How Climate Change is Affecting Our Worlds Water

since

as long as i can remember i’ve had a

deep connection with the ocean

i grew up in and out of the water seeing

the ocean as one of the most mysterious

captivating and powerful horses in the

world

i quickly got involved with ocean

advocacy at a young age

starting an ocean focused environmental

club at my school

and working with a flurry of ocean

related environmental groups

much of the time when we talk about

climate change we exclusively talk

about how it’s affecting the land from

deforestation

to desertification however the ocean

covers

71 percent of the earth’s surface we are

far more reliant on it and our water

than we like to think

the world’s water systems also connect

us

which brought me to work on ocean

conservation and water issues globally

specifically i’ve had the opportunity to

lead think ocean

a youth global network spanning 15

countries

that works on raising awareness of an

action on

the intersection of climate change in

our ocean

over the years my experiences have

taught me of the magnitude of our

environmental challenges

it’s shown me the issues of plastic

pollution in cameroon the recession of

the glaciers

in the alps in italy the rise of sea

levels in egypt

the cost of air and water pollution in

india and much more

however most of all i found that i had

to

unlearn many of the ways i used to think

about climate change

when first learning about

environmentalism many of us

are told that we have to make individual

choices to protect our planet

recycling taking shorter showers eating

sustainably

however i’ve come to learn that climate

change

and its many facets are not

individualistic

they are systematic therefore we must

critically review our system and social

tendencies that got us to where we are

today

for example when most people hear

climate change

they generally think of an increase in

temperatures and destruction of the

environment

however we need to reframe our

perceptions of this crisis

to instead focus on its human

implications

it could bring widespread economic

fallout

unprecedented mass relocations of people

and threaten global stability today

let’s discuss how our water will be

affected and delve into what makes this

issue

so hard to solve in my time as a youth

ocean advocate

i’ve had i’ve been able to work on water

related issues in egypt and south asia

and their local crises demonstrate the

urgency of today’s challenges

therefore let’s first turn to the rising

seas

in egypt specifically let’s zoom into

alexandria to examine how this issue

poses a threat

to local coastal communities pictured

here

in the above side we can see that much

of the nile river delta

where alexandria is located is at or

below sea level which corresponds to the

colors blue

and light green alexandria is the second

largest city in egypt with highly

populated areas surrounding it

it is both geographically and

socioeconomically vulnerable to the to

rising sea levels

a research paper published in 2015 found

that an increase in just a half meter

in sea levels could inundate most of its

beaches

and without effective adaptation could

displace

about two million people

another half meter could displace more

than six million people

well the sea is rising and it’s

projected that by 2050

there will be a rise in more than a half

meter of water on egyptian coasts

and it’s expected to eventually rise to

a full meter

it’s also projected that egypt’s

national agricultural sector

could be cut in half by 2060 due to

groundwater being contaminated with salt

resulting in a potential destabilization

in regional grain supply

and the economy these challenges

regardless of if we recycle eat

sustainably

turn off the lights when we live the

room are still happening

instead we need large scale structural

changes to prepare

communities for what’s to come and

mitigate future costs

however sea level is not exclusive to

alexandria

and it’s not exclusive to egypt it’s a

global threat

let’s zoom out to see the implications

of this issue across the globe

pictured here is a map showing the 2060

projected populations of people living

in areas

most at risk to sea level rise which are

called low

elevation coastal zones or lecz for

short

currently this is where 10 percent of

the global population lives

sea level rise and its corresponding

effects are highly complex

contingent on environmental political

and socioeconomic factors however

estimates range from anywhere from

88 million to 1.4

billion people who will eventually be

displaced due to sea level rise

therefore inundation could lead to

hundreds of millions of people

forced to move domestically or even seek

asylum internationally

besides the obvious threats that this

will have towards the communities

affected

it could also threaten our global system

however

there are many other ways that climate

change can affect our future

let’s now turn to the issue of water

scarcity which is a very real

and present issue that could be

exacerbated due to the effects of

climate change

let’s zoom in to south asia which is

home to one of the worst

water crises in the world pictured here

the deeper the shade of red the more

severe water stress is being experienced

in that part of the map currently

only 20 percent of pakistan’s population

have access to safe drinking water with

the remaining 80 percent

looted by sewage fertilizer pesticides

or industrial effluents and this

pollution is the culprit for

30 of deaths nationally across pakistan

likewise india is facing severe water

shortages

a 2019 report by researchers out of mit

found that 600 million people for

context

that is nearly twice the size of the

united states

face high to extreme water scarcity

another report by media young projects

that the crisis will only get worse

with national water demand expected to

be double that of available supply by

as the climate continues to change and

it continues to warm

it threatens to eliminate key sources of

water

the indus river basin a vital river

system that both

india and pakistan rely on also

relies on glaciers however these

glaciers are disappearing

causing salt water to creep its way into

the rivers

and the amount of water available to

decrease

further weather patterns have become far

less predictable

and droughts more prolonged threatening

