Synonyms
Aquifer; Hydrologic cycle; Thermal Inertia; Waterborne Diseases; Watershed
Water is life. Without water there is no life for humans or the countless organisms on which human life and health depend. Eating, drinking, bathing, cleaning, cooking, recreating, public health, and even many religious practices all require clean water. In addition to their everyday need for freshwater, 10% of the world’s population depends on fisheries for their livelihoods, and 4.3 billion people are reliant on fish for 15% of their animal protein intake (IOI 2014).
The oceans hold 97% of the earth’s water. Of the remaining 3%, most freshwater is locked up in ice or underground in deep aquifers. The readily accessible freshwater supporting human life comprises only a tiny fraction, about 0.3% of all water on earth (Liu et al. 2011). Of this limited supply, 70–80% supports agriculture. The future status and protection of this tiny fraction of the earth’s water will ultimately determine whether or not...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Antonelli M, Tamea S (2015) Food-water security and virtual water trade in the Middle East and North Africa. Int J Water Resour Dev 31(3):326–342. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2015.1030496
Browdie B (2019, Jan 16) Cape Town delayed day zero but South Africa’s water woes aren’t over, Durban. Reuters/Online. https://qz.com/africa/1525526/cape-towns-day-zero-water-shortage-fear-spreads-in-south-africa/
Climate Science Special Report (2017) Fourth national climate assessment, vol I. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC
Cooley H, Donnelly K (2014) Chapter 4: Hydraulic fracturing and water resources: what do we know and need to know? In: World water data, vol 8. Pacific Institute. https://www.worldwater.org/water-data/
Flavelle C (2018, Sept 26) How to adapt to the end of the world. Researchers are thinking about social collapse and how to prepare for it. Bloomberg News
Francis J, Vavrus S (2015) Evidence for a wavier jet stream in response to rapid Arctic warming. Environ Res Lett. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/1/014005
Gallo N (2019) Ocean deoxygenation. Ocean scientists for informed policy. Scripps Institution of Oceanography. https://www.oceanscientists.org/index.php/topics/ocean-deoxygenation
Gammon K (2019, Feb 8) From paradise to landfill: beloved California beach covered in trash. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/08/seal-beach-california-trash-litter
Gleick P, Palaniappan M (2010, Jun 22) Peak water: conceptual and practical limits to freshwater withdrawal and use. PNAS 107(25):11155–11162
Haines A, Ebi K (2019) The imperative for climate action to protect health. N Engl J Med 380:263–273. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra1807873
Harvey H, Orvis R, Rissman J (2018) Designing climate solutions: a policy guide for low-carbon energy. Island Press
Insurance Information Institute (III) (2017) Facts + Statistics: Global Catastrophes. https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-global-catastrophes
International Ocean Institute (IOI) (2014, Feb) Role of fisheries and aquaculture in food security of the Mediterranean countries. Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean. PDF 9 pgs
IPCC (2018) Summary for policymakers. In: Masson-Delmotte V, Zhai P, Pörtner H-O, Roberts D, Skea J, Shukla PR, Pirani A, Moufouma-Okia W, Péan C, Pidcock R, Connors S, Matthews JBR, Chen Y, Zhou X, Gomis MI, Lonnoy E, Tignor MM, Waterfield T (eds) Global warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty. World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, 32 pp
Klein N (2008) The shock syndrome: the rise of disaster capitalism. Picador Press
Konkel L (2016) Salting the earth: the environmental impact of oil and gas wastewater spills. Environ Health Perspect. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.124-A230. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5132645/
Lepore B, Gómez JA (2018, Sept 26) Drinking water: status of DOD efforts to address drinking water contaminants used in firefighting foam. Testimony to GAO. PDf 17 pgs
Liu J, Dorjderem A, Fu J et al (2011) Water ethics and water resource management. Ethics and climate change in Asia and the pacific (ECCAP) project, working group report. UNESCO, Bangkok. PDF 84 pg. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000192256
Luo T, Maddocks A, Iceland C et al (2015, Mar 5) World’s 15 countries with the most people exposed to river floods. World Resources Institute https://www.wri.org/blog/2015/03/world-s-15-countries-most-people-exposed-river-floods
Lustgarten A (2012, June 21) Injection wells: the poison beneath us. Pro Publica. https://www.propublica.org/article/injection-wells-the-poison-beneath-us
Lustgarten A (2013, Jan 25) Message from Mexico: U.S. is polluting water it may someday need to drink. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/message-from-mexico-u.s.-is-polluting-water-it-may-someday-need-to-drink
Mateo-Sagasta J, Zadeh SM, Turral H (2017) Water pollution from agriculture: a global review. Executive summary. FAO and IWMI. PDF 35 pgs
Nordqvist P, Krampe F (2018, Sept) Climate change and violent conflict: sparse evidence from South Asia and South East Asia. SIPRI Insights on Peace and Security No. 2018/4
Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (2019, Jan) Report on effects of a changing climate to the Department of Defense (DOD). https://partner-mco-archive.s3.amazonaws.com/client_files/1547826612.pdf
Oni T, Yudkin JS, Fonn S et al (2019) Global public health starts at home: upstream approaches to global health training. Lancet Glob Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30558-8. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(18)30558-8/fulltext
