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A World with less water?

What if the farms, rivers, mountains and cities of the Northwest experienced a drought measured in years, rather than months? 

The Showtime series Years of Living Dangerously kicked off last night with an episode showcasing Texas and Syria – two areas that have experienced extreme drought spanning the last several years. As the program demonstrated, the people in those places are weathering devastating impacts – economic, political, and real. 

Closer to our Northwest home, we were wringing our hands nervously just a few short months ago.  In January, snowpack in the  region, including Washington and Oregon, was at least 25 percent below normal – an incredibly dry start to the winter.  That snowpack is critical for our drinking water, power generation, irrigation, and for many industries and commodities. 

Then in soggy March, we experienced record rainfall (for Seattle, it was the wettest March on record)--a  drenching that washed away our drought worries pretty quickly. 

But what if it hadn’t let up?   

As Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist profiled in the Years series, points out: “Severe droughts can affect our food, our economy, and even our health. As climate changes, warmer temperatures will make our droughts worse, on average, by increasing the amount of water that evaporates during the drought, and drying out the soil. Climate change is also expected to alter our rainfall patterns, bringing more frequent drought conditions to many parts of the U.S., particularly in summer.”

One powerful story introduced in the Years of Living Dangerously premiere, "Pray for Rain," details how the company Cargill had to close a meat-packing plant in Plainview, Texas because after three years of drought, the state's cattle herds had declined by some two million.

In our region, what impacts would befall our key agricultural exports, such as apples and wheat, if we were left without rain for longer than a few months? 

The likely costs would not be limited to our economic exports and the industries that depend on them. On the same day Years launched, a Bloomberg news story detailed how food prices are likely to rise both here and abroad, given the drought in California: 

“Conditions are so dry that some farmers aren't  even bothering to plant. That might have even bigger implications for food prices than the 2012 drought that baked the Corn Belt, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said this week.”

And there is the cost of life with war and unrest.  "Climate Wars," a Years story line presented by columnist Thomas Friedman, further documents how drought and food insecurity in other parts of the world have helped produce social unrest and political instability. 

So while many can breathe a sigh of relief – this year – for our local water supplies, we too will take a hit in our wallets, and our sense of security, as a result of water shortages around the world.  

A person can survive without water for just three to five days.  A business, a farm, a state or a country can limp along somewhat longer, before reaching a point of desperation.

But instead of limping along, we can take a stand. One bright spot is a forthcoming report from the UN reassuring us that there is still a chance to turn around.  It’s not late—though it sure as heck isn’t too early—to act. We can, and must, protect a climate that lets us eat and drink in good health.

Author Bio

Kimberly Larson

Director of Communications and Engagement, Climate Solutions

Kimberly oversees the organization’s communications, engagement and technology team, focused on creating story-led communications to increase desire for the transition to clean energy and directing data-informed strategies for broader engagement on climate action.   

While at Climate Solutions, she has also helped direct communications for the Power Past Coal coalition to stop coal exports in the Pacific Northwest and many policy advocacy campaigns both at the ballot at with state legislatures.  

Prior to joining Climate Solutions, she was the Media Director for the Public Interest Network, a family of organizations that includes Environment America, and the Assistant Field Director for U.S. PIRG in Washington, D.C. She is 2008 Media, Communications, and Information Policy Fellow with the Rockwood Leadership Program.  Kimberly started her career with Green Corps, the field school for environmental organizing after graduating from the University of Vermont with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a minor in Women's Studies.  

One story that inspires her:  the multi-year effort to get Washington State join the Clean Fuels Coast.  

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