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Regardless of any heroic action on climate, the trend will probably continue. I think it's time to stop hoping for "a solution to climate change" and start cons

Regardless of any heroic action on climate, the trend will probably continue. I think it's time to stop hoping for "a solution to climate change" and start considering mitigations. The problems of excess heat, from heatstroke to infernos, can be partially addressed by water management. We know we are already approaching shortages of fresh water. So one big mitigation we could do is a new strategy to conserve and distribute water where it's most needed due to climate change. I imagine massive engineering projects to identify sources of fresh water and start distributing them over populated areas. The Romans built their aqueducts over hundreds of miles to bring water into their cities. Well, imagine a nation-wide distribution of water. Unless we want to completely abandon formerly-habitable swaths of the planet, we may need to start "plumbing the world" to share what little water remains. Imagine root-like networks of fresh water that can be activated to tamp down on the spread of fires into cities, or accessed for cool drinking water by anyone who needs it on a hot day. More acquifers to collect and process rainwater. Tighter regulations and enforcement around the dumping of harmful material into waterways. Additional regulations or taxes on excess commercial uses of water. Desalination plants to contribute more water (regardless of cost, it will probably be necessary due to increasing lack of fresh water). Development of new technology to reduce the need for water. And finally, regulations to eliminate wasteful use of water in general (we can't keep watering lawns forever).

pmoriarty 5y ago
Another idea is desalination plants. There's plenty of water in the world, but most of it is salt water from the oceans, so if we can desalinate it that will go a long way towards solving the water crisis -- particularly in areas near the shore. It would be interesting to hear what a per-capita price of a gallon of desalinated water would cost, especially when the cost is brought down by having lots of desalination plants all around the world.
- throwaway984393 5y ago
  Right now desalination is too expensive. I think that we will eventually reach the point where it's necessary regardless of the cost. But I also think we shouldn't bet on them entirely; we should have a much larger water management plan where desalination merely fills gaps rather than provides the bulk of our water. Even if you got desalination cheap enough for local production, transportation would make it even less affordable, so we really need to max out the efficiency of existing watersheds, water tables, and snow melts. And we could further increase efficiency by redirecting water from other parts of the country, the way we (sort of?) do with energy.
DoreenMichele 5y ago
We need to return to vernacular architecture, passive solar design, smaller homes in walkable neighborhoods. Our overhead for just existing in the US is insanely high and it's hard to opt out. Small towns and unincorporated communities need to decide to make it possible for some part of their population to opt out. We invest too much in worshipping the big city, among other things.
- xg15 5y ago
  But this kind of stuff is exactly what requires top-down changes. There are specific governmental regulations and economic incentives that encourage the current way of living. You'll need different laws and a different economic environment to make a change here.

pmoriarty 5y ago

Another idea is desalination plants. There's plenty of water in the world, but most of it is salt water from the oceans, so if we can desalinate it that will go a long way towards solving the water crisis -- particularly in areas near the shore. It would be interesting to hear what a per-capita price of a gallon of desalinated water would cost, especially when the cost is brought down by having lots of desalination plants all around the world.

throwaway984393 5y ago
Right now desalination is too expensive. I think that we will eventually reach the point where it's necessary regardless of the cost. But I also think we shouldn't bet on them entirely; we should have a much larger water management plan where desalination merely fills gaps rather than provides the bulk of our water. Even if you got desalination cheap enough for local production, transportation would make it even less affordable, so we really need to max out the efficiency of existing watersheds, water tables, and snow melts. And we could further increase efficiency by redirecting water from other parts of the country, the way we (sort of?) do with energy.

DoreenMichele 5y ago

We need to return to vernacular architecture, passive solar design, smaller homes in walkable neighborhoods. Our overhead for just existing in the US is insanely high and it's hard to opt out. Small towns and unincorporated communities need to decide to make it possible for some part of their population to opt out. We invest too much in worshipping the big city, among other things.

xg15 5y ago
But this kind of stuff is exactly what requires top-down changes. There are specific governmental regulations and economic incentives that encourage the current way of living. You'll need different laws and a different economic environment to make a change here.