For generations, we’ve been pumping water out of the ground assuming it would last forever. But, it’s running out. And a new study shows how global “peak water” could be just around the corner. In this episode, we’ll find out WHEN and WHERE peak water is expected to hit.The story Maiya May tells about "peak water" should look familiar to long-time readers of this blog. It looks very much like the story of Peak Oil, the subject of The End of Suburbia. I haven't written about the movie since CNBC explains the problems of suburbia and their possible solutions in 2022 and about Peak Oil outside of the movie since Supply and demand still work for oil in 2016. That's because I replaced The End of Suburbia with Treasures of the Earth: Power, which doesn't talk about Peak Oil at all. Instead, it focuses on climate change and plastic pollution. My students understand those issues better than Peak Oil.
Groundwater depletion is only one of the effects May describes and I list as a result of over-pumping groundwater. So are subsidence, saltwater contamination, contamination from other surface sources, and decreased recharge of surface water from groundwater, which results in loss of riparian (streamside) vegetation, among other undesirable things. That makes this video one of the stories I tell my students. It also means that, if I show it to them, this entry becomes another instance of blogging as professional development.
I close by noting that I had heard that Indonesia was building a new capital city, but I didn't know why until I watched this video — subsidence exacerbated by sea level rise. That means I learned something new, and it's always a good day when that happens.
That's a wrap for today's post. Stay tuned for tomorrow's educational entry, which will be a CityNerd video about drivers and a driving update, since Pearl will pass 70,000 miles today.
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