People’s Health Movement (PHM) (2017, Dec) Chapter C1. Climate change, environmental degradation and health: confronting the realities. Global Health Watch 5. PDF. https://phmovement.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/C1.pdf
Pham, Alida Production Manager (2018, Jan) Scaling up for impact: water security partnerships for people, growth and the environment. 2030 Water Resources Group Annual Report 2017. PDF 124 pgs
Prashad V (2019, Feb 5) Disaster capitalism in Brazil: mining greed produces a horrific death toll. Common Dreams. https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/02/05/disaster-capitalism-brazil-mining-greed-produces-horrific-death-toll
Ricke K, Drouet L, Caldeira K, Tavoni M (2018) Country-level social cost of carbon. Nat Clim Chang (8):895–900. PDF. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0282-y
Ritchie H, Reay D, Higgins P (2018) Beyond calories: a holistic assessment of the global food system. Front Sustain Food Syst 2:57. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2018.00057
Ritter K (2018, Mar 7) Sao Paulo heading to another dry spell. Circle of Blue. https://www.circleofblue.org/2018/water-climate/drought/sao-paulo-heading-to-another-dry-spell/
Roegner A, Brena B, Gonzalez-Sapienza G, Puschner B (2014) Microcystins in potable surface waters: toxic effects and removal strategies. J Appl Toxicol 34:441–457. https://doi.org/10.1002/jat.2920
Roegner A, Ochaeta G, Bocel E et al (2017) Employing CBPR to investigate function, utility, and longevity of household filters to improve potable water quality for indigenous peoples at Lake Atitlán, Guatemala. Energy Ecol Environ 2:95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40974-016-0045-4
Sahm K (2019) Force Blue. Project Protect. https://forceblueteam.org/
Scheelbeek P, Bird F, Tuomisto H et al (2018, June 26) Effect of environmental changes on vegetable and legume yields and nutritional quality. PNAS. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1800442115
Schliefer L (2017, Aug 24) 7 reasons we’re facing a global water crisis. World Resources Institute. https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/08/7-reasons-were-facing-global-water-crisis
Selby J, Dahi O, Fröhlich C, Hulme M (2017, Sept) Climate change and the Syrian civil war revisited. Polit Geogr 60:232–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2017.05.007
Shekar M (2019, Jan 27) Climate change and malnutrition must be tackled together. World Bank Blog: Investing in Health. http://blogs.worldbank.org/health/psd/climate-change-and-malnutrition-must-be-tackled-together
Simpson H, Lester S (2009, May 26) Deep well injection an explosive issue. Center for Health Environment and Justice. PDF 48 pgs
Solomon C, LaRocque RC (2019, Jan 17) Climate change – a health emergency. N Engl J Med 380:209–211. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp1817067
Terry C (2018, Apr 19) The disadvantages of desalination. Sciencing. https://sciencing.com/disadvantages-desalination-5961767.html
Thornalley D, Oppo D, Ortega P et al (2018) Anomalously weak Labrador Sea convection and Atlantic overturning during the past 150 years. Nature 556:227–230
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2019, Feb) NY & NJ Harbor & Tributaries Focus Area Feasibility Study (HATS). https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Projects-in-New-York/New-York-New-Jersey-Harbor-Tributaries-Focus-Area-Feasibility-Study/
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2018, July 2) Inventory of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and sinks: 1990–2017, April 2018. Referenced by U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=environment_where_ghg_come_from. Also see: EPA. Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions
UN. Sustainable Development Goals (2016) Goal 6 ensure access to water and sanitation for all. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/
UN Climate Change Convention. The Paris Agreement (2016). https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement
Watts N, Amann M, Ayeb-Karlsson S et al (2018) The lancet countdown on health and climate change: from 25 years of inaction to a global transformation for public health. Lancet 2018 391:581–630. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32464-9
Weisman A (2008) Gaviotas: a village to reinvent the world. Chelsea Green Pubs
WHO (2017) Diarrhoeal disease. Key facts. 5/2/17. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diarrhoeal-disease
WHO (2018) Drinking water. Key facts. 2/7/18. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water
Wolff G, Cohen R, Nelson B (2004, Aug 30) Energy down the drain. NRDC and Pacific Institute. PDF 84 pgs
World Economic Forum (2018) Global Risks Report 2018. 13th Edition. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GRR18_Report.pdf
Zaitchik A (2019, Feb 2) Industrialism: besieged rainforest peoples build Indigenous power to halt oil drilling. Ecuador’s Ceibo Alliance Offers an Antidote to Reckless Industrialism. https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/ecuador-s-ceibo-alliance-offers-antidote-reckless-industrialism
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
McCue, M. (2020). Water Availability in a Changing Climate: Health Implications. In: Leal Filho, W., Wall, T., Azul, A.M., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P.G. (eds) Good Health and Well-Being. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95681-7_105
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95681-7_105
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-95680-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-95681-7
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences