What Are You Doing to Manage Your Water Needs?

Not a day goes by, without yet another report on the growing risks posed by the increasing scarcity of water. Today’s report is from the Pacific Institute: Water Scarcity & Climate Change: Growing Risks for Businesses & Investors and CERES.

Taking agriculture/food, the sector of interest to me, the applicable risks fall as follow:

Physical Risks Reputational Risks Regulatory Risks

Growers are going to need all the help they can get to adapt to more and more unpredictable water supply and weather patterns. Not one but a combination of strategies will be required to mitigate risk. Prediction models, risk management tools, sensing networks, smart irrigation scheduling systems, efficient water pricing and delivery, accurate water tracking, incentives for the installation of smart water management infrastructure,   all will have a part to play. And it will take the collaboration of federal, state, business, and private land owners to make it happen.

If you want to assess your company’s exposure to water risk, you can start here.

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Google Earth is Becoming Google Water!

Google Earth’s gotten even cooler now, and “just got an upgrade to include oceans. Previously, the space between Earth’s recognizable landmasses had flat blue and, well, not all that educational.”

That’s all good for marine life enthusiasts. Being more of a land girl, I wish Google Earth did not stop there. How about adding yet another upgrade that would allow us to “see” water underneath the Earth’s surface. Can you imagine being able to have a peak into water tables, and water delivery networks, and moisture levels at various depths?  And being able to track changes over time. How amazing would that be?

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