World wide there are a number of equally large lakes which are as important to the countries they border. Climate change will bring about water war/skirmishes between countries bordering the same water sours or even between countries near these water sources.
many countries, especially in Asia and Africa are running vert low on water. One problem is that more than 90% of all the water world wide is used for agriculture and beef and pork operations.
There is also a lot of global interest in resources like the Great Lakes, as this water is seen as a global resource, not simply a US resource. By 2050 you will see not only lawsuits within the US to access this water, but also cases in the world court. There are already purchases which have been made by both countries and corporations (for farming and for beef production) of land bordering lakes and rivers worldwide. Some countries will reclaim that land and or not allow the water to leave the area.country.
Our planet is @ 7-% water, unfortunately most of that is undrinkable and it is a costly proposition to remove the salt. Individually you can use solar collection device simply made from 2 litre or large glass bottles to distill even water polluted by chemicals or even heavy medicals to produce drinkable water. I have a home electric distiller which makes about a gallon of pure water. I am single but larger ones are available for family use. Of course if you get plenty of sun you could probably fill a 5 gallon bottle per day
Water is precious. Take shorter showers, not baths, don't let the faucet run. limit watering the grass and or turn your lawn into a rock garden. Some cities in the US Southwest are asking their residents to do this and offer lower water prices if you do. You could even use biodegradable dish soap and not put dangerous chemicals in you kitchen sink then run this though a couple of filters and then to your lawn or garden. Collecting rain water from roofs and into barrels to water with is great and you can find videos to help with this on youtube
I believe we have made an impact .. especially in areas that don't have much clean water anyway.. so they import it from somewhere else.
Eventually the 'captured' water will be freed as the various earthquakes and volcanos change the Earths' surface.. When a person dies , that water will be returned as well.
PEOPLE WASTE FRESH WATER BY WATERING THE LAWN! Not only that they put millions of pounds of fertilizer on said lawns and contaminate the ground water. Ground water is everywhere and it is "captured" water as you say and it hasn't been a problem. But now with waste of 5 showers a day and watering grass for god's sake, water is going to be a problem of immense proportions before any other perceived apocalypse.
We've definitely made a difference. The Aral Sea is one example, diversion of water dried it up. The same has happened to the Colorado river delta, a formerly productive fishery that is gone because the entire Colorado river is used up before it gets to the Gulf of California.
The Caspian, btw, is still there.
Yes we have made a difference, a lot of of water is held in reservoirs and dams, but also a large amount of water has been pumped out of the ground, enough to raise sea levels slightly.
But this does not cause deserts, as the land receives it's water from the atmosphere, which fed from our oceans and there is a lot of water in our oceans.
The Caspian sea though, a land locked lake in Russia has almost dried up because so much water has been diverted for irrigation of farm lands.
About as much effect as CO2 does driving the temperature. Diddly squat!
You think too much about some things.
with the earth "recycling" its water naturally.
Now people have captured water in the form of bottled water, canned food, underground pipes, and sewage systems to name a few. Does this "captured water" not have any effect on the environment?
It seems like there would just be less water to go around naturally and thus creating artificial deserts and dry areas. Have we not made an impact of the environment with capturing water?
