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> But what percentage of the water we can actually use? What percentage of lake water could we use prior to literal millennia of engineering effort was put int

> But what percentage of the water we can actually use? What percentage of lake water could we use prior to literal millennia of engineering effort was put into moving it where we need? > most of our used water currently comes from This is technically true today, but barely. Nationwide roughly twice as much water comes from surface as the ground, but it varies dramatically by region. If you live in NY, 90% of your water already comes from the ground. It’s certainly not the case that we’re “locked in” to lakes, rather we are very capable of adapting to local conditions.

ClumsyPilot 3y ago
> What percentage of lake water could we use prior to literal millennia of engineering effort was put into moving it where we need All of it, people built settlements on lakes and rivers for this very reason > It’s certainly not the case that we’re “locked in” to lakes, rather we are very capable of adapting to local conditions. No, we are locked in to rivers and lakes because thats the only big source of renewable fresh water. The underground aquifiers under midwest and under much of middle east will be gone in 50 years and will never return You should not incorrect people here without basic facts at your disposal
- explaininjs 3y ago
  And yet they built aqueducts and wells too. Local surface water has been insufficient for civilization for at least 2000 years. > The underground aquifiers under midwest and under much of middle east will be gone in 50 years and will never return > You should not incorrect people here without basic facts at your disposal Nothing quite as HN as someone making bold alarmist unsupported assertions about the future of climate for all of time, then following it up with a sentence demanding an appreciation for “basic facts”.
  - ClumsyPilot 3y ago
    Are you at odds with basic addition or something? We are pumping out the aquifers faster than they recharge. Basic math lets you calculate that they will run out in a few decades. The aquifers are left over from the ice age. Once depleted, the aquifer will take over 6,000 years to replenish naturally through rainfall.
    - explaininjs 3y ago
      So we now agree the aquifers have the capacity to refill on human timescales, especially given climate change is suspected to have a tendency to cause more rainfall. And by your omission I’ll take that we agree civilization cannot exist without significant engineering efforts to bring water to it, surface or otherwise. I don’t really know what’s left to say, besides hurling personal attacks back and forth as you seem want to steer this.

ClumsyPilot 3y ago

> What percentage of lake water could we use prior to literal millennia of engineering effort was put into moving it where we need All of it, people built settlements on lakes and rivers for this very reason > It’s certainly not the case that we’re “locked in” to lakes, rather we are very capable of adapting to local conditions. No, we are locked in to rivers and lakes because thats the only big source of renewable fresh water. The underground aquifiers under midwest and under much of middle east will be gone in 50 years and will never return You should not incorrect people here without basic facts at your disposal

explaininjs 3y ago
And yet they built aqueducts and wells too. Local surface water has been insufficient for civilization for at least 2000 years. > The underground aquifiers under midwest and under much of middle east will be gone in 50 years and will never return > You should not incorrect people here without basic facts at your disposal Nothing quite as HN as someone making bold alarmist unsupported assertions about the future of climate for all of time, then following it up with a sentence demanding an appreciation for “basic facts”.
- ClumsyPilot 3y ago
  Are you at odds with basic addition or something? We are pumping out the aquifers faster than they recharge. Basic math lets you calculate that they will run out in a few decades. The aquifers are left over from the ice age. Once depleted, the aquifer will take over 6,000 years to replenish naturally through rainfall.
  - explaininjs 3y ago
    So we now agree the aquifers have the capacity to refill on human timescales, especially given climate change is suspected to have a tendency to cause more rainfall. And by your omission I’ll take that we agree civilization cannot exist without significant engineering efforts to bring water to it, surface or otherwise. I don’t really know what’s left to say, besides hurling personal attacks back and forth as you seem want to steer this.