Climate Change: Water Crisis

 

When Hong Kong people switch on the tap, fresh water comes out.  It's a no-brainer.  In Hong Kong, fresh water is taken for granted not only because it is always available at our finger tips, but also it is priced as if this invaluable resource would last forever.  But it wouldn't.

"Day Zero" has already dawned on some parts of the world.We need to stay vigilant of the intricate connections between climate change, global water crisis and us, such that we, as global citizens and professionals, can do something within our capacities to help.

How do cities cope with their fresh water supply? Singapore is a nation-city who buys water from its neighbor - Malaysia. But Singapore government has kept exploring innovative ways to secure its water future since the day of independence. Why? A few days after independence, the Malaysian Prime Minister said this: "If Singapore doesn't do what I want, I'll switch off the water supply."

80% of Hong Kong water is also imported. Dongjiang, on which Hong Kong relied heavily for supply of fresh water, is also the mother river to seven other Mainland cities, including the populated Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Perhaps Hong Kong can draw resemblance of Singaporean’s situation, think ahead, while we can still expend water quite lavishly.

Singapore is Innovating to Secure its Water Future - Running Dry

Publisher: Thomson Reuters Foundation

Can Sea Water Desalination Save the World?

Publisher: CNBC

Water scarcity is frightening, equally is too much water! Coastal countries/cities are expected to be the hardest hit in the era of rising sea level. In the following video, let's have a look at the innovative ways New York is planning to combat sea level rise:

This is what Sea Level Rise will do to Coastal Cities

Publisher: Verge Science

Global Water Crisis

Speaker: Mariel Vilella, Director of Global Strategy, Zero Waste Europe/Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA)

 
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