Our Thirsty Planet

A size comparison of the Aral Sea

CNN is talking about it. National Geographic is talking about it. We figured we needed to start talking about it. Here at GR8/SKN, we try to be environmentally-friendly. We work out of a small office whose carbon footprint is smaller than a mouse's pawprint. Our packaging is "post-consumer," which means that the materials have already been used in one way or another; it's a kind of recycling. But there is a bigger environmental concern currently facing our planet, and, unless you have a 10-foot diameter garden hose and an endless supply of water, the solution to the problem is  not immediately clear. Sure, it's great to grab your canvas bag before heading food-shopping or to bring your own mug for a fill-up at Starbucks, but some climate consequences currently facing us won't be stopped with  reusable containers alone.

NASA has recently warned that the American Southwest and Great Plains regions are in for "mega" droughts within the next century. It doesn't take a fortune-teller to see that this is on the horizon. Water levels in Utah's Lake Powell, one of the country's largest reservoirs, are the lowest they have been in years. Nevada's Lake Mead is suffering a similar fate. Engineers have constructed a subterranean tunnel to maintain the reservoir's connection to its source, the Colorado River.

Water shortages aren't restricted to North America either. The Aral Sea of central Asia, once the world's fourth largest lake, is rapidly shrinking. It's eastern section has completely dried up--for the first time in 600 years. The cause? Most scientists are pointing to decreasing levels in under-ground water tables—thanks to increased drilling practices.

What's being done, you ask? Engineers from around the world are formulating solutions. And for those of us who don't have PhDs in geophysics, try turning off the faucet when brushing your teeth--like Mom told you to do when you were five. Hey, it's a start!