvest energy from wind, waves and sun and then use it to freeze carbon dioxide and sink it to the bottom of the deep ocean beneath the thermo cline. A prototype is under construction now.

More details on these methods are given in the AP1.1 AIR POLLUTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE.

Second, we must reduce the amount of the fresh water supplies we use, and the pollution we add to these supplies. To do this, we must recycle our water, clean the water we replace in the river, and take from the ground only the water that is replaced each season. This can be done for industry with filtration and reverse osmosis techniques, but carbon free energy is required (see AP1.2 ENERGY SCARCITY AND NEW OPTIONS). For farms, drip irrigation and organic farming must gradually replace conventional farming techniques. Since these techniques are not as cheap and efficient as current intensive agriculture techniques, not enough food will be produced, so gene alteration must be used to reduce the amount of fertilizer and insecticide required and still maintain yield. Also high-rise, multilevel hydroponics methods can be used to replace lost crops without using more land and water. Finally, ocean based agriculture and water desalination can be used to replace lost crops and water supplies (see AP2.4 ENERGY, WATER AND FOOD AND THE AQUATER OCEAN TRADE NETWORK).

Third, we must allow wetland and grassland to regenerate. This means that high-rise, land-based; multilevel hydroponics agriculture and ocean-based agriculture (see AP2.4) should be used to replace the land lost to these areas.

Fourth, we must limit logging to the level that will allow forests to regenerate.

Fifth, we must change the way we obtain fertilizer. Currently, this is done by making ammonia from natural gas with a byproduct of carbon dioxide. This can be done in the future by use of electricity from ocean vessels (SEMAN) that generate the energy from wind, waves and sun on the ocean (see AP2.4).

It is estimated that a 15% to 20% reduction in land and water usage and a new fertilizer production system would enable the world to support its population while these reforms are being accomplished to achieve these goals. AP2.4 indicates how this can be accomplished.

Timing and Overall Construction Capability

Achieving these goals is not a trivial task. It will require a partial restructuring of society. Currently, city and suburb dwellers live a separate life from farmers and the sea is primarily used to harvest wild fish. The change recommended above, requires a new mix of responsibilities. The sea is used to harvest energy, desalinate water, grow food, and make fertilizer, while city and suburb dwellers do some farming in high-rise hydroponics developments. Ocean vessels (SEMAN) that harvest energy, grow food, and desalinate water (see AP2.4) along with an ocean trade network are being developed for this purpose. These ocean vessels can be rapidly built, and are profitable immediately upon launch.

Conclusions

Man is facing a gradual deterioration of the earth’s environment until we face the following future.

We are running out of fresh water.
We are running out of land to grow food on.
We are changing our climate in a way that will reduce the earth’s habitability for humans.

This deterioration is not happening everywhere or at the same time or with the same intensity. However, the deterioration of such areas as the Nile basin, the Yellow river basin, the Colorado river basin, the Mississippi river basin, the Volga river basin, the Amazon river basin, the Ganges river basin and others provide enough examples of this deterioration to prove this point. Yet it is possible to stop and even reverse this deterioration if we are willing to do so.

In order to reverse this deterioration, we must:

Reduce the carbon dioxide and methane content of the atmosphere by reducing fossil fuel use and sequestering part of the existing amount in rock formations and the deep ocean (see Aquater paper ap1 Air Pollution and Climate Change).
Reduce by 15% to 20%the amount of fresh water we use to the level that nature replaces automatically by recycling and desalination.
Allow the wetlands and grasslands to regenerate by buying the critical ones back and allowing them to refill.
Limit logging to the level that allows our forests to regenerate.
Use high-rise farming techniques and ocean-based agriculture to replace 15% to 20% of the products currently obtained from farmlands recycled into forests, grasslands and wetlands.
Use ocean-based vessels to work out a new type of life for about 10% of the population that can give us a good life by using the vessel as a home to colonize the ocean and relieve the congestion currently existing on the land. Such a life will be based on the ability to harvest energy from the ocean, sell it on the land and also use it to give us food and water on the ocean. (See AP2.4).

Note

The prototype SEMAN is about 90% complete. To see progress on the prototype, click on “SEMAN Prototype Update” on the home page of this site.
To donate to help complete this prototype, click “Add To Cart” on the home page.