What’s going on? The climate? Global warming then?
Are the cataclysmic carbon emissions observed by all the experts generated by our lifestyles? Yes, we know that global warming is induced by human activity. But water resources have remained untouched for millennia. It still covers 72% of the globe with its 1400 million km3. Inland seas, oceans and groundwater account for 97.2%, with a further 2.1% in the form of freshwater from eternal snows and glaciers. The available balance?
0,7 % ! Practically nothing!
And 62% of this resource, which has become “gold”, is found in our groundwater and 38% in surface water…
Freshwater is a resource whose renewal cycle is well known: evaporation / condensation / precipitation / infiltration and runoff…
No new resource is, or ever will be, created through this immutable circulation. In recent years, however, water has become increasingly scarce as a result of atmospheric warming.
Today, water stress has become an edifying reality. 2.2 billion people suffer from it, and there will be more than 3 billion by 2030…
Water stress is defined as water availability of less than 1700m3 per capita per year. Today, more and more countries are historically affected, and few regions around the world are spared.
So the equation is simple… While the quantity of fresh water has remained unchanged for millennia, access per person is becoming more limited. In 1950, 17,000m3 of water were available per capita per year; by 2025, this stock will have shrunk to 5,100m3! In 75 years, water resources have been divided by more than 3… The world’s demographic explosion has multiplied the surface area of irrigated land by 5 over the last century, and agriculture has increased its water consumption by 60% in 50 years. And what can we say about the ever-increasing consumption of water by industry?
In 19 regions of the world, in the United States, India or the Arabian Peninsula, the situation is such that, according to NASA satellite observations, it would take more than 2,000 years of rainfall to refill them!
This state of affairs is a reality, and we can cry all day long, but our tears won’t be enough to replenish our lakes and rivers… Water, essential to life, must become a protected resource. We need to save it and respect it.
Innovation is a priority, and must be coherent. This is why SEAWARDS is mobilizing its energy and teams to develop its disruptive “Cryo-Separation” technology.
Change is on the way, and we’re going to be part of it!
Hubert Montcoudiol
Co-Founder
