More than 100 French towns without drinking water amid 'historic drought'

[Bergslagstroll]

Extreme drought in France just like in other parts of Europe right now. There this is a disaster for many farmers and leaving towns without water.

"More than 100 towns in France have no more drinking water and must receive deliveries by truck, France's ecological transition minister said while visiting the country's southeastern region.

"There are already more than a hundred municipalities in France that today have no more drinking water, and for which supplies are being transported by truck to these municipalities because there is nothing left in the pipes," said Christophe Béchu, while visiting the town of Roumoules.

Multiple European countries are experiencing historic drought conditions amid low precipitation and high temperatures made more likely due to climate change."

Over 100 French towns without drinking water amid 'historic drought'

France's prime minister has created an emergency crisis cell to address the country's "worst ever drought". #EuropeNews

www.euronews.com

 

[Loulit01]

Coming to southwest towns near you.

 

[snakestretcher]

Extreme drought in France just like in other parts of Europe right now. There this is a disaster for many farmers and leaving towns without water.

"More than 100 towns in France have no more drinking water and must receive deliveries by truck, France's ecological transition minister said while visiting the country's southeastern region.

"There are already more than a hundred municipalities in France that today have no more drinking water, and for which supplies are being transported by truck to these municipalities because there is nothing left in the pipes," said Christophe Béchu, while visiting the town of Roumoules.

Multiple European countries are experiencing historic drought conditions amid low precipitation and high temperatures made more likely due to climate change."

Over 100 French towns without drinking water amid 'historic drought'

France's prime minister has created an emergency crisis cell to address the country's "worst ever drought". #EuropeNews

www.euronews.com

Britain has had very little rain for months; reservoir levels are down, rivers are drying up and hosepipe bans are in force in several counties. The extreme temperatures we are seeing are most unusual for a temperate zone, but the sceptics are still telling us there's no global warming, it's just normal climate fluctuation etc.

When it will rain next amid UK drought warning, and the latest Met Office weather forecast

Much of the country already has low river flows, affecting the quality and quantity of water, with impacts on farmers and other water users, as well as wildlife

inews.co.uk

 

[Torus34]

We have a number of uses for water. One of the most important is its use in farming. At day's end we h. sapiens have three basic needs: food, clothing and shelter.

In a number of sections of the world changes in climate are placing the amount of water available for farming in danger. This, in turn, could reduce the amount of food produced. We are profligate with food, wasting a large percent of it.* Reducing food waste can go far to compensate for reduced food supplies. The problem in democratic societies lies in getting people to change their habits.

Regards, stay safe 'n well.

* Ref: https://earth.org/facts-about-food-waste/

 

[MamboDervish]

Extreme drought in France just like in other parts of Europe right now. There this is a disaster for many farmers and leaving towns without water.

"More than 100 towns in France have no more drinking water and must receive deliveries by truck, France's ecological transition minister said while visiting the country's southeastern region.

"There are already more than a hundred municipalities in France that today have no more drinking water, and for which supplies are being transported by truck to these municipalities because there is nothing left in the pipes," said Christophe Béchu, while visiting the town of Roumoules.

Multiple European countries are experiencing historic drought conditions amid low precipitation and high temperatures made more likely due to climate change."

France has, relatively speaking, huge coastlines on the Atlantic and the Med. It's time for inventive entrepreneurs to work on economical desalination designs, and it's long past time for governments around the world - ours included - to fund these desperately needed infrastructure projects.

 

[multivita-man]

Coming to southwest towns near you.

Coming to much of the Western United States, much sooner and affecting a lot more people than we realize at the moment.

 

[multivita-man]

Britain has had very little rain for months; reservoir levels are down, rivers are drying up and hosepipe bans are in force in several counties. The extreme temperatures we are seeing are most unusual for a temperate zone, but the sceptics are still telling us there's no global warming, it's just normal climate fluctuation etc.

When it will rain next amid UK drought warning, and the latest Met Office weather forecast

Much of the country already has low river flows, affecting the quality and quantity of water, with impacts on farmers and other water users, as well as wildlife

inews.co.uk

Climate emergencies will lead to the dissolution of nation-states as we know them.

 

[multivita-man]

France has, relatively speaking, huge coastlines on the Atlantic and the Med. It's time for inventive entrepreneurs to work on economical desalination designs, and it's long past time for governments around the world - ours included - to fund these desperately needed infrastructure projects.

It's also time to radically rethink our economics. An economy that aims for perpetual GDP growth on the assumption of resource abundance is dangerously at odds with the realities of growing resource scarcity.

