Among the most important indicators for life on earth are air and water qualities with poor qualities of air and water it becomes difficult, even impossible, to sustain life in any form. In some places in the world abuse of the natural resources, e.g. blind exploitation, production and use, have caused serious degradation and enormous damage, of natural environments. Exploitation, production and consumption are associated with environmental, ecological and human costs in form of “environmental, ecological and health degradation” and if such costs are not accounted for we will have negative sustainability balance. With gradual pile-up of such environmental, ecological and health debt, as is the case in the given examples, there would be no places on earth for suitable and sustainable life.          

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/photos/the-15-most-toxic-places-to-live/earths-orbit

The following are currently considered to be the top five most sustainable cities in the world:  VANCOUVER, CANADA; SAN FRANCISCO, U.S.; OSLO, NORWAY; CURITIBA, BRAZIL; and COPENHAGEN, DENMARK.

When it comes to implementing sustainable initiatives these cities are leading the globe in how that achieved and/or can achieve sustainable cities through using renewable energy and by cutting back on emissions. Among common sustainability characteristics of these cities (http://archive.rec.org/REC/Programs/SustainableCities/Characteristics.html) are:

leadership in using and developing renewables; green transport and traffic with low emissions; strict and green buildings with improved energy efficiency and ongoing LEED-certified green building projects); high marks for air quality and clean environment; waste management with efficient and high recycling rates; reserve high percent of land to green spaces, ongoing projects for efficient electric car traffic (Vancouver and San Francisco); protected forest, parks waterways, and agriculture land (e.g. Oslo, Curitiba); intelligent lighting adjusting intensity depending on traffic conditions and weather (Oslo); bio-methane from waste to power mass transit and heating; projects for cutting carbon emissions by 50 percent in coming decades with goals to be the world’s first carbon neutral capital by 2025 (Copenhagen); heating system powered by high percent renewable energy, mainly from biomass from residual waste with plans to reach 100 percent renewable sources for heating in most the cold regions in the world (Oslo); innovative program that allows people to exchange trash for transit tokens or fresh produce (Curitiba); projects to get 50 percent of the population on two wheels by 2015 by closing down some major roads to cars and developing an additional 43 miles of bike lanes and requiring all new developments to incorporate some level of vegetation into building designs (Copenhagen).

http://www.ecomagination.com/top-five-most-sustainable-cities-in-the-world

Humans have always worried about weather not only on for days and short-terms but also distant future and over longer periods (climate) especially for food security, living and for creation of settlements.  Future Tellers, Horoscope or Science are different forms of predicting the unpredictable depending on cultural, social and economic conditions. For science “what you can’t measure doesn’t exist”, even though there are uncertainties in “weather/climate” sciences as such knowledge rely on models. First we develop models through existing knowledge, we keeting improving knwledge through research. Then in parallel models are developed, tested and improved untill they can reproduce the reality and if so the models become reliable and acceptable. What regards climate and weather we seek answers on when, where, how and to which extent the climate/weather would/can be, also assessing the expected disasters, damage, losses and costs. Such knowledge/data are helpful what regards management and actions.

The best journal in science “Nature, Climate Change” has published data from the most accurate model yet developed showing that annual floods in Europe will increase four fold and the associated annual costs will be 23.5 bn Euros by the middle of the century. About 2/3 of these changes are due to human development and not by climate change. It is clear now that instead of assessing individual flood risks, maximum water discharges over large numbers of river basins or parts of catchments can give much better predictions what regards large-scale and long-term predictions.

In production strategies, more energy means more work gets done, it can also mean more conservation in energy can generate more work. The difference between these strategies is not only saving energy to get the same amount of work but it is the enormous saving of assocaited waste and pollution which in turn means more quality life, water for healthy food and conservation of environment. This makes the essence of modern sustainability, three-fold saving “energy-water-food” with enormous feedback on health, life quality and biodiversity. In this context, a  strategic question in the use of energy for production and living is: how much is enough in energy use and consumption? Can we humans use and consume as much energy as we wish and what are the limits? Are there any roofs for our energy needs for consumption, in this case what are these roofs, how they can be defined, monitored and implemented?

Indeed, global water scarcity started to be more pronounced is not because water on our planet is becoming less but it is because our energy needs for consumption are becoming not only unrealistically high but they are currently unaffordable and even inaccessible for future generations.

Click to access Water-Energy-Nexus-FinalReport_5.pdf

Since late 1040’s, water resource management in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar, the occupied Palestinian territories and Western Sahara “former Spanish Sahara”) faced several negative impacts as a result of asymmetric power relations, volatile political situations, political instabilities with periodic/continuous conflicts and wars. Under such conditions water policies were mainly focused on national short-term interests for securing supply and services with little, or even no, consideration to entire water cycle, e.g. the large-scale and long-term trans-boundary nature of the water resources in regions with shared rivers and/or shared groundwater resources. Furthermore, periodic conflicts and wars hindered developing appropriate economic-political instruments for efficient water-use and flexibility to manage long-term and large-scale supply and demand. Also, Integrated Water Resource Management “IWRM” for trans-boundary waters were lacking coherent policies of equitable and reasonable use, i.e. by being based on such factors as social and economic needs, size of population, access to other water sources, etc. The added-value to national and regional programs from several international donors involved in MENA water issues (the World Bank, UNDP and USAID) was therefore rather limited.

