Air with water vapor
Water for growing food
Water for drinking
This is dedicated to former Vice President Al Gore for holding the 3rd “24 Hours of Reality Project” which this year is dedicated to the theme, “The Cost of Carbon”.
We assume that the air we breathe and the water we drink are readily available and pure. We assume the same for the irrigation water for crops. The truth is that we cannot take these for granted any more.
The oxygen in the air is not under assault but air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels is making it less than healthy in many places. We need pure air. As for the oxygen in the air, divers are pushing the limits on how deep they can dive without a breath, but this surely is not more than a few minutes, even for people in peak condition. Pollution in the form of ozone fine particulates, and other contaminates is causing many people to suffer respiratory disease.
Pollution of air in the form of carbon dioxide is causing both the air and water of our planet to heat up, causing climate change. This change is happening so fast it is already causing many problems, and we have only warmed up 0.8 degrees Celsius since before the industrial revolution began. We are on the cusp of these problems worsening ever more rapidly, because a vicious cycle is getting started. The higher carbon dioxide in the air is causing both the oceans and the air to be warmer. One example is that this is causing even more warming in the arctic to melt the sea ice which causes the water to absorb more warming sunlight, and to melt the sea ice even faster.
We all know we have to have water to drink. The saying goes that we cannot go much more than three days without water to drink. Beyond that, our environment needs water in the right amounts for our food to grow, and to help keep wildfires in check. We are beginning to dry out inland, because the extra heat is evaporating the water more quickly.
So both we, and the environments on which we depend are in need of pure air and pure water.