 

[PirateMk1]

We have a number of uses for water. One of the most important is its use in farming. At day's end we h. sapiens have three basic needs: food, clothing and shelter.

In a number of sections of the world changes in climate are placing the amount of water available for farming in danger. This, in turn, could reduce the amount of food produced. We are profligate with food, wasting a large percent of it.* Reducing food waste can go far to compensate for reduced food supplies. The problem in democratic societies lies in getting people to change their habits.

Regards, stay safe 'n well.

* Ref: https://earth.org/facts-about-food-waste/

A very large portion of that waste is government mandated.

 

[TomFitz]

Climate emergencies will lead to the dissolution of nation-states as we know them.

And the creation of new ones. Along with that attendant wars that accompany such change.

 

[snakestretcher]

And the creation of new ones. Along with that attendant wars that accompany such change.

How water shortages are brewing wars

Unprecedented levels of dam building and water extraction by nations on great rivers are leaving countries further downstream increasingly thirsty, increasing the risk of conflicts.

www.bbc.com

 

[Torus34]

A very large portion of that waste is government mandated.

Hi, PirateMk1.

Thank you for the response. I've no reliable information on the actual percent.

Regards, stay safe 'n well 'n remember the Big 5.

 

[multivita-man]

And the creation of new ones. Along with that attendant wars that accompany such change.

War is going to be the ultimate consequence of all this -- civil war, and wars between states. The Levantine conflict (Syria's war) was as much about water as anything else.

 

[multivita-man]

A very large portion of that waste is government mandated.

Most of it is not. Most of it is overconsumption - more than 40% of food waste, for example, is overconsumption by households, which oh by the way is a source of inflation. I like Costco as much as the next guy, but (not to pick on Costco - it's really a system-wide problem) we waste a tremendous amount of food with the industrialization of our food supply.

 

[PirateMk1]

Most of it is not. Most of it is overconsumption - more than 40% of food waste, for example, is overconsumption by households, which oh by the way is a source of inflation. I like Costco as much as the next guy, but (not to pick on Costco - it's really a system-wide problem) we waste a tremendous amount of food with the industrialization of our food supply.

Where are you getting your numbers? What is considered over consumption? I use Costco too. I buy certain things there in bulk to supply pantry needs and to stock freezers with certain meat cuts that are limited on animals such as pork belly and tenderloin.

 

[MamboDervish]

It's also time to radically rethink our economics. An economy that aims for perpetual GDP growth on the assumption of resource abundance is dangerously at odds with the realities of growing resource scarcity.

I have no argument there, but our GDP growth has nothing to do with France's fresh water shortage - nor, for that matter, even our own western state shortages. Severe and persistent drought, lack of a federal interstate water matrix, and misuse of natural resources are the cause. Nobody needs a lawn in the desert - let alone a ****ing golf course!

 

[multivita-man]

Where are you getting your numbers?

What are the sources of food waste in Europe?

Around one third of the food produced globally is lost or wasted. Food waste represents a substantial loss of other resources such as land, water, energy and labour.

www.eea.europa.eu

What is considered over consumption?

Anything that you buy but don't use. Many times, it's through unintentional underuse. We buy something in a certain quantity, we use most of it by the due date, but a little portion of it expires, and we throw it away. Or we eat 3/4 of a sandwich and decide we're full.

Even if we're not technically wasting it and eating every last bit on our plates, if we're overweight because of our consumption, we're still overconsuming -we're taking more calories for ourselves than what is needed to sustain our basic nutritional needs. And yes, I'm totally guilty of this as well. Not pointing fingers at you or anyone else specifically. This is an 'us' problem, a 'we' problem.

I use Costco too. I buy certain things there in bulk to supply pantry needs and to stock freezers with certain meat cuts that are limited on animals such as pork belly and tenderloin.

I love Costco, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Wegman's, lol. But, the rude awakening is, our system is probably unsustainable. It's going to cause massive ecological collapse unless we take dramatic and immediate action to reverse it.

 

[Eurotrash]

Our reservoir levels are very low here in Portugal, too. It's terrifying.

 

[Paradoxical]

Coming to southwest towns near you.

Must be due to the French using too much oil. They need to go all-electric and solar to stop the drought.

Repent Ye Sinners, for the wrath of the Climate God is upon Ye!

 

[multivita-man]

I have no argument there, but our GDP growth has nothing to do with France's fresh water shortage - nor, for that matter, even our own western state shortages.