to make their water crisis

only worse yet as with sea level rise

water scarcity is not exclusive to south

asia it’s a global threat

let’s now zoom out to see how this is

affecting the rest of the world

the above map shows the degree of water

stress

expected for each country by 2040 with a

darker shade of red corresponding with

more water stress

currently 2.4 billion people

are living within watersheds that are

experiencing water scarcity

and similar to pakistan and india the

effects of climate change

threaten to exacerbate this shortage

threatening both access to safe drinking

water

as well as the stability of various

industries reliant

on water supply unfortunately the

effects of water scarcity

sea level rise or other issues related

to climate change

will not be distributed equally poorer

communities

and people of color are poised to be the

most

affected climate gentrification is

happening

right now with folks being pushed into

less hospitable areas

and areas more likely to be hit the

hardest by the effects of climate change

let’s now turn to new orleans and see

how the damages from hurricane katrina

demonstrate the environmental racism

present around the world

here are two maps one showing the wealth

disparities

the percent of poverty in each area of

the city which is

signified by shades of blue and one

showing the percent of each part of the

city

that was predominantly black also

signified by the color blue

new orleans has a history of segregation

and this systematic oppression which

contributes

towards keeping communities of color in

poverty also put them at a higher risk

of the effects of climate change

here we see the deaths per ward of the

city

it is startlingly aligned with the

demographic makeup of the city

showing that poor communities and

communities of color

were the hardest hit by the disaster

unfortunately this is a trend that can

be seen elsewhere

from black and brown new yorkers being

hit hardest by hurricane sandy

to minority communities and poorer

communities being

again and again most harshly affected by

natural disasters

those same communities then take longer

to recover

due to higher costs and generally having

less savings

magnifying pre-existing wealth

disparities

now a major question presents itself

if these are the risks and we know the

risks

why aren’t we acting now why aren’t we

making the necessary changes

to prepare for our future well to

preface this

i just want to acknowledge that people

both young and old

are working day in and day out to build

a better future

the biggest obstacle to solving slow

moving crises like climate change

and others is the human tendency of

temporal discounting

we discount the future and prioritize

the present

similarly we discount costs seeing them

as less impactful

or pressing the further on the horizon

they sit

as a student i’m a lot less stressed

about a 30 page paper

assigned a month before it’s due than a

day before stay

this systematic procrastination can give

us a

dangerous sense of complacency however

without acting

right now further costs will accumulate

and could build to an insurmountable

amount

therefore we need to reframe the ways we

think about our decisions

and a great way to reframe our thinking

is through intergenerational action

and elevating the role of young people

in our decision making

young people gen z folks like myself

we will be forced to reckon with the

future being created today

whereas past environmentalists advocated

for future generations

those generations are here now

in the form of today’s youth this is why

the actions of youth organizations

like fridays for future zero hour the

think ocean society extinction rebellion

and many others

are so integral for acting on today’s

crises

youth climate coalitions have mobilized

millions

of people to organize in support of

climate action

protesting for change climate change

is an existential threat to our world

my generation and future generations and

these demonstrations

have helped to reframe the dialogue on

climate change

for example i was able to attend the

2019

u.n climate summit many of the world’s

leaders heads of states

and even leaders of municipalities were

present

their words were comforting but the

summit was only really notable due to

youth such as greta bloomberg

who reprimanded elected representatives

for inaction

this reprimanding which youth activists

by the way have been doing for

years at such events has put pressure on

our leaders

compelling them to take this crisis more

seriously

however every successful environmental

movement

has been intergenerational whether with

advisors

funders co-organizers or participators

even the most youth-led movements

benefit from

working with people of all ages

this focus isn’t just a matter of

narrative either

but it’s a matter of action of making

space

for future leaders it is vital that

members of generation z

are given seats at the decision-making

table and given more opportunities to

get involved

now this does not mean deferring all

responsibility

and decisions to youth this means

building intergenerational coalition

to address problems together

today we only brushed the surface of

climate change

examining only a few facets of this

far-reaching threat

we spoke about the upwards of a billion

people affected by sea level rise

the 2.4 billion people currently

affected by

water scarcity and how climate change

disproportionately affects communities

of color and poorer communities

however it’s important to remember that

much of what we’ve talked about

is not set in stone we do not know

the full extent of what climate change

will bring

however we do know that there will be

costs

and we know that the decisions we make

now

will define the magnitude of tomorrow’s

challenges

regardless of what we’ve discussed today

i consider myself an optimist

i see incredible hope in building a

better future a more just future

and truly tackling these issues together

however we can’t use the same archaic

methods that got us into this mess

moving forward we need to make space for

and empower young voices and the voices

of those that are most

adversely affected by this crisis we

need to face the great challenges ahead

of us

instead of shying away we are living

through the most formidable emergency

this world

has ever seen let’s start acting like it

thank you