Streams, Rivers & Oceans

 "A drop in the ocean". Rain droplets fall from the sky, nourish the earth & fill the rivers & ultimately the seas. Each small droplet is important. 

Lack of rain is a huge worldwide problem. At least 1.5 billion people have been directly affected by drought this century, and the economic cost over roughly that time has been estimated at $124bn (£89bn). 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/17/the-next-pandemic-drought-is-a-hidden-global-crisis-un-says

We are in a climate crisis. Weather patterns have changed & become far more volatile. The current, (excuse the pun), concern relates to AMOC - the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation - Commonly known as the Gulf Stream. New evidence says that it has been losing stability & may potentially collapse at any time.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210805115420.htm

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/atlantic-ocean-current-tipping-point-b1897600.html 

If this happens the consequences will be severe. 

So each drop of rain & where is falls is important to human existence & the health of the planet. Yet we, knowingly, interfere with the natural patterns. Countries build dams on rivers, regardless of the detrimental effect this has on other countries downstream. Industrialisation has had a huge damaging impact on climate change. https://scialert.net/fulltext/?doi=jest.2016.301.316

 

It isn't scaremongering to suggest Water Wars. 

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jan/08/water-wars-early-warning-tool-uses-climate-data-to-predict-conflict-hotspots  

Acess to water is not universal. Acess to clean water is even less available worldwide. People need water for hydration, washing, cooking... If there is no water for irrigation, crops fail & there is famine. Desperate, disadvantaged people take desperate measures. 

So the next time you admire a  green & fertile landscape, think how fortunate you are. The next time you complain about the rain, think how millions of people watch the sky desperately hoping to see clouds. 

Every drop is important, but now some of us are getting far more drops, for longer, than is normal, with the resulting floods. At the same time desertification is creeping like a dust cloud over many parts of the world. 

We in Europe flush our loos with clean pure water. How bonkers is that!?