It has everything to do with the water crisis. Our water misuse is driven by our overconsumption of land and water resources, premised on the assumption that the water will always be there so we don't need regulation and we can use it however the hell we want. Our economic system has *everything* to do with ecological destruction.

Severe and persistent drought,

Made worse by climate change.

But drought in and of itself isn't the problem - overconsumption of water is. Using Las Vegas as an example, yes, there's historic drought which, depending on the calculus, began about 7-15 years ago. But metro Las Vegas also grew from a town of about a quarter million or so in the 1970s to about 2 1/2 million now, and it has also surged in terms of commercial growth. It's no wonder that Lake Mead is dying. As the US population moved West, water crises began to emerge, in city after city after city. From Lake Mead to Lake Powell to the Colorado River. That's not just a drought, that's also overconsumption. And I've not even touched on the issue of subsidence which threatens to destroy the underground aquifers that literally put food on supermarket shelves and onto our plates. When that happens, all holy hell will break loose.

lack of a federal interstate water matrix, and misuse of natural resources are the cause. Nobody needs a lawn in the desert - let alone a ****ing golf course!

+1000 Agree with this.

 

[PirateMk1]

What are the sources of food waste in Europe?

Around one third of the food produced globally is lost or wasted. Food waste represents a substantial loss of other resources such as land, water, energy and labour.

www.eea.europa.eu

Anything that you buy but don't use. Many times, it's through unintentional underuse. We buy something in a certain quantity, we use most of it by the due date, but a little portion of it expires, and we throw it away. Or we eat 3/4 of a sandwich and decide we're full.

Even if we're not technically wasting it and eating every last bit on our plates, if we're overweight because of our consumption, we're still overconsuming -we're taking more calories for ourselves than what is needed to sustain our basic nutritional needs. And yes, I'm totally guilty of this as well. Not pointing fingers at you or anyone else specifically. This is an 'us' problem, a 'we' problem.



I love Costco, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Wegman's, lol. But, the rude awakening is, our system is probably unsustainable. It's going to cause massive ecological collapse unless we take dramatic and immediate action to reverse it.

I dont agree. Especially with the last.

 

[multivita-man]

I dont agree. Especially with the last.

Well, nature doesn't care whether you agree.

 

[Paradoxical]

It has everything to do with the water crisis. Our water misuse is driven by our overconsumption of land and water resources, premised on the assumption that the water will always be there so we don't need regulation and we can use it however the hell we want. Our economic system has *everything* to do with ecological destruction.



Made worse by climate change.

But drought in and of itself isn't the problem - overconsumption of water is. Using Las Vegas as an example, yes, there's historic drought which, depending on the calculus, began about 7-15 years ago. But metro Las Vegas also grew from a town of about a quarter million or so in the 1970s to about 2 1/2 million now, and it has also surged in terms of commercial growth. It's no wonder that Lake Mead is dying. As the US population moved West, water crises began to emerge, in city after city after city. From Lake Mead to Lake Powell to the Colorado River. That's not just a drought, that's also overconsumption. And I've not even touched on the issue of subsidence which threatens to destroy the underground aquifers that literally put food on supermarket shelves and onto our plates. When that happens, all holy hell will break loose.



+1000 Agree with this.

There are too many people in the world now is the main problem.

 

[Manc Skipper]

Climate emergencies will lead to the dissolution of nation-states as we know them.

Brexit is already doing that in Britain.

As for rain, the local weather station reported zero rain in the month of July. A couple of weeks back I noticed a faint dewy sensation on my skin one evening as the dew fell, but that's not enough for their recording equipment, or the vegetation!

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

France has, relatively speaking, huge coastlines on the Atlantic and the Med. It's time for inventive entrepreneurs to work on economical desalination designs, and it's long past time for governments around the world - ours included - to fund these desperately needed infrastructure projects.

And the push should be on solar powered desalination, by the way, because cogeneration is an idea whose time has come.
Saudi Arabia is the largest producer of desalinated water in the world. In 2011 the volume of water supplied by the country's 27 desalination plants at 17 locations was 3.3 million square meters or
871,767,771 gallons. And that's 2011, so I suspect they may have almost doubled the output more recently.

With a scaleup that large, it makes no sense to portray desalination as a difficult and expensive thing because what's way more expensive is civil and economic collapse due to water scarcity.
And I don't want to hear crying and moaning about the harm from excess salinity in the output.
It's SALT fer chrissakes. Salt has value, salt has usefulness, salt can be dealt with rather easily once it is viewed as a commodity, which it is.