In addition to trans-boundary political conflicts, national governance is/was hampered by a lack of coherent laws, seemingly incompatible political interests, weak environmental legislation for over-exploitation of groundwater and over-consumption of water for irrigation with associated pollution and in-economic use of water. Pesticides, herbicides, industrial pollution, agricultural and household waste resulted in serious impacts on water quality, in addition to saline intrusion of the aquifers near the seas.  

Click to access Paper12_MENA_Water_Overview_2007.pdf

Water in the MENA region is integrated into the wider economic policies of the countries of the region and therefore water issues have to be addressed to multi-sectorial audience to bring about a broad reform within the current political and economic climate.  Indeed, MENA is using more water than it receives each year and most of the countries in the MENA region cannot meet current water demands. The situation is likely to be worse and per capita water will fall by half already before 2050, with serious impacts for the region’s already stressed aquifers and natural hydrological systems.

In coming decades, economies and population structures will force enhanced demands for water supply and irrigation, in addition to new needs to address industrial and urban pollution. Future management of water resources will be further complicated as the major part of the region’s water flows across international borders and climate change will introduce complex shifts in rainfall patterns. If the MENA region will not be able to meet these combined challenges the socio-economic consequences could be enormous, e.g. erratic drinking water services, more expensive desalination for cities and there would be needs for emergency supplies during droughts. Unreliable water resources, depletion of aquifers, service outages will cause stress on expensive infrastructure, depress farmers’ incomes, intensify local/regional conflicts with short- and long-term effects on economic growth and poverty, social tensions within and between communities, and increasing pressure on public budgets.

Post 1960s water policies of securing supply and services require switch toward better water management with consideration to entire water cycle and not the separate components, also use of economic instruments for water efficiency and flexibility to manage variations supply and demand. Changes in planning should include integrating water quality and quantity and consider the entire water system, promotion of demand management, tariff reform for water supply, strengthening of government agencies and stronger enforcement of environmental regulations. Also, shift from low-value uses to higher-value needs. Equal involvement of all stakeholders in water management policies including stakeholders outside irrigation, water resource management, and water supply and sanitation, e.g. within agriculture, trade, energy, real estate, land, finance, and social protection.

Reforms for sustainable socio-economic water management should involve: political and technical policies; effective interactions with non-water decision makers; accountability of government agencies and water service to the public as well as transparency for good and bad performance.

Click to access Water_Scarcity_Full.pdf

By 2030 South Africa will have 60 million people, i.e. more than double of today’s population, to feed. Today’s water and energy resources are already used up for living and providing food. The only solution is SUSTAINABLE planning and recognizing the way these three resources, i.e. food, energy and water, are INTER-CONNECTED.  We need sustainability as much as sustainability needs us.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MGNxRZD4Uxs

Increasing energy demands and pressures on Conventional Light Oil “CLO” of the Eastern Hemisphere (85% of the global inventory) have shifted the focus to Unconventional Heavy Oil “UHO” and Conventional Tar Sands “CTS” deposits around the world. The major part of “UHO” is in the Western Hemisphere (69% of the inventory), mainly the USA, while the majot part of “CTS” is being found in Canada. We have to keep in mind that the world inventories of UHO” and “CTS” may, indeed, exceed the global inventories of “CLO”.

Unconventional oil sources and oil sands are created in the same way as conventional oil—that is, through the combination of organic material, heat, and pressure. The main difference between the two is their ability to move underground. Conventional oil migrates upward due to its buoyancy. This oil moves through pathways in the underground rock in its fluid state and becomes trapped between impermeable layers of rock. Unconventional oil and oil (tar) sands, meanwhile, is formed in sealed spaces of rock, or being mixed with sand, and is not able to move up; it therefore remains in the source rock/sand, trapped in pores or unconnected pores. Unconventional oil and oil or tar sands are therefore produced and extracted using techniques other than conventional method used in Conventional Oil industries. Governments across the globe are investing in unconventional oil sources due to the increasing scarcity of conventional oil resources. 

Due to the different nature of accumulation and existence in underground formations and difficulties associated with production/extraction of unconventional oil and oil sands there are multiple of additional environmental threats and climatic impacts. Production and extraction of unconventional oil and oil sands consume much more water, have enhanced negative impacts on the environment in terms of produced waste, contamination and pollution especially what regards degradation of aquatic life, eco-systems and bio-diversity. Moreover, carbon dioxide emissions from the production and extraction of unconventional oil and oil sands are relatively higher, up to 20%. Indeed, the climatic and environmental (http://blogs.worldwatch.org/revolt/unconventional-oil-implications-for-the-environment-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions-2/) impacts of unconventional oil and oil sands are not fully understood and consequence assessment analyses are fragmentary, incomplete and far from being representative especially what regards the large-scale and long-term impacts and threats.

http://www.greenparty.ca/sites/greenparty.ca/files/attachments/a_comprehensive_guide_to_the_alberta_oil_sands_-_may_2011_-_last_revised_march_2012.pdf