• Question: I recently watched a documentary about the population doubling in 50 years. Apparently this will result in all the water in the world running out. Do you think this is like the 2012 theory and probably won't happen or do you think differently?

    Asked by h3ather to Andrew, Emma, Marianne on 16 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Andrew Maynard

      Andrew Maynard answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      Hi h3ather,

      Most estimates put the world population in 2050 at around 9 billion people – around half as much again as the 6 billion currently living on the planet. (here’s a useful chart: http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idb/worldpopgraph.php)

      This is going to cause plenty of problems – especially if everyone wants to live as comfortably as many of us do in the UK and the US. And access to clean water is going to be a huge issue!

      The water isn’t going to run out. But unless we change the way we do things – and develop some new technologies – we may not be able to get enough clean drinkable water to everyone who needs it!

      Scary stuff – and one reason why we need more scientists to crack problems like this.

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 15 Jun 2010:

      h3ather. Good commitment to science education. Strange isn’t it. One moment we’re worried that we’ll all disappear beneath the polar ice-caps and the next that there won’t be any water left to drink. (Yes I get that salt water’s not good to drink…!). I’m pretty sceptical about the science of prediction and it’s difficult to imagine Scotland having water shortages what with our weather (I’m alright jack). Some places already suffer badly from drought and water shortages.

      I bet there are other sources who say that the population’s unlikely to double this century and i don’t buy the ‘all the water running out’ theory. I think it is true that massive population increases could threaten our ecosystem and lead to serious problems. This ties in well with an earlier chat we had where we mentioned Thomas malthus who wrote a famous essay at the turn of the 19thC about how populations will eventually regulate themselves by running out key nutrients (he talked about famine but drought and famine often coexist).

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      Hi h3ather….I suspect this is another scaremongering theory. Personally, I doubt very much if the all the water in the world will run out but we will be put under greater strain in identifying potable (ie drinkable) sources of water.

      What has been researched is that areas where climate change has impacted greatly (causing lack of food and water) has led to greater conflict ie war either within their country or with their neighbours. I think that is something we all need to be concerned about.:)

    • Photo: Marianne Baker

      Marianne Baker answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      hi h3ather.

      2012 predictions aren’t theories; they’re speculations based on strange ideas, mostly dating back to the Mayan calendar, as has been said elsewhere on the site.

      If there are twice as many people, the water won’t run out – it will still be there! We’ll just have to have better methods of using, conserving and producing it.
      Infrastructure needs to be improved so that we can make sure everyone has access to water.

      What was the documentary, out of interest, if you remember??

Comments

  • Photo: h3ather

    h3ather commented on :

    I was really worried about that theory but now i understand that it is only a possibility – I can’t remember the name of the documentory by the way – sorry . Thanks for showing me there is nothing to really worry about but we should all still be concerened